Taxes and Naturalization

[RightClicK 17]

I have have been to the states for almost 2 years now, Last year which was my first year to file taxes I filed Married filing separate because my wife told me that each of us will file on his own but I don't know if that meant that we are separated or not ?. My wife's dad kicked me out of his house 10 days after I got here because he is racist so I lived in an apartment for like 4 months before I got a place and my wife moved in with me so When I filed I put that my wife lived with me those 8 months only so the question here is, Would that effect my naturalization application because It says on the website that we were married for 3 years so Will I have to wait more now ?

[Amhara 460]

Why didn't you guys file as married filing jointly (MFJ)? There may be a legitimate reason, but the tax rate for both you and her increase and you lose a LOT of potential tax benefits when you elect married filing separate (MFS).

You did not work for the first year you were here?

[RightClicK 17]

Why didn't you guys file as married filing jointly (MFJ)? There may be a legitimate reason, but the tax rate for both you and her increase and you lose a LOT of potential tax benefits when you elect married filing separate (MFS).

You did not work for the first year you were here?

I did work but she wanted her son ( my step son) to get more money from his taxes, We have a sour marriage, She also went and closed the joint account in my back because she doesn't want me to get citizenship.

[Amhara 460]

I did work but she wanted her son ( my step son) to get more money from his taxes, We have a sour marriage, She also went and closed the joint account in my back because she doesn't want me to get citizenship.

Sir, I don't know how else to say this, but you are poorly informed, unfortunately.

If the son filed his own return and was not a dependent on your wife's return, then that has no correlation on you two filing jointly. The thing I'm thinking here is that you either filed as single or MFS. I don't know how that will look on your naturalization process, but I'm sure you will need to explain the situation. It may be as simple as saying that you two aren't working out as a couple.

If you did work the first year here, then why didn't you file a tax return? Were you under the filing requirements?

[RightClicK 17]

Sir, I don't know how else to say this, but you are poorly informed, unfortunately.

If the son filed his own return and was not a dependent on your wife's return, then that has no correlation on you two filing jointly. The thing I'm thinking here is that you either filed as single or MFS. I don't know how that will look on your naturalization process, but I'm sure you will need to explain the situation. It may be as simple as saying that you two aren't working out as a couple.

If you did work the first year here, then why didn't you file a tax return? Were you under the filing requirements?

My wife didn't even file, Her son Work and he put her as a dependent for those 4 months, I worked and I filed as MFS and I put her as a dependent and my son as a dependent also for those 8 months.

[Amhara 460]

My wife didn't even file, Her son Work and he put her as a dependent for those 4 months, I worked and I filed as MFS and I put her as a dependent and my son as a dependent also for those 8 months.

Gotcha. This was not the right procedure. A spouse is never considered a dependent. In some states (that are not community property states), you can claim your spouses personal exemption on your return and you file as MFS, but you still deal with the MFS consequences. They aren't on your return as a dependent, though, and they can't have had any gross income during that year.

But I'm highly certain if you claimed your son, your filing status was head of household (HOH), not MFS. To claim this filing status, you would have had to been unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year. So if you two were still together, this would not have been the right filing status.

During the year her son claimed her as a dependent, (which I'm sure he claimed HOH for that year) I would suggest you gather some sort of evidence that you two were living together as husband and wife. How old is your son? He's from her, right?

I'm not sure, but the naturalization agent may question why you came here to live with her dad if he didn't agree. It seems strange that you were there long enough to get your documents mailed to you and you were out, even though a life changing event was happening to his daughter. Obviously, this would be a discussion she would have had before you arrived, no?

They may consider her a bit of a fraudster, or have scamming tendencies, and that might reflect poorly on you. If she's going to bounce around tax returns that benefit her instead of filing the proper way, they may suspect that she accepted your marriage to bring you here, then end in divorce after you can get naturalized. She seems to not worry about whether she is cheating the system or not.

While USCIS is not a marriage counseling agency, I would suggest on getting whatever you can to show you two had a legitimate relationship and for how long. Maybe make a timeline too? That may help you document when things went wrong.

If she doesn't want you to get citizenship, you may need to prepare yourself if she says anything negative about you.

For the future, if this son is her son also, I'm highly certain you will have problems claiming him on your return in future years. She may sell his information to a friend or her next boyfriend. Look into Publication 501 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf) to see if you qualify to claim him on your tax returns each year. Of special interest to you may be page 22. If you guys are about to separate, you may want to discuss about who will claim him in the future and you two may be able to complete Form 8332. This is a written agreement between you two. You can claim him every other year while she claims him the other years or she can let you claim your son in the future or so on.

If you were the one that was supposed to claim your son, and someone else does, your return might be electronically rejected. You can file a paper tax return and claim him that way. Then you and the other individual will later need to provide proof that you are eligible to claim your son. (And a letter from the mother to another person giving "permission" doesn't count!)

I know, it's a novel, but I hope it helps a little.

