October 2016 I-130 Filers

[agripa 100]

23 minutes ago, vbjohn said:

Its been 6.5 months since my PD and my case is still stuck at Nebraska. I have a couple of questions regarding filing tax return which is due tomorrow. I have seen that there are two options 1) married filing separately or 2) married filing jointly. It seems filing jointly is more beneficial in order to get maximum returns. But how complex is the overall process? Do beneficiary  need an 'Individual tax identification number' (ITIN) for both options or is it just when filing jointly? What are the pros and cons with these 2 options in terms of NVC processing ? It would be great if somebody can give me an insight

Hey @vbjohn

 

You really have three options --

 

1. Married Filing Jointly
2. Married Filing Separately AND claim your spouse as an exemption.
3. Married Filing Separately AND NOT claim your spouse as an exemption.

Both options 1 and 2 will save you some money on your taxes, but they REQUIRE you to have an ITIN for your spouse. This isn't difficult to get, but you're going to have to gather some paperwork. First you have to fill out form W7 from the IRS (this is an application for an ITIN number), but more importantly you have to attach a certified copy of your spouse's passport to this application. Certified DOES NOT mean notarized, rather you have to get copy of your spouse's passport CERTIFIED by the issuing agency. I did some research into this and basically in India this means you need to have an apostille-fixed copy of your spouse's Indian passport (see this description on the US Consulate for India website). You can acquire this "apostille" at the following locations according to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see here for a list of locations). When my wife went to a local office in Bengaluru she was notified that to get an "apostille" sticker will take 15 days minimum! Maybe you can find a place that does it faster, but we could not. Since we started looking into this way too late (and seeing how taxes are due tomorrow), this route will probably not work out for you.

 

Option 3 is far easier. You can fill out your taxes as if you were single and basically state that you are married. Basically, you won't claim your spouse as an exemption for tax purposes. In the field for your spouse's social security number you can just write "NRA" (stands for non-resident alien). With this route you don't require anything at all from your spouse, but you will pay a higher tax bill since it's basically as if you're filing as a single individual. You get none of the tax benefits of being married, but there is far less paperwork involved.

[Msett1 1]

On 4/15/2017 at 6:04 PM, goobies said:

Agripa, you are 100% correct. People got offended by me saying this earlier, but it is true. The country of origin of the spouse and the origin of their parents has so much to do with how long the process will take.

I find it hard to empathize with people whose spouses are from certain countries when they complain that they haven't seen their spouse/fiance in 2 months. I do, at the end of the day, cool down and feel for them. At the end of being two months apart, it was really painful. But now we are going on 7, and that pain only grows deeper and less easy to cope with.

What I feel everyone needs in this day and age is gratitude for the blessings they have.

I'm very happy for you, Agripa. Thanks for standing up to voice the truth, and thanks for your well-wishes.

We are a 10/3 priority date out of Nebraska and still waiting. My spouse is from Mexico and my parent's are born & raised in the USA. Do you think him being from Mexico lengthens the processing time for us? We are anxious to get the approval so we can move on and file our 601A. 

Edited April 18, 2017 by Msett1

[NotwdwMorocco 13]

19 minutes ago, Msett1 said:

We are a 10/3 priority date out of Nebraska and still waiting. My spouse is from Mexico and my parent's are born & raised in the USA. Do you think him being from Mexico lengthens the processing time for us? We are anxious to get the approval so we can move on and file our 601A. 

Msett1 I am beginning to think there is a lot of racial profiling going on. The app shows the case after mine has been approved as of January. I think because my husband is Muslim and comes from an Arabic country it has a lot to do with us not hearing anything. Maybe I am be super sensitive but it feels that way. PD is Oct 12. (Nebraska office) 😕😢

[nessasmom980 50]

2 minutes ago, NotwdwMorocco said:

Msett1 I am beginning to think there is a lot of racial profiling going on. The app shows the case after mine has been approved as of January. I think because my husband is Muslim and comes from an Arabic country it has a lot to do with us not hearing anything. Maybe I am be super sensitive but it feels that way. PD is Oct 12. (Nebraska office) 😕😢

my pd date is also Oct 12 and at nebraska.  my husband is not muslim..he is indian and hindu..but I too am waiting.  definitely makes a difference where the spouse is from whether they admit it or not

Edited April 18, 2017 by nessasmom980
typo

[vbjohn 14]

9 hours ago, agripa said:

Hey @vbjohn

 

You really have three options --

 

1. Married Filing Jointly
2. Married Filing Separately AND claim your spouse as an exemption.
3. Married Filing Separately AND NOT claim your spouse as an exemption.

