April 2016 AOS Filers

[ElliePro 32]

My bank still made me do it. I tried to argue that I'm a us person, will file taxes this coming year, filed my taxes back home as a person who left the country, have a ssn... The bank person even called someone from corporate. But because I didn't have proof of legal residency, they made me sign the w8ben

W8BEN doesn't have anything to do with having or not having SSN and filing or not filing taxes. I've been in the States for a couple of years with an SSN on F-1 visa and had to fill it out multiple times - for a bank, for my freelance jobs etc. W8BEN is for non-resident aliens and is an analogue for W9 that citizens and resident aliens fill out. If your a non-resident alien and your country has a tax treaty with the US (e.g. Russia has - if you are in the US less than 183 days a year, you're exempt from taxes - it's a very common one, many countries have the same setup) you can claim exemption on this form. Although if you're spending more than 183 days it doesn't matter, so you pretty much just put your SSN there, so that they have on record that you don't want the treaty applied to you and they can tax you same way as others.

For a bank though, if they don't make OP do it but just kind of send it to OP by mail, I believe you can skip it for now. If you have a regular savings account, you're probably getting 10 cents worth of income from it and your status will change to resident alien soon anyways and at that point you can follow up with them.

[pantonia 39]

W8BEN doesn't have anything to do with having or not having SSN and filing or not filing taxes. I've been in the States for a couple of years with an SSN on F-1 visa and had to fill it out multiple times - for a bank, for my freelance jobs etc. W8BEN is for non-resident aliens and is an analogue for W9 that citizens and resident aliens fill out. If your a non-resident alien and your country has a tax treaty with the US (e.g. Russia has - if you are in the US less than 183 days a year, you're exempt from taxes - it's a very common one, many countries have the same setup) you can claim exemption on this form. Although if you're spending more than 183 days it doesn't matter, so you pretty much just put your SSN there, so that they have on record that you don't want the treaty applied to you and they can tax you same way as others.

For a bank though, if they don't make OP do it but just kind of send it to OP by mail, I believe you can skip it for now. That's what I've been thinking, specially since on Aug 28 I'll meet the 183 days requirement to pass the Substantial Presence Test and be considered a resident alien for tax purposes. If you have a regular savings account, you're probably getting 10 cents worth of income from it and your status will change to resident alien soon anyways and at that point you can follow up with them. Yeah, I don't know if I just let it slip for now and update my profile at the bank once I have the GC or if I should cave and send it anyway and then go again to get it changed once I get the GC... We'll see. Thanks!

[steph&max 13]

EAD card was mailed today!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

Now to hurry and get a job!?

[Moslund 94]

Impatient me called DMV only after 2days to see if immigration verified my documents and they did yesterday!!! It only took 1 day... Just need to go back to DMV and get my card!! I can finally drive again yay

Edited July 27, 2016 by Moslund

[Ash.1101 1,755]

W8BEN doesn't have anything to do with having or not having SSN and filing or not filing taxes. I've been in the States for a couple of years with an SSN on F-1 visa and had to fill it out multiple times - for a bank, for my freelance jobs etc. W8BEN is for non-resident aliens and is an analogue for W9 that citizens and resident aliens fill out. If your a non-resident alien and your country has a tax treaty with the US (e.g. Russia has - if you are in the US less than 183 days a year, you're exempt from taxes - it's a very common one, many countries have the same setup) you can claim exemption on this form. Although if you're spending more than 183 days it doesn't matter, so you pretty much just put your SSN there, so that they have on record that you don't want the treaty applied to you and they can tax you same way as others.

For a bank though, if they don't make OP do it but just kind of send it to OP by mail, I believe you can skip it for now. If you have a regular savings account, you're probably getting 10 cents worth of income from it and your status will change to resident alien soon anyways and at that point you can follow up with them.

Ah okay makes sense. Everytime I've ever heard of the W8-BEN it's been from K-1's or CR-1's, and it was always tied to the social. We were told that since he didn't have his SS Card at the time, that we'd have to do a W8-BEN or wait til he got his physical card. This was all within a couple of weeks of coming into the US on K-1.

Impatient me called DMV only after 2days to see if immigration verified my documents and they did yesterday!!! It only took 1 day... Just need to go back to DMV and get my card!! I can finally drive again yay

Congrats! My husband got his physical DL card in the mail yesterday! =D

[Moslund 94]

Congrats! My husband got his physical DL card in the mail yesterday! =D

I'm assuming they initially give you a temporary card in the mean time then send you out an actual card??

Edited July 27, 2016 by Moslund

[Ash.1101 1,755]

I'm assuming they initially give you a temporary card in the mean time then send you out an actual card??

Yeah, he just got a temporary paper DL that was good for a month and a half, and then we just had to wait for the actual card in the mail.

[fnlux 0]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share that I got my EAD/AP yesterday!! It took exactly 1 week since I got notification that the card was approved and being produced. **Sigh of relief**

For those of you still waiting, hang in there. I believe mine took 96 days to get approved plus another week to be delivered. It really felt like an endless wait!

[p-ana 933]

W8BEN doesn't have anything to do with having or not having SSN and filing or not filing taxes. I've been in the States for a couple of years with an SSN on F-1 visa and had to fill it out multiple times - for a bank, for my freelance jobs etc. W8BEN is for non-resident aliens and is an analogue for W9 that citizens and resident aliens fill out. If your a non-resident alien and your country has a tax treaty with the US (e.g. Russia has - if you are in the US less than 183 days a year, you're exempt from taxes - it's a very common one, many countries have the same setup) you can claim exemption on this form. Although if you're spending more than 183 days it doesn't matter, so you pretty much just put your SSN there, so that they have on record that you don't want the treaty applied to you and they can tax you same way as others.

For a bank though, if they don't make OP do it but just kind of send it to OP by mail, I believe you can skip it for now. If you have a regular savings account, you're probably getting 10 cents worth of income from it and your status will change to resident alien soon anyways and at that point you can follow up with them.

Like I said I tried arguing I was a us person and all that, but it was useless. Will go back there when I get the green card (hopefully)

[steph&max 13]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share that I got my EAD/AP yesterday!! It took exactly 1 week since I got notification that the card was approved and being produced. **Sigh of relief**

For those of you still waiting, hang in there. I believe mine took 96 days to get approved plus another week to be delivered. It really felt like an endless wait!

On the same boat! Mine finally got mailed out today, congrats!!

[ElliePro 32]

Like I said I tried arguing I was a us person and all that, but it was useless. Will go back there when I get the green card (hopefully)

There are a lot of people in the front office that are clueless about how to deal with slightly less straightforward cases... I had an experience at Chase where the lady couldn't open an checking account for me without the approval of her manager (who wasn't at the office) because I have a paternal name (sort of a middle name) written in my foreign passport in Russian but not in English and it was not in any of my US documents - ID, other debit and credit cards, SSN card, student ID - nowhere, except for in my foreign passport in Russian only. I went straight to Bank of America and opened it there.

[shrb 5]

Quick update. AP case is now working online and case was approved EAD also updated to case approved. Now to wait for the card

Hoping you're all having a great day

[ElliePro 32]

Finally! EAD status went straight from Case Was Received to New Card is Being Produced! Back to work next week! So happy!

[aline11 1]

Finally! EAD status went straight from Case Was Received to New Card is Being Produced! Back to work next week! So happy!

Our timelines are exactly the same!! I really hope to see my status as "New Card is Being Produced" soon.

I am literally getting crazy

[DerGraf88 5]

3 weeks since interview, 2 weeks since contacting congressman ( no answer). I just now contacted the Senator...