Need some advice...

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Taxes need amended before AOS...you will not be approve as is. She wasn't single....period.

This

[Pennycat 880]

There are 3 different ways that you can file: Single, Married Filing Jointly (meaning you and Spouse file together) and Married Filing Separately (meaning you each file your own return). She should not file as Single because it's just plain old wrong, and yes, that would look weird on your AOS. Plus she cannot. It's not an option. You can choose between Married, Joint and Married, Separate but you can't choose Single if you are married.

You should probably always file jointly because it's generally better money-wise but also a big thing they'll look at for Removal of Conditions. You actually really don't need to wait to apply for AOS. They know that newlyweds won't have an abundance of proof for financial co-mingling. It's ROC you need it for. Plus, you're probably at least 6 months away from your interview, and your taxes will have been filed by then.

Married Filing Jointly is much, much better for most people. Significant tax break. You probably *want* to file together-- more on that in a second. She can file without you, but she has to do it as Married Filing Separately. Not Single.

You can't get an SSN until you file for AOS (and maybe not until you actually get a green card because of the B2 problem). But you CAN get an International Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). It's a little more complicated but it will allow you to file jointly and get the bigger refund (or, owe less, whatever her tax situation turns out to be). You cannot do this using TurboTax or any online form. So either gather up your organizational skills or go to a professional tax preparer. You need to: (1) fill out a tax return as married filing jointly, (2) include a letter that states that you are a non-resident alien choosing to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes (this is *probably* beneficial to you, unless you made a significant amount of money overseas. Or here, under the table and untaxed... ahem. Run the scenarios on TurboTax to see. You can use TurboTax for guidance but you can't file for an ITIN or foreign income through it). Then you (3) declare all of your income, including your foreign income (if any) on that tax return You probably don't owe any taxes on this income, so also (4) do a Form 2555EZ (the "easy" form is probably sufficient for your needs but read the instructions just in case) which will exclude your foreign income from taxation. Then (5) fill out a W-7 (ITIN application).

You then need to either mail all of this *and your foreign passport* to the ITIN processing center in Austin, TX where they will give you an ITIN and then forward off the tax return to wherever those are processed, or make an appointment at a local IRS office that does ITINs (NOTE: not all local offices do so check the list and call to confirm). I'd do an in-person one because they just look at your passport and send the paperwork off for you. I hate the idea of mailing passports. We did this ourselves (no tax preparer) and it was pretty easy (compared with the visa application and especially AOS) and the people at the IRS office were really really helpful.

If you don't want to do all of this (it's really not hard), she can file Married Filing Separately and then in a year or so (whenever you get an SSN) she can file an amended return as jointly with you. You've got 3 years to amend a return. This will (1) get her her bigger refund and (2) have co-mingling on the books for ROC. I'd honestly just do it now to save hassle in the future.

Edited May 12, 2016 by CatherineA

[Raiinbow 0]

There are 3 different ways that you can file: Single, Married Filing Jointly (meaning you and Spouse file together) and Married Filing Separately (meaning you each file your own return). She should not file as Single because it's just plain old wrong, and yes, that would look weird on your AOS. Plus she cannot. It's not an option. You can choose between Married, Joint and Married, Separate but you can't choose Single if you are married.

You should probably always file jointly because it's generally better money-wise but also a big thing they'll look at for Removal of Conditions. You actually really don't need to wait to apply for AOS. They know that newlyweds won't have an abundance of proof for financial co-mingling. It's ROC you need it for. Plus, you're probably at least 6 months away from your interview, and your taxes will have been filed by then.

Married Filing Jointly is much, much better for most people. Significant tax break. You probably *want* to file together-- more on that in a second. She can file without you, but she has to do it as Married Filing Separately. Not Single.

You can't get an SSN until you file for AOS (and maybe not until you actually get a green card because of the B2 problem). But you CAN get an International Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). It's a little more complicated but it will allow you to file jointly and get the bigger refund (or, owe less, whatever her tax situation turns out to be). You cannot do this using TurboTax or any online form. So either gather up your organizational skills or go to a professional tax preparer. You need to: (1) fill out a tax return as married filing jointly, (2) include a letter that states that you are a non-resident alien choosing to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes (this is *probably* beneficial to you, unless you made a significant amount of money overseas. Or here, under the table and untaxed... ahem. Run the scenarios on TurboTax to see. You can use TurboTax for guidance but you can't file for an ITIN or foreign income through it). Then you (3) declare all of your income, including your foreign income (if any) on that tax return You probably don't owe any taxes on this income, so also (4) do a Form 2555EZ (the "easy" form is probably sufficient for your needs but read the instructions just in case) which will exclude your foreign income from taxation. Then (5) fill out a W-7 (ITIN application).

You then need to either mail all of this *and your foreign passport* to the ITIN processing center in Austin, TX where they will give you an ITIN and then forward off the tax return to wherever those are processed, or make an appointment at a local IRS office that does ITINs (NOTE: not all local offices do so check the list and call to confirm). I'd do an in-person one because they just look at your passport and send the paperwork off for you. I hate the idea of mailing passports. We did this ourselves (no tax preparer) and it was pretty easy (compared with the visa application and especially AOS) and the people at the IRS office were really really helpful.

If you don't want to do all of this (it's really not hard), she can file Married Filing Separately and then in a year or so (whenever you get an SSN) she can file an amended return as jointly with you. You've got 3 years to amend a return. This will (1) get her her bigger refund and (2) have co-mingling on the books for ROC. I'd honestly just do it now to save hassle in the future.

Thanks a million for all the info. You helped alot. I think we'll go to a professional so we dont have to worry about doing it lol.

Thanks again.

[Pennycat 880]

Thanks a million for all the info. You helped alot. I think we'll go to a professional so we dont have to worry about doing it lol.

Thanks again.

My pleasure. Make sure you call around and find someone who is experienced with ITINs. This won't be H&R Block, unfortunately. If you want to avoid mailing your passport, you will still need to go in person to an IRS office that does ITINs or go through what they call an "acceptance agent"-- basically accountants (who can also prepare your taxes for you so two birds, one stone) who are authorized to take a certified copy of your passport and mail that in instead. I think that you need to go to your country's consulate to get a certified copy of your passport, so there's the downside to that option.

It's a lot of hoops to jump through, I'll give you that and none of the paths to an ITIN are fun. You can avoid this by her filing Married Filing Separate and you don't need to file at all (as a non-resident alien). But it is possibly very worth it (choosing to be treated as a resident for tax purposes and going through this whole rigmarole), depending on your wife's tax situation. For context, in my situation, the difference between Married Filing Separate and Married Filing Joint was over $5000 in refund. Before you go too far down this path (CPAs aren't free you know), have her run the different scenarios through TurboTax or similar to see if it's worth it. It likely is.

[Ryan H 3,826]

Moved from What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas forum.

[xlynsayloux 11]

My husband and I had the same problem. We had to file taxes but I had no SSN.

We went to a local hrblock office and I'm so glad we did. They were able to file our taxes and ITIN number for us.

They may also have someone qualified to notorize your passport etc (they did this for us).

I think we paid around $150 for the whole process but it was worth it to lessen our stresses as the AOS process is stressful enough.

I would recommend calling a few of their offices local to you and enquiring if they have someone qualified to deal with ITIN numbers.