Jump to content
Blackmagic

Can I file married filing separately while my husband files head of household?

By Blackmagic in Tax & Finances During US Immigration

 Share

23 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Blackmagic Rookie

Blackmagic   1

Posted
Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Nigeria
 Timeline
Posted (edited)

My husband filed his 2018 taxes as head of household so he could get more returns as he has dependents. Is it okay if I file married  filing separately or do we need to do an amendment?

Edited by Blackmagic
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   41,886

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
 Timeline
Posted

Yes. You must file separate (married-Filing Separately)  from him if he filed HOH.  He can file Head of Household while married if the following is true:

  • File your taxes separately from your spouse
  • Pay more than half of the household expenses
  • Not have lived with your spouse for the last 6 months of the year
  • Provide the principle home of a qualifying dependent
  • Claim an exemption for your dependent

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
MariaR323 Proficient

MariaR323   199

Posted
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Mexico
 Timeline
  • Popular Post
Posted
12 minutes ago, Blackmagic said:

My husband filed his 2018 taxes as head of household so he could get more returns as he has dependents. Is it okay if I file married  filing separately or do we need to do an amendment?

The key point here is that by him filing as HOH he is stating that you two did NOT live together for the last 6 months of the year.

Maria ~ U.S. Citizen

 

K-1 & K-2 Process (Completed in 4 mos. 8 days)

 

1/19/16: I-129F Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight

4/1/16: NOA2 Approval :dancing:

5/17/16: Interview :star: - APPROVED :dance:

5/25/16 : Visas in hand! :thumbs: 

Aug 2016: Wedding (L)

AOS/EAD/AP Process, K-1 & K-2 (Completed in 4 mos. 15 days)

 

9/21/16: Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight [Day 1]

10/24/16: AOS Cases (I-864) RFIE recv'd hardcopy [Day 29]

12/23/16: AOS Case Status Updates - Interview Scheduled, text recv'd [Day 94] :dancing:

1/17/17: EAD/AP Combo Card recv'd via USPS Priority Mail [Day 119]

1/27/17: AOS Interview :star: - APPROVED!! :dance:  [Day 129 / 120 w/ 9day RFIE delay]

1/27/17: AOS Case status update - Approved | 1/31/17: New Card in Production | 2/1/17: Card Was Mailed

2/4/17: Green Cards Arrived :thumbs:

ROC Process, Spouse & 2 Step-Sons (Completed in 23 mos. 22 days)

 

1/25/19: Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight [Day 1]

1/29/19: NOA notice date, text & email recv'd, routed to CSC

2/1/19: NOA 18mo. Extension Letter arrived in the mail, for wife only [Day 7]

3/13/19: Filed SR for non-receipt of NOA for I-751A dependents [Day 48] | 3/21/19: Recv'd NOA for 2 stepsons [Day 56]

4/29/19: Biometrics (Scheduled) Appt Completed [Day 95]

8/28/20: Case Status Update - RFE [Day 582 ~ 19 mos. 4 days] | 11/20/20: Case Status Update - RFE response recv'd [Day 666 ~ 21 mos. 27 days]

1/7/21: Case Status Update - New Card in Production :dance: [Day 714 ~ 23 mos. 14 days] 

1/15/21: Green Cards Arrived :thumbs:[Day 722 ~ 23 mos. 22 days]

Naturalization Process for Spouse - in research stage (Completed in X mos. X days)

 

8/7/24: started research and prep for upcoming filing of N-400 Online

TBD: Filed N-400 Online

 :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
aaron2020 Grand Master

aaron2020   11,651

Posted
Filed: Country: Vietnam (no flag)
 Timeline
  • Popular Post
Posted (edited)
21 minutes ago, Blackmagic said:

My husband filed his 2018 taxes as head of household so he could get more returns as he has dependents. Is it okay if I file married  filing separately or do we need to do an amendment?

Your husband needs to amend his return.  You are adjusting status based on a bona fide marriage where you live together.  HOH requires him to legally declare that the two of you did not live together for the last six months of 2018.  That is going to look really bad at your green card interview.  

 

By choosing HOH, your husband is committing tax fraud and screwing up your green card.

 

He needs to fix his taxes ASAP.

