About tax papers

[Thu&Chris 2]

Hi. I worry to know if we will in trouble or not and anyone in same situation?

Our marriage certificate is dated march2011, and My husban has continued to file his taxes as "single", will this effect getting visa any?

My husband said cos im not living in usa so if he file " married " is kinda cheat govt. so that why he did as " single"

Pls help....

Thank you.

[ibhitchin 1]

I'm sure it will be noticed, but how much effect it has on your application is up to the individual interviewer.

If I were the interviewer, I would be thinking three things:

1. Nobody voluntarily pays more tax than they have to.
2. If the guy wants to pay his "fair" share, he can file "Married filing separately" and pay the same as single.
3. This guy does not think of himself as married.

I would recommend your husband look into ammending his prior years returns to change the status. I don't know the details, and he is better advised to contact a tax professional about doing that. I do know he will need to apply for an "ITIN" for you, which is a substitute SSN, so it is not just a matter of changing the form. But it is number 3 you have to be most concerned about, it may only require some additional reassurance to the interviewer, or it may be of deep concern to him/her.

I don't know what the tax transcript will reflect for an amended return, if it doesn't show what it was changed from, you are golden, the interviewer won't even know. So do the amendment first.

[Thu&Chris 2]

Thanks for ur reply.

I dont know what to say. Just worry and upset.

He said he want keep paper simple and now i know it doesnt!

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to Tax & Finances During US Immigration forum.***

**Moderator hat off**

OP, this is my two cents, take it for whatever it's worth:

• Filing single while married is incorrect, regardless if the spouse is a citizen of another country living abroad.
• I've never heard of or seen any instances of anyone being significantly penalized
• Other VJ members have posted they filed single and had no problems; however, the country the beneficiary was from had lower cases of fraud. Vietnam is not in the low fraud category.
• This in of itself will not result in a visa denial. Here's the but, if the CO has doubts about the relationship, then this may be a factor in making the decision on whether or not to issue a visa (goes to the points made by a prior poster).

If your husband elects to amend from single to married filing separately, then an ITIN will not be necessary. An ITIN would only bee needed for married filing jointly.

[Thu&Chris 2]

Ryan.

My case is this:

We been dated in 2007. Married in 2011 . So i think that such long time and no one wait that long if that not come from true love.

I talked to husband about tax issue and he said to me that his income from past yrs are below than the minimum income govt required. Therefor govt would return him the tax money which govt took from him.

So he means no matter he single or married he still get same tax money return.

And he said in this case he not try to be foxy any. Cos in case he made good money and file single mean he must pay more tax. So i think my husband maybe he just think simple file single is ok and no trouble any.

And this yr 2014 he makes good money. So i will have him contact the tax office (or whatever it called) to talk to them if that is illegal/wrong to file "Single" while he "married"? And see if the coming year tax can we change status to "married" or what can we do to fix the wrong we did. Cos my limited english also i dont understand how the usa run the system so i only can say what i understand/know about.

So what is ur idea? Do u think we can change status what we already file as Single for last couple years?

[Ryan H 3,812]

So what is ur idea? Do u think we can change status what we already file as Single for last couple years?

Previous years tax returns can be amended. Whether or not it's done is a decision you two as a couple need to make.

[Thu&Chris 2]

Thank you. I hope we can fix this issue.

[Ryan H 3,812]

If amending to married filing separately, the letters N R A which means non-resident alien can be written for spouse's social security number.

If amending to married filing jointly, he will need to obtain an ITIN number for you first.

[Thu&Chris 2]

Ryan,

What i know is Filling seperate is the most simply right?if so i will do that way. I dont want wait longer for the visa processing.

And i have one question relate to co-sponsor. My husband need a co-sponsor. The co-sponsor will file i-864. So does his wife need file any form?

Thank & best regards.

Wishing you and family a happy Christmas!!!

[sukhi4498 1]

Dont worry i did too. filed as single since my wife was not in usa. They won't b asking u even once abt y your husband is filing single,. So , no problem u will b fine

[Oksana & Max 94]

Ok and now opinion from the Tax Expert (I do have my own tax business).

Your husband should amend the tax return for prior year and file Married Filing Separately. Doesn't matter whether you leave here or not. He is married this is the end of story. The only exception to this rule if he had a child that he is claiming on his tax return, than he had an option file as Head of Household.

While you mentioned that his income is low and below threshold limit, since he is getting the refund back for the taxes he pays, he should do it correctly. I am assuming that your husband doing taxes yourself, as professional would never let him file separately. Whether it will impact Visa or not, probably not, however you can be questioned on why he is filing returns as single.

Just my humble opinion.

[Oksana & Max 94]

Dont worry i did too. filed as single since my wife was not in usa. They won't b asking u even once abt y your husband is filing single,. So , no problem u will b fine

While you did that, doesn't mean you were doing it correctly, and I understand that your wife got the visa. And since filing as single is more beneficial than Married Filing Separately, you were cheating the government. So if you don't want to face the circumstances if you get audited, you might as well ammend your tax returns.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Oksana & Max

[Thu&Chris 2]

Thank you everyone for the answer.

Now i less worry and will start to fix what we did incorrect.

[Ryan H 3,812]

And i have one question relate to co-sponsor. My husband need a co-sponsor. The co-sponsor will file i-864. So does his wife need file any form?

For starters, joint sponsor is the proper term, not co-sponsor.

If the joint sponsor meets the poverty guideline threshold as defined by the I-864P on ther own, then his wife will not need to file anything. However, if the joint sponsor elects to combine income with his wife, then the wife will need to complete the I-864A.

[Thu&Chris 2]

Yes, i got u.

Thank you.