W7 and I-10 form from the US embassy

[Lady G 9]

Hi  my husband had been back to the US for a year now. We have lived outside the US for 17 yrs and he’s back while I am waiting for the spousal visa that he filed for me. Now, since it is the tax season , he’s filing his income tax returns through an accounting firm . They said he can’t file his taxes as a married person without me filling up the form W7 and an I -10 from the  US embassy where I am residing right now. 
I am a non citizen spouse and I have no idea what are these forms they are talking about. 
please help ! How do I go through this one so my husband can file his income tax before the April. Is there anyway my husband can file without me sending those forms to him? Thanks for any info that you can share to me.

[Lil bear 4,218]

6 minutes ago, Lady G said:

Hi  my husband had been back to the US for a year now. We have lived outside the US for 17 yrs and he’s back while I am waiting for the spousal visa that he filed for me. Now, since it is the tax season , he’s filing his income tax returns through an accounting firm . They said he can’t file his taxes as a married person without me filling up the form W7 and an I -10 from the  US embassy where I am residing right now. 
I am a non citizen spouse and I have no idea what are these forms they are talking about. 
please help ! How do I go through this one so my husband can file his income tax before the April. Is there anyway my husband can file without me sending those forms to him? Thanks for any info that you can share to me.

I believe that he  can file MFS and put NRA .. non resident alien .. as your status.  Others will confirm Ir correct me ! 
There  are many threads in this forum on the same question .. try searching using key words like NRA etc 

[Lady G 9]

1 minute ago, Lil bear said:

I believe that he  can file MFS and put NRA .. non resident alien .. as your status.  Others will confirm Ir correct me ! 
There  are many threads in this forum on the same question .. try searching using key words like NRA etc 

Thank you! I will try to have some more readings about this. 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

9 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

I believe that he  can file MFS and put NRA .. non resident alien .. as your status.  Others will confirm Ir correct me ! 
There  are many threads in this forum on the same question .. try searching using key words like NRA etc 

You are correct......He can Married-Filing Separately by entering the spouse name in the appropriate box and "NRA" in the SSN box....then mail in the form to the IRS.

[Lady G 9]

5 minutes ago, missileman said:

You are correct......He can Married-Filing Separately by entering the spouse name in the appropriate box and "NRA" in the SSN box....then mail in the form to the IRS.

So I don’t have to go to the embassy to ask for an I-10 whatever that is? This doesn’t make sense to me coz I don’t even have a social security number and I am in the middle of the I -13O petition of my husband . So why would my husband ask me to fill up a form that I am not familiar with? I was arguing with him about this coz I don’t understand anything. I don’t have a US income so why would the accountant that is doing my husband’s taxes said that he can not file income tax unless I fill up the W7 and get an I-10 from the US embassy ? My first time to hear this . That is why I want to be enlightened by those who are knowledgeable about the taxation in the US. Thank you guys for your comments 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

3 minutes ago, Lady G said:

So I don’t have to go to the embassy to ask for an I-10 whatever that is? This doesn’t make sense to me coz I don’t even have a social security number and I am in the middle of the I -13O petition of my husband . So why would my husband ask me to fill up a form that I am not familiar with? I was arguing with him about this coz I don’t understand anything. I don’t have a US income so why would the accountant that is doing my husband’s taxes said that he can not file income tax unless I fill up the W7 and get an I-10 from the US embassy ? My first time to hear this . That is why I want to be enlightened by those who are knowledgeable about the taxation in the US. Thank you guys for your comments 

Your husband can file SEPARATELY with only your name......but for him to file a joint return, you must have a Social Security number or an ITIN.....

Edited February 5, 2020 by missileman

[Lady G 9]

Just now, missileman said:

Your husband can file SEPARATELY only your name......but for him to file a joint return, you must have a Social Security number or an ITIN.....

That is what I thought because I do not have SSN or ITIN why would I be needed in filing his taxes? So he should be just putting my name as a Non Resident Alien right? 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

Just now, Lady G said:

That is what I thought because I do not have SSN or ITIN why would I be needed in filing his taxes? So he should be just putting my name as a Non Resident Alien right? 

It depends.  In some cases, the total tax liability will be smaller by filing a joint return....by you would need a SSN or ITIN.  Your husband should have the tax professional run the numbers to determine the better tax filing strategy.

 

On a personal note, I filed Married-Filing Separately in 2015, 2016, and 2017 because my wife had foreign income.  There are usually many factors to consider when filing taxes.

[Lil bear 4,218]

24 minutes ago, Lady G said:

That is what I thought because I do not have SSN or ITIN why would I be needed in filing his taxes? So he should be just putting my name as a Non Resident Alien right? 

Maybe encourage your husband to join this conversation .. then he will be hearing others giving him information.. sometimes that goes down  a bit easier ! 