Edited by aaron2020
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   41,886

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
 Timeline
Posted
1 minute ago, aaron2020 said:

Your husband needs to amend his return.  You are adjusting status based on a bona fide marriage where you live together.  HOH requires him to legally declare that the two of you did not live together for the last six months of 2018.  That is going to look really bad at your green card interview.  

 

He needs to fix his taxes ASAP.

Good point......very good point..

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
samuelam Explorer

samuelam   19

Posted
Timeline
Posted
5 minutes ago, MariaR323 said:

The key point here is that by him filing as HOH he is stating that you two did NOT live together for the last 6 months of the year.

Your husband couldn't file for HOH if he is married. This is from 2018 IRS Instruction 1040, page 16.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

 

image.png.278cbae8565cac22a8ba7f03f4ec488c.png

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   41,886

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
 Timeline
Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, samuelam said:

Your husband couldn't file for HOH if he is married. This is from 2018 IRS Instruction 1040, page 16.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

 

image.png.278cbae8565cac22a8ba7f03f4ec488c.png

 

Read the entire section.  There are exceptions....under certain circumstances, he could file HOH.......but I doubt he met those requirements.

Edited by missileman

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
payxibka Grand Master

payxibka   10,045

Posted
Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
 Timeline
Posted
3 minutes ago, samuelam said:

Your husband couldn't file for HOH if he is married. This is from 2018 IRS Instruction 1040, page 16.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

 

image.png.278cbae8565cac22a8ba7f03f4ec488c.png

 

Nothing like stopping your read right before the three exceptions when someone could 

YMMV

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MariaR323 Proficient

MariaR323   199

Posted
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Mexico
 Timeline
Posted
Just now, missileman said:

Read the entire section.  There are exceptions....under certain circumstances, he could file HOH.......

Exactly... there are exceptions and one of those is the living apart for the last 6 mos.

Maria ~ U.S. Citizen

 

K-1 & K-2 Process (Completed in 4 mos. 8 days)

 

1/19/16: I-129F Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight

4/1/16: NOA2 Approval :dancing:

5/17/16: Interview :star: - APPROVED :dance:

5/25/16 : Visas in hand! :thumbs: 

Aug 2016: Wedding (L)

AOS/EAD/AP Process, K-1 & K-2 (Completed in 4 mos. 15 days)

 

9/21/16: Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight [Day 1]

10/24/16: AOS Cases (I-864) RFIE recv'd hardcopy [Day 29]

12/23/16: AOS Case Status Updates - Interview Scheduled, text recv'd [Day 94] :dancing:

1/17/17: EAD/AP Combo Card recv'd via USPS Priority Mail [Day 119]

1/27/17: AOS Interview :star: - APPROVED!! :dance:  [Day 129 / 120 w/ 9day RFIE delay]

1/27/17: AOS Case status update - Approved | 1/31/17: New Card in Production | 2/1/17: Card Was Mailed

2/4/17: Green Cards Arrived :thumbs:

ROC Process, Spouse & 2 Step-Sons (Completed in 23 mos. 22 days)

 

1/25/19: Package recv'd by USCIS via FedEx overnight [Day 1]

1/29/19: NOA notice date, text & email recv'd, routed to CSC

2/1/19: NOA 18mo. Extension Letter arrived in the mail, for wife only [Day 7]

3/13/19: Filed SR for non-receipt of NOA for I-751A dependents [Day 48] | 3/21/19: Recv'd NOA for 2 stepsons [Day 56]

4/29/19: Biometrics (Scheduled) Appt Completed [Day 95]

8/28/20: Case Status Update - RFE [Day 582 ~ 19 mos. 4 days] | 11/20/20: Case Status Update - RFE response recv'd [Day 666 ~ 21 mos. 27 days]

1/7/21: Case Status Update - New Card in Production :dance: [Day 714 ~ 23 mos. 14 days] 

1/15/21: Green Cards Arrived :thumbs:[Day 722 ~ 23 mos. 22 days]

Naturalization Process for Spouse - in research stage (Completed in X mos. X days)

 

8/7/24: started research and prep for upcoming filing of N-400 Online

TBD: Filed N-400 Online

 :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Blackmagic Rookie

Blackmagic   1

Posted
Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Nigeria
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted
2 minutes ago, MariaR323 said:

The key point here is that by him filing as HOH he is stating that you two did NOT live together for the last 6 months of the year.

