administrative processing

[Amhara 460]

2 years tax returns where he is listed as a dependent with no SS of course. .....the list goes on.

You actually can't claim your spouse as a dependent and you might not have been able to claim him based on his residency status.

From Publication 501, (http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000220875)

1. You generally cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. However, there is an exception for certain adopted children.
2. Your spouse is never considered your dependent.

I would also say your situation affects your filing status. You can't file as single if you are married. If you didn't file jointly with him, there may be a few concerns about that. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with your case, just something you may need to address or overcome during this process.

[Chaneydic1333 29]

People mix this up. I've spoken to tax lawyers who say that you cannot put married but files jointly if the spouse is not here in America or legal. Fo tax purposes, you are to put single.

[Amhara 460]

People mix this up. I've spoken to tax lawyers who say that you cannot put married but files jointly if the spouse is not here in America or legal. Fo tax purposes, you are to put single.

I disagree. You can get an ITIN regardless of immigration status - they are issued to both resident and nonresident aliens. If you are in the country bald-faced illegally, you can still get an ITIN.

Other examples of individuals who need ITINs include:

• A nonresident alien required to file a U.S. tax return

• A U.S. resident alien (based on days present in the United States) filing a U.S. tax return

• A dependent or spouse of a U.S. citizen/resident alien

• A dependent or spouse of a nonresident alien visa holder

(http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITIN-Information)

Also, "Your filing status is single if you are considered unmarried and you do not qualify for another filing status." " If you are considered married, you and your spouse can file a joint return or separate returns."

You are considered married for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests.

• You are married and living together.
• You are living together in a common law marriage recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began.
• You are married and living apart but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
• You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce.

Nonresident alien or dual-status alien. Generally, a married couple cannot file a joint return if either one is a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year. However, if one spouse was a nonresident alien or dual-status alien who was married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the year, the spouses can choose to file a joint return. If you do file a joint return, you and your spouse are both treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.

(http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000220721)

However:

You cannot file as head of household if you are a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year. However, if you are married, your spouse can qualify as a head of household if:

• Your spouse is a resident alien or U.S. citizen for the entire tax year
• You do not choose to be treated as a resident alien, and
• Your spouse meets the other requirements for this filing status, as discussed earlier under Resident Aliens .

You can qualify as head of household if you are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year and you pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for you and a qualifying person. You must be a resident alien for the entire tax year. You are considered unmarried for this purpose if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you do not make one of the choices discussed in chapter 1 to treat your spouse as a resident alien for the entire tax year.

(http://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/ch05.html#en_US_2014_publink1000222412)

Please provide the information your lawyer told you because my work experience, education, and research all say that is not completely accurate.

Conclusion:

You cannot claim your spouse as a dependent. You have a few filing statuses available - single being one of them if you are 'considered unmarried' during the year. Will a CO take the time to study the Internal Revenue Code or research court cases? Probably not, so just be aware that your filing status can be a potential issue; even if you are doing it correctly for your situation.

[Chaneydic1333 29]

Where is the code that says a foreign national living in the home country still pertains to 'married but files separately'? I really want to know. All the tax forms and instructions I filled out whiles getting employment forbade me to put married as a filling status per irs rule. ( foreign wife does not live with me but in another country). I agree that they can't be claimed but my question is with the status. I read forums here and tried to get my preparer to change the status, he explained that pretty clearly that it did not pertain to my situation.

[Amhara 460]

Where is the code that says a foreign national living in the home country still pertains to 'married but files separately'? I really want to know. All the tax forms and instructions I filled out whiles getting employment forbade me to put married as a filling status per IRS rule. ( foreign wife does not live with me but in another country). I agree that they can't be claimed but my question is with the status. I read forums here and tried to get my preparer to change the status, he explained that pretty clearly that it did not pertain to my situation.

(Please moderator don't delete my comment! I think this may be pertinent to OP and maybe other Ghanan users.)