[Lady G 9]

39 minutes ago, missileman said:

It depends.  In some cases, the total tax liability will be smaller by filing a joint return....by you would need a SSN or ITIN.  Your husband should have the tax professional run the numbers to determine the better tax filing strategy.

 

On a personal note, I filed Married-Filing Separately in 2015, 2016, and 2017 because my wife had foreign income.  There are usually many factors to consider when filing taxes.

Thank you for your comment.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, Lady G said:

So I don’t have to go to the embassy to ask for an I-10 whatever that is? This doesn’t make sense to me coz I don’t even have a social security number and I am in the middle of the I -13O petition of my husband . So why would my husband ask me to fill up a form that I am not familiar with?

I think you misunderstood ITIN (individual taxpayer identification number) as being an I-10. You need an ITIN number since you can’t get a Social Security number yet. W-7 is the form to apply for an ITIN. There is no I-10.
 
The tax prep man wants to save him some tax dollars (likely over a thousand) by filing a joint return with a spouse rather than your husband filing separately. Getting an ITIN when you live abroad is a bit of a hassle. Your actual passport could be mailed to your husband as proof of your identity along with your signed application form W-7. Link to form https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf. He would submit the tax return that you both sign, your W-7 application, original passport  and a statement signed by both of you saying you wish to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes to the IRS center in Austin, TX. They would process your ITIN number first and add it in the space for SSN, then process his tax return. Your passport would be mailed back to him as soon as they issued your ITIN. 

 

A certified copy of your passport could be used, but it has to be certified by the passport agency in your country. The tax prep man thinks “the embassy” will certify your passport. Some do, but not always so check with them and see if they will do that. Find out the hours and if you need an appointment. 
 

If you were present in the US, you could go to a taxpayer assistance center and show your passport to get it certified so you would not have mail off the real passport. Your husband can’t do that without your presence. Do you have any visits planned before April? 

 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Wuozopo

[Lady G 9]

3 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

I think you misunderstood ITIN (individual taxpayer identification number) as being an I-10. You need an ITIN number since you can’t get a Social Security number yet. W-7 is the form to apply for an ITIN. There is no I-10.
 
The tax prep man wants to save him some tax dollars (likely over a thousand) by filing a joint return with a spouse rather than your husband filing separately. Getting an ITIN when you live abroad is a bit of a hassle. Your actual passport could be mailed to your husband as proof of your identity along with your signed application form W-7. Link to form https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf. He would submit the tax return, your W-7, passport  and a statement signed by both of you saying you wished to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes at to the IRS center in Austin, TX. they would process your ITIN number first and add it in the space for SSN, then process his tax return. Your passport would be mailed back to him as soon as they issued your ITIN. 

 

A certified copy of your passport could be used, but it has to be certified by the passport agency in your country. The tax prep man thinks “the embassy” will certify your passport. Some do, but always so check with them and see if that will do that. Find out the hours and if you need an appointment. 
 

If you were present in the US, you could go to a taxpayer assistance center and show your passport to get it certified so it would not have mail off the real passport. Your husband can’t do that without your presence. Do you have any visits planned before April? 

 

Oh thank you for the correction. I can’t send my passport to my husband since I am in the middle of the I -130 petition . I can not visit him because of the I -130. We are waiting for the NOA2. Hopefully it will come soon since the I-130 is on its 11th month now.  Having said that, would it be a better option for now to file as MFS ? Then we will just file jointly when I get to the US and have a SSN and then a US income? 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

6 minutes ago, Lady G said:

I can not visit him because of the I -130.

That is not correct.  Having a pending I-130, in itself,  does not prohibit your visiting your husband...provided you can convince the CBP officer that you will return after the visit.  Many people visit their spouses while petitions are in process.

Edited February 5, 2020 by missileman

[Lady G 9]

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

That is not correct.  Having a pending I-130 does not prohibit your visiting your husband...provided you can convince the CBP officer that you will return after the visit.  Many people visit their spouses while petitions are in process.

I have been told about the high probability of denial because of my impending immigration. I don’t want to jeopardize my petition so I am waiting patiently

[Wuozopo 4,293]

3 minutes ago, Lady G said:

Oh thank you for the correction. I can’t send my passport to my husband since I am in the middle of the I -130 petition . I can not visit him because of the I -130. We are waiting for the NOA2. Hopefully it will come soon since the I-130 is on its 11th month now.  Having said that, would it be a better option for now to file as MFS ? Then we will just file jointly when I get to the US and have a SSN and then a US income? 

You are allowed to visit, but this might not be a convenient time and the cost would offset the tax break, so not a great idea unless you were planning a visit anyway.  
 

Here is a list of private agencies in Israel who could also certify your passport. I’m sure there is a fee. 
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/acceptance-agents-israel

 

He can file Married Filing Separately for 2019. When you eventually get a SSN, he could file an amended return and get some money back.