[RightClicK 17]

Gotcha. This was not the right procedure. A spouse is never considered a dependent. In some states (that are not community property states), you can claim your spouses personal exemption on your return and you file as MFS, but you still deal with the MFS consequences. They aren't on your return as a dependent, though, and they can't have had any gross income during that year.

But I'm highly certain if you claimed your son, your filing status was head of household (HOH), not MFS. To claim this filing status, you would have had to been unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year. So if you two were still together, this would not have been the right filing status.

During the year her son claimed her as a dependent, (which I'm sure he claimed HOH for that year) I would suggest you gather some sort of evidence that you two were living together as husband and wife. How old is your son? He's from her, right?

I'm not sure, but the naturalization agent may question why you came here to live with her dad if he didn't agree. It seems strange that you were there long enough to get your documents mailed to you and you were out, even though a life changing event was happening to his daughter. Obviously, this would be a discussion she would have had before you arrived, no?

They may consider her a bit of a fraudster, or have scamming tendencies, and that might reflect poorly on you. If she's going to bounce around tax returns that benefit her instead of filing the proper way, they may suspect that she accepted your marriage to bring you here, then end in divorce after you can get naturalized. She seems to not worry about whether she is cheating the system or not.

While USCIS is not a marriage counseling agency, I would suggest on getting whatever you can to show you two had a legitimate relationship and for how long. Maybe make a timeline too? That may help you document when things went wrong.

If she doesn't want you to get citizenship, you may need to prepare yourself if she says anything negative about you.

For the future, if this son is her son also, I'm highly certain you will have problems claiming him on your return in future years. She may sell his information to a friend or her next boyfriend. Look into Publication 501 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf) to see if you qualify to claim him on your tax returns each year. Of special interest to you may be page 22. If you guys are about to separate, you may want to discuss about who will claim him in the future and you two may be able to complete Form 8332. This is a written agreement between you two. You can claim him every other year while she claims him the other years or she can let you claim your son in the future or so on.

If you were the one that was supposed to claim your son, and someone else does, your return might be electronically rejected. You can file a paper tax return and claim him that way. Then you and the other individual will later need to provide proof that you are eligible to claim your son. (And a letter from the mother to another person giving "permission" doesn't count!)

I know, it's a novel, but I hope it helps a little.

Actually I really appreciate you putting the time and effort to type this for me. You misunderstood somethings though, I have a 4 years old with her, My step son is the one that had her as a dependent or w/e lol, Her son doesn't live with me but my son does and I claimed him and I'm pretty sure I filed married filing separate. Wife and my 4 step kids lived in 1 house ( her dads house ) She knew he was going to do that but I didn't, They were waiting to get me here so They could take my son and kick me out so She could get custody of him since I didn't have any jobs or a place to live at the time and yes they use the system, She was living with me and saying that she was living there even though she was receiving her mail here so she could get bigger food stamp check and she gave it to her kids and I was told that If I say anything she would take the kid and leave, I didn't know my rights or the law at the time so I had to shut my mouth. I have the water bill on her name and I could prob get my landlord to write a letter or something to say that she was living with me in the apartment and date it because I don't seem to find the lease for when I was renting there.

[Amhara 460]

I have the water bill on her name and I could prob get my landlord to write a letter or something to say that she was living with me in the apartment and date it because I don't seem to find the lease for when I was renting there.

Get the copy of the lease from the landlord.

If she was getting food stamps while she was living with you, I can guarantee (89% sure) she was saying she was single. That sort of stuff shows up in databases. You two are going to look like you were really living two separate lives. In my opinion, I would suggest consulting with an attorney beforehand. Before we started, I met with two different attorneys and they gave me great advice. I spent about $160 for both consults. They should be at least make you aware of problems you can face and what to expect. You don't necessarily need to hire them, but paying them for advice could be beneficial. I say that because to me (which I'm not skilled in this area at all), you seem to have a sticky situation that is the typical situation for immigration fraud.

I'm not saying you, her or you two together committed immigration fraud, but your situation looks very similar to other cases that have committed fraud. Knowledge is power and experience is priceless.

[RightClicK 17]

Get the copy of the lease from the landlord.

If she was getting food stamps while she was living with you, I can guarantee (89% sure) she was saying she was single. That sort of stuff shows up in databases. You two are going to look like you were really living two separate lives. In my opinion, I would suggest consulting with an attorney beforehand. Before we started, I met with two different attorneys and they gave me great advice. I spent about $160 for both consults. They should be at least make you aware of problems you can face and what to expect. You don't necessarily need to hire them, but paying them for advice could be beneficial. I say that because to me (which I'm not skilled in this area at all), you seem to have a sticky situation that is the typical situation for immigration fraud.

I'm not saying you, her or you two together committed immigration fraud, but your situation looks very similar to other cases that have committed fraud. Knowledge is power and experience is priceless.

I will do, Thank you a bunch for the advice and answers

[PhilLuv 43]

Why not wait for the 5 years timeline to apply in your own right, if as it appears it is already getting messy? Why the rush then?