Your filing status is only elected on your tax return, so I'm not sure what you mean with forms while you were getting employment. I know there is a Form W-4 for withholding taxes on your paycheck, but you aren't bound by that. You can elect single if married or married if single. It only determines how much tax should be withheld.

Based on my research, a married person with a nonresident alien (NRA) spouse can select married filing jointly (MFJ), married filing separately (MFS), single (S) or head of household (HOH) as their filing status. The choice is up to you. The law does not prevent you from choosing MFS, but actually gives you more options than if you are both residents or citizens. If you are married and choose not to file a joint return, you are MFS. Unless you are living apart, then you may have more options. With a NRA, you can choose to treat them as a resident alien. Technically, if your spouse is intending to live with you, the time apart would be considered "temporary absence".

Since you have so many options, you need to find the one that's best for you, your intentions, and your situation. MFS would show the USEM that you are claiming your filing status on your US income tax returns, but it is the highest tax rate with the least amount of tax credits available. MFS is often the least advantageous filing status. MFJ is often considered the most beneficial filing status, but with a NRA spouse, you will need an ITIN. Getting it takes plenty of leg work and postal costs, but I would choose this one if we had been able to marry in Dubai. Giving the CO documents that your NRA spouse has an ITIN and is already filing taxes with you is pretty good evidence to me (hopefully to a USEM too!). You can choose HOH if you have a dependent that qualifies you, but you need to be 'considered unmarried', which you would for tax purposes, but for immigration purposes, you don't want to be considered unmarried! You want your spouse! Getting the ITIN is relatively easy. You need certain documents to establish foreign status and to establish personal identification. You can use Publication 1915 on irs.gov for more info.

In conclusion, I'm including IRC citations below. Per IRC 1(d), you can choose MFS. Per IRC 1(a)(1) and 6013(h), you can elect MFJ. Per IRC 2© and 7703(b), you can elect the filing status of S if you have no dependents or HOH if you have dependents that qualify you for HOH (not all dependents do).

26 U.S. Code (which is the IRC - Internal Revenue Code) § 1:

(a) Married individuals filing joint returns and surviving spouses. There is hereby imposed on the taxable income of—

(1) every married individual (as defined in section 7703) who makes a single return jointly with his spouse under section 6013,

(d) Married individuals filing separate returns. There is hereby imposed on the taxable income of every married individual (as defined in section 7703) who does not make a single return jointly with his spouse under section 6013

IRC § 2:

© Certain married individuals living apart For purposes of this part, an individual shall be treated as not married at the close of the taxable year if such individual is so treated under the provisions of section 7703 (b).

(d) Nonresident alien. In the case of a nonresident alien individual, the taxes imposed by sections 1 and 55 shall apply only as provided by section 871 or 877.

IRC § 7703 - Determination of marital status:

(b) Certain married individuals living apart. For purposes of those provisions of this title which refer to this subsection, if—

(1) an individual who is married (within the meaning of subsection (a)) and who files a separate return maintains as his home a household which constitutes for more than one-half of the taxable year the principal place of abode of a child (within the meaning of section 152 (1)) with respect to whom such individual is entitled to a deduction for the taxable year under section 151 (or would be so entitled but for section 152 (e)),

(2) such individual furnishes over one-half of the cost of maintaining such household during the taxable year, and

(3) during the last 6 months of the taxable year, such individual’s spouse is not a member of such household, such individual shall not be considered as married.

IRC § 6013- Joint returns of income tax by husband and wife information can be found in subsection (h). This is the election to treat the nonresident alien as a resident alien if they are married to a USC or a US resident alien.