Okay so this is not the case we live together. Can we possibly amend that to married filing jointly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
geowrian Grand Master

geowrian   22,337

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Philippines
 Timeline
Posted (edited)
1 minute ago, Blackmagic said:

Okay so this is not the case we live together. Can we possibly amend that to married filing jointly?

Yes, if you have an SSN or apply for an ITIN.

Edited by geowrian

Timelines:

ROC:

Spoiler

7/27/20: Sent forms to Dallas lockbox, 7/30/20: Received by USCIS, 8/10 NOA1 electronic notification received, 8/1/ NOA1 hard copy received

AOS:

Spoiler

AOS (I-485 + I-131 + I-765):

9/25/17: sent forms to Chicago, 9/27/17: received by USCIS, 10/4/17: NOA1 electronic notification received, 10/10/17: NOA1 hard copy received. Social Security card being issued in married name (3rd attempt!)

10/14/17: Biometrics appointment notice received, 10/25/17: Biometrics

1/2/18: EAD + AP approved (no website update), 1/5/18: EAD + AP mailed, 1/8/18: EAD + AP approval notice hardcopies received, 1/10/18: EAD + AP received

9/5/18: Interview scheduled notice, 10/17/18: Interview

10/24/18: Green card produced notice, 10/25/18: Formal approval, 10/31/18: Green card received

K-1:

Spoiler

I-129F

12/1/16: sent, 12/14/16: NOA1 hard copy received, 3/10/17: RFE (IMB verification), 3/22/17: RFE response received

3/24/17: Approved! , 3/30/17: NOA2 hard copy received

 

NVC

4/6/2017: Received, 4/12/2017: Sent to Riyadh embassy, 4/16/2017: Case received at Riyadh embassy, 4/21/2017: Request case transfer to Manila, approved 4/24/2017

 

K-1

5/1/2017: Case received by Manila (1 week embassy transfer??? Lucky~)

7/13/2017: Interview: APPROVED!!!

7/19/2017: Visa in hand

8/15/2017: POE

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy Cat Grand Master

Crazy Cat   41,886

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
 Timeline
Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Blackmagic said:

Okay so this is not the case we live together. Can we possibly amend that to married filing jointly?

You can.if you have a SSN/ITIN ..or you both can file separately....which ever one is better for you.

Edited by missileman

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

- Some old child of the 50's & 60's on his laptop 

 

Senior Master Sergeant, US Air Force- Retired (after 20+ years)- Missile Systems Maintenance & Titan 2 ICBM Launch Crew Duty (200+ Alert tours)

Registered Nurse- Retired- I practiced in the areas of Labor & Delivery, Home Health, Adolescent Psych, & Adult Psych.

IT Professional- Retired- Web Site Design, Hardware Maintenance, Compound Pharmacy Software Trainer, On-site go live support, Database Manager, App Designer.

______________________________________

In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
arken Mentor

arken   4,197

Posted
Filed: F-2A Visa Country: Nepal
 Timeline
Posted

Yeah, HOH filing means your spouse has considered himself as unmarried, doesn’t look good for immigration purpose.

 

 

Spouse:

2015-06-16: I-130 Sent

2015-08-17: I-130 approved

2015-09-23: NVC received file

2015-10-05: NVC assigned Case number, Invoice ID & Beneficiary ID

2016-06-30: DS-261 completed, AOS Fee Paid, WL received

2016-07-05: Received IV invoice, IV Fee Paid

2016-07-06: DS-260 Submitted

2016-07-07: AOS and IV Package mailed

2016-07-08: NVC Scan

2016-08-08: Case Complete

2017-06-30: Interview, approved

2017-07-04: Visa in hand

2017-08-01: Entry to US

.

.

.

.

Myself:

2016-05-10: N-400 Sent

2016-05-16: N-400 NOA1

2016-05-26: Biometrics

2017-01-30: Interview

2017-03-02: Oath Ceremony

Link to comment
Share on other sites
payxibka Grand Master

payxibka   10,045

Posted
Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
 Timeline
Posted
Just now, arken said:

Yeah, HOH filing means your spouse has considered himself as unmarried, doesn’t look good for immigration purpose.

 

 

Absolutely not an issue.   Anyone can choose to take advantage of any available tax status that provides the minimum tax liability 

YMMV

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...