Both options 1 and 2 will save you some money on your taxes, but they REQUIRE you to have an ITIN for your spouse. This isn't difficult to get, but you're going to have to gather some paperwork. First you have to fill out form W7 from the IRS (this is an application for an ITIN number), but more importantly you have to attach a certified copy of your spouse's passport to this application. Certified DOES NOT mean notarized, rather you have to get copy of your spouse's passport CERTIFIED by the issuing agency. I did some research into this and basically in India this means you need to have an apostille-fixed copy of your spouse's Indian passport (see this description on the US Consulate for India website). You can acquire this "apostille" at the following locations according to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see here for a list of locations). When my wife went to a local office in Bengaluru she was notified that to get an "apostille" sticker will take 15 days minimum! Maybe you can find a place that does it faster, but we could not. Since we started looking into this way too late (and seeing how taxes are due tomorrow), this route will probably not work out for you.

 

Option 3 is far easier. You can fill out your taxes as if you were single and basically state that you are married. Basically, you won't claim your spouse as an exemption for tax purposes. In the field for your spouse's social security number you can just write "NRA" (stands for non-resident alien). With this route you don't require anything at all from your spouse, but you will pay a higher tax bill since it's basically as if you're filing as a single individual. You get none of the tax benefits of being married, but there is far less paperwork involved.

@agripa Thanks a lot for the detailed clarification. Finally we had to go with option 3 which was easy but had to compromise on returns!!

[vbjohn 14]

6 hours ago, NotwdwMorocco said:

Msett1 I am beginning to think there is a lot of racial profiling going on. The app shows the case after mine has been approved as of January. I think because my husband is Muslim and comes from an Arabic country it has a lot to do with us not hearing anything. Maybe I am be super sensitive but it feels that way. PD is Oct 12. (Nebraska office) 😕😢

Mine Oct 4. I saved around 30 nearby case numbers in my app for monitoring the progress (all Nebraska, I130, oct 4). Including mine only 4 left to get approved. All the rest got approved within first 2 weeks of april!!

[AmyLo 30]

My husband is from Spain and we have a priority date of 10/13 and we have heard nothing and have been in Nebraska the entire time. 

[AlviNY 9]

I just saw a approval from Oct 11 but country says United States not sure what that means.

[Jonuts11 7]

Yeah I don't really think it makes a difference what your nationality is unless your spouse is from the Phillipines.. My Entire family is 100% American.. We have never done this process before and I live here in Mexico with my wife and its been 6 months and haven't heard anything! 

[Jonuts11 7]

In my opinion I believe USCIS is very unorganized and in over their head with petitions. I think it's really the luck of the draw at this point.. 

[Lacosta 40]

In the last update says they are working on aug 30 

[Nana Kintampo 2]

5 minutes ago, leidyacosta13 said:

In the last update says they are working on aug 30 

This whole process seems to be a game of luck am October 20 it's been 6 months now still nothing is been heard from uscis.

I don't really know if that's the exact update.

 

[1g12 0]

16 hours ago, NotwdwMorocco said:

Msett1 I am beginning to think there is a lot of racial profiling going on. The app shows the case after mine has been approved as of January. I think because my husband is Muslim and comes from an Arabic country it has a lot to do with us not hearing anything. Maybe I am be super sensitive but it feels that way. PD is Oct 12. (Nebraska office) 😕😢

hi sister my wife is in morocco too. PD is Oct 6 just got approved yesterday April 17 so don't lose hope you're almost there.

[1g12 0]

58 minutes ago, leidyacosta13 said:

In the last update says they are working on aug 30 

on February 28 they were working on aug30 that's a month and a half ago. almost there guys

[Ldn2Chicago 2]

Don't worry! I don't think its all a racial profiling thing... I think its just a lack of organisation and luck... I'm from the UK - and I'm still waiting, and been married 4 years!! It's a very frustrating process