[Mark&Obaa 3]

Someone posted an article not too long ago about the Obama administration under Clinton issuing a fatwa against Ghana's energy sector for not playing ball with the U.S. Energy corps. This led to the embassy purposely denying visas to not only energy ministers but anyone associated with Ghana's energy board. I suppose this retaliation has extended toward private citizens. Knowing the retaliatory nature of this administration and their childish behavior, I will not be surprised that this is very well a deliberate act. Nothing else makes sense!

can it possibly be politics as you were saying?... We are innocent citizens and we dont make decisions on who to run the energy sector of the country...Why would the US punish us for something we dont have control over...We just want to be with our loved ones.....these denials are scary but we will see what God has in store for us.

[chris_trina 22]

What does this have to do with adminstrative processing in Ghana. Guys make up another thread to discuss taxes. People on ap want to know about ap not taxes.

[Amhara 460]

What does this have to do with adminstrative processing in Ghana. Guys make up another thread to discuss taxes. People on ap want to know about ap not taxes.

Sorry. The OP mentioned they claimed their spouse as a dependent and I pointed out that was not correct. I was suggesting that the filing status may have been a part of a reason why someone was put in AP. If someone is married and filing returns as single, that could be a red flag for a CO unless they are specifically trained as to the reason why this is okay. I figured adding the information could be helpful if someone encounters this. I think MFJ is best during the immigration process.

We don't know what the CO does or does not know, so I thought being cognizant of denial possibilities and rebuttals to those arguments were helpful. Sorry if they were not.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Amhara

[Chaneydic1333 29]

Sorry. The OP mentioned they claimed their spouse as a dependent and I pointed out that was not correct. I was suggesting that the filing status may have been a part of a reason why someone was put in AP. If someone is married and filing returns as single, that could be a red flag for a CO unless they are specifically trained as to the reason why this is okay. I figured adding the information could be helpful if someone encounters this. I think MFJ is best during the immigration process.

We don't know what the CO does or does not know, so I thought being cognizant of denial possibilities and rebuttals to those arguments were helpful. Sorry if they were not.

You've been very helpful. Sorry for the rude response.

[dwheels76 5,469]

Sorry. The OP mentioned they claimed their spouse as a dependent and I pointed out that was not correct. I was suggesting that the filing status may have been a part of a reason why someone was put in AP. If someone is married and filing returns as single, that could be a red flag for a CO unless they are specifically trained as to the reason why this is okay. I figured adding the information could be helpful if someone encounters this. I think MFJ is best during the immigration process.

We don't know what the CO does or does not know, so I thought being cognizant of denial possibilities and rebuttals to those arguments were helpful. Sorry if they were not.

Yes very helpful words and guidance many need to read this and know it. Thank you.

[Amhara 460]

You've been very helpful. Sorry for the rude response.

You weren't really rude. Just trying to keep the thread relevant!

[chris_trina 22]

I dont think my response was rude. But we got off the subject i was not following but yes its true about the itin number but. We started going into filing taxes. I was like wait a minute. Most do want to know about the ap process and know the ones who have gotten off and what they could do when it come to their turn in Ghana. So i have talk many that stuck sitting there at the embassy for year. We know ap is a hard process but come on now i dont think all taxes. But it maybe important but we are trying see whats going in ghana!!

[elmends 3]

I appreciate all of the comments that I have received. Here in NC, my tax man at H&R Block did allow me to file married but separate. I am not sure what the different state requirements are for filing taxes but i did file married but separate. i have contacted my congressman who is going to do what he can. i have also gotten an appointment with my local USCIS next Thursday. Friends and family are also sending emails to the embassy on our behalf.

[MrsBonsu 138]

I recieved a reply from my senator which she sent me that says, the general consul of Accra has looked into my case and it's still undergoing administrative processing, due to the congressional interest he will move it along as quickly as possible, please allow 45 to 60 days like I haven't already been waiting?! The other notice from NVC says that it's undergoing administrative processing to verify my husbands qualifications for this visa ? once it is complete the embassy will contact him with further instructions? I'm gonna leave it here before I go out on a full rant! ?

[elmends 3]

How did you get in touch with NVC? Was it before or after you got in touch with your senator?