Visa options when you already live together?

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum to DCF Discussion.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Hopefully you have been filing and paying US Income Taxes while you are away.  This might prove to be very important.  Even filing to prove you don't have to pay taxes.

Edited April 4, 2018 by David & Zoila

[Butterfly1921 0]

9 hours ago, David & Zoila said:

Hopefully you have been filing and paying US Income Taxes while you are away.  This might prove to be very important.  Even filing to prove you don't have to pay taxes.

Hello, yeah this is going to be where I've gotten myself into a lot of bother.

 

Basically I have an accountant that I used when I was back home to file taxes. When I moved to the UK, he was insistent that I didn't need to file. We had a lot of arguments about it and I sent him various websites (including IRS) basically proving I still needed to file even if I didn't have to pay, but he sort of flatly told me there's no need and came up with a lot of excuses why he couldn't do it.

 

So essentially I've not filed for the last couple of years, which is a major issue. It's completely my fault for not pursuing it harder. I'm in the process at the moment of filing my past due returns.

 

I'm hoping that if I file everything now, pay the necessary penalties and include a letter explaining my mistake they won't judge too harshly, but who knows Do you think that will have a massive negative impact on our visa app?

[kris&me 572]

not mentioned yet is tax returns 

as a USC you should have been  filing taxes for the income earned outside the US (using the exemption of well over $100,000) <

you, the USC, will be asked later to prove you can support your husband (and any children) using the 125% poverty guidelines along with having a US domicile

normal to ask at NVC stage for 3 years tax returns although 1 person doing dfc only showed last year's tax returns

[Butterfly1921 0]

21 minutes ago, kris&me said:

not mentioned yet is tax returns 

as a USC you should have been  filing taxes for the income earned outside the US (using the exemption of well over $100,000) <

you, the USC, will be asked later to prove you can support your husband (and any children) using the 125% poverty guidelines along with having a US domicile

normal to ask at NVC stage for 3 years tax returns although 1 person doing dfc only showed last year's tax returns

I definitely should have been, it's my fault for not being vigilant enough. I'm hoping now that filing past due returns will be OK 

[SeabreezeUF 31]

Definitely verify that you can file DCF- I think you'll be able to but worth checking since filing DCF in the UK is about as painless as this immigration process can be! We filed in Sept 2015, I moved to the States a week later to start my job, and my British husband was able to join me before Christmas.

 

Start working on filing your past returns now.  As long as you get them filed and have the returns, you'll be ok.  (...Also, you may want to fire the accountant who led you astray when you were correct!)

 

Editing to add: they prefer three years of returns but require only one so in that respect, you're still okay. However, if you owe taxes for the previous years, you'll have to pay those. I would work on filing the current return, and then the previous missed years. We personally submitted three years of returns, as well as included my new job offer stating my new salary. They just want to know you're financially able to sponsor your spouse.

Edited April 4, 2018 by SeabreezeUF

[NJI751 12]

1 hour ago, Butterfly1921 said:

Hello, yeah this is going to be where I've gotten myself into a lot of bother.

 

Basically I have an accountant that I used when I was back home to file taxes. When I moved to the UK, he was insistent that I didn't need to file. We had a lot of arguments about it and I sent him various websites (including IRS) basically proving I still needed to file even if I didn't have to pay, but he sort of flatly told me there's no need and came up with a lot of excuses why he couldn't do it.

 

So essentially I've not filed for the last couple of years, which is a major issue. It's completely my fault for not pursuing it harder. I'm in the process at the moment of filing my past due returns.

 

I'm hoping that if I file everything now, pay the necessary penalties and include a letter explaining my mistake they won't judge too harshly, but who knows Do you think that will have a massive negative impact on our visa app?

It could have been that your income was under the filing limits? But FBAR, which is about Bank Account Reporting, could cause you issues. FBAR is a part of the Tax Return, I think. A quick Google search should tell you all that you need to know about this. You might even get money back - who knows!

 

I think you should go ahead and file all your past due returns - it should be fine. USCIS is fine with late returns AS LONG AS you file them. Had something similar happen to me.

[NJI751 12]

@Butterfly1921

 

Oops. Sorry, did not mean to give wrong info. Although I wanted to bring FBAR to your attention.

 

Please let us know what you find.

[kris&me 572]

On 4/4/2018 at 7:57 AM, Butterfly1921 said:

I definitely should have been, it's my fault for not being vigilant enough. I'm hoping now that filing past due returns will be OK 

yes,  you can file late /  just be sure to have copies for NVC stage