Return transcript not available

[danielenglish 3]

Hi all, 

I am starting this topic as have decided to file the form N400 - 90 days earlier my 5 years anniversary as a permanent resident.

 

However, I am stuck with one of the requirement which is the collection of the last 5 years return transcript. 

More in detail, on the IRS website I cannot find the return transcript for my first year as a permanent resident (2013) even though at that time I filed a tax return by using TurboTax and entering $0.0 in all the fields (in 2013 I was not working but a friend of mine suggested me to file the tax return anyways in order to start showing my presence to the IRS).

  

The only document/proof that I could find on their website is the account transcript for 2013 that shows an account of $0.0.

 

My questions are:

1) do you think I may still be able to get a return transcript if I send a request by mail or the fact that I didn’t declare any amount higher than $0.0 (since I didn’t have any income) will make this request not answerable. 

2) would the account transcript in my posses work for that purpose (application for citizenship) or I will need to wait for another year/tax return to be able to apply for citizenship?

 

Thanks a lot in advance for your help on this matter of great importance.   

[Marzena & Stephen 544]

13 minutes ago, danielenglish said:

Hi all, 

I am starting this topic as have decided to file the form N400 - 90 days earlier my 5 years anniversary as a permanent resident.

 

However, I am stuck with one of the requirement which is the collection of the last 5 years return transcript. 

More in detail, on the IRS website I cannot find the return transcript for my first year as a permanent resident (2013) even though at that time I filed a tax return by using TurboTax and entering $0.0 in all the fields (in 2013 I was not working but a friend of mine suggested me to file the tax return anyways in order to start showing my presence to the IRS).

  

The only document/proof that I could find on their website is the account transcript for 2013 that shows an account of $0.0.

 

My questions are:

1) do you think I may still be able to get a return transcript if I send a request by mail or the fact that I didn’t declare any amount higher than $0.0 (since I didn’t have any income) will make this request not answerable. 

2) would the account transcript in my posses work for that purpose (application for citizenship) or I will need to wait for another year/tax return to be able to apply for citizenship?

 

Thanks a lot in advance for your help on this matter of great importance.   

Maybe turbo tax doesnt submit 0 dollar taxes because it's not mandatory to submit if you didnt have any earnings. My first suggestion is to call turbo tax support and see if they actually had submitted something chances are no.

 

Maybe you can write a letter stating you didnt have earnings that year instead of providing a tax transcript  ? Something to look into.

[CarlHamilton 252]

Why do you think you're required to submit 5 years worth of returns?  That's usually just for marriage-based applications.

[danielenglish 3]

Hey guys, thank you for your contribution. 

I apologize for forgetting to mention my specific situation  that makes the requirements apparently stricter for me.

 

After my first entrance in the US in 2013 I had to go back to London in order to finish a master. The absence lasted for 8 months and in the document checklist the 5 years return transcript are listed among the other requisites.  

[Lelita 74]

1 hour ago, danielenglish said:

Hey guys, thank you for your contribution. 

I apologize for forgetting to mention my specific situation  that makes the requirements apparently stricter for me.

 

After my first entrance in the US in 2013 I had to go back to London in order to finish a master. The absence lasted for 8 months and in the document checklist the 5 years return transcript are listed among the other requisites.  

When did you came back from your 8 months trip? You might have broken your residency in the US and are not elegible for citizenship 

[danielenglish 3]

Hello, 

This is in short my history of permanent residency in US:

- became permanent resident in July 2013

- left the States after only 2 weeks in order to finish a master abroad

- came back to the States after 8 months (March 2014) and never left the country anymore (except for about 3 weeks per year to visit my family back in my country of origin).

 

However, there is quite a gray area around the interruptive causes and requisites for applying. 

For instance the "4 years and 1 day rule" and the 30 months of continuous residency in a 5 years period that supposedly are enough for applying.

The only thing is that I am not sure this rule applyes just if the absence from the country was greater than one year.

The confusion arises from the fact that the above mentioned rule is mentioned under the part “period in excess of 1 year”

Now, logically I tend to think that if this rule is valid for absences of longer than one year, why shouldn’t this apply for period between 6 months and one year?

Edited April 10, 2018 by danielenglish

[danielenglish 3]

Hello, anybody can please help me out with my questions (detailed in the first message of this thread)? Thanks a lot in advance..

[MahUSA 19]

On 4/10/2018 at 1:51 PM, danielenglish said:

Hello, 

This is in short my history of permanent residency in US:

- became permanent resident in July 2013

- left the States after only 2 weeks in order to finish a master abroad

- came back to the States after 8 months (March 2014) and never left the country anymore (except for about 3 weeks per year to visit my family back in my country of origin).

 

However, there is quite a gray area around the interruptive causes and requisites for applying. 

For instance the "4 years and 1 day rule" and the 30 months of continuous residency in a 5 years period that supposedly are enough for applying.

The only thing is that I am not sure this rule applyes just if the absence from the country was greater than one year.

The confusion arises from the fact that the above mentioned rule is mentioned under the part “period in excess of 1 year”

Now, logically I tend to think that if this rule is valid for absences of longer than one year, why shouldn’t this apply for period between 6 months and one year?

The rule is valid for absences between 6 months and 1 year (6 months and 2 years if you were granted a re-entry permit)

[danielenglish 3]

Thank you MahUsa for your contribution. 

I am wondering then why this rule is mentioned under the part “period in excess of 1 year”. 

I should be fine either way because my absence lasted for 8 months. 

I believe that it is going to be a little risky anyways but it is worth a try because if I apply now -and everything goes smoothly- I will save almost one year of wait. 

Speaking of which I have been recently suggested to file the application online since this may save a lot of time. 

Were you guys aware of that?

[danielenglish 3]

Nobody that can help me with my questions?

To summarize, they are:

1) would the account transcript work anyways?

2) does the “4 years and 1 day” rule apply to me?

3) is it true that applying for naturalization online is easier (if so can you please shed some light)?

 

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

 

Edited April 13, 2018 by danielenglish