question about the new public charge rule and I485 adjustment of status

[jan22 2,944]

1 hour ago, MoroccanLover40 said:

No me and my family came here in the 90's as refugees. I am not sponsoring them on any paperwork except for them being my dependents. I am a US citizen for about 5 years now and went through the process via k1 and she has been here since June of 2019. I could see why it would be a problem but my question is we are already here living and breathing the so called American dream so how do I make her permanent. 

Thanks for the clarifications.  Your posts have been confusing.

 

You do now understand that, to be your dependents for tax purposes, you need to provide more than 50% of your parents' support, right?  As that is not the case, they should not be claimed.  However, since you have claimed them as dependents, you need to include them as your dependents on your wife's AOS.  (You should also amend your tax returns, but that will take some time.)

 

You should not be filing any new I-485 applications -- you just have to respond to the RFE on the current one, at least until it is outright denied.  On I y then wou I do you gave to file a new one.  I don't know why your lawyer is doing that.  (And then marking the wrong category on it!)  Your AOS should show sufficent income for 4 people (you, your parents, and your wife).  

[MoroccanLover40 2]

20 minutes ago, jan22 said:

Thanks for the clarifications.  Your posts have been confusing.

 

You do now understand that, to be your dependents for tax purposes, you need to provide more than 50% of your parents' support, right?  As that is not the case, they should not be claimed.  However, since you have claimed them as dependents, you need to include them as your dependents on your wife's AOS.  (You should also amend your tax returns, but that will take some time.)

 

You should not be filing any new I-485 applications -- you just have to respond to the RFE on the current one, at least until it is outright denied.  On I y then wou I do you gave to file a new one.  I don't know why your lawyer is doing that.  (And then marking the wrong category on it!)  Your AOS should show sufficent income for 4 people (you, your parents, and your wife).  

I pay for rent and everything else except food so they are dependent on me for rent, bills and etc.... I known now I can't put them on my tax returns because their on food stamps even though I was directed that I can claim them from my tax preparer. They have declined us and the application is closed so that's why we are sending in a new application. 

[MoroccanLover40 2]

28 minutes ago, geowrian said:

This situation is just rife with problems. You need to untangle everything and be sure to get it right and present a strong case moving forward.

 

Except is does because you signed paperwork under penalty of perjury that you are providing for them. You did so in exchange for a reduced tax liability.

I get that you were following the advice of somebody else for taxes, but unless they are willing to tell the IRS what they did, it falls on your head as you signed the tax returns. Realize that this is essentially tax evasion. I don't normally even bring that up with tax issues (mistakes happen all the time), but I truly do believe that the argument for knowingly making a false claim for tax purposes is possible if you provide no support for them but claimed supporting over 50% of their costs.

 

The other possibility is you actually do provide support for them. Do you cover their housing and meals? Any utilities? That often covers 50% or more of their costs.

But then if so, you are essentially considered responsible for them financially. Their use of food stamps indicates that you are unable to provide that support, which makes sense that USCIS would be concerned that your wife would be in the same state.

 

If you plan to amend taxes, you need to fix all prior years where this was improperly declared. At the same time, be prepared for a very hefty tax bill, especially with penalties.

 

For a new filing, here is the worksheet to use a guidance: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/policymanual/resources/Appendix-TotalityoftheCircumstancesFramework.pdf

Note the last block: "Previous Public Charge Inadmissibility". This means you really need to have a strong case.

This paper is super confusing and will probably have a tax company file this for me. I pay for everything except their food which snap is being given to them about 200 or so a month. So I dont think I did anything illegal here as my takes have been approved for the past 10 years with no issues. I never had a audit either thankfully. 

[Crazy Cat 40,117]

5 minutes ago, MoroccanLover40 said:

I pay for rent and everything else except food so they are dependent on me for rent, bills and etc.... I known now I can't put them on my tax returns because their on food stamps even though I was directed that I can claim them from my tax preparer. They have declined us and the application is closed so that's why we are sending in a new application. 

Why did you say " I don't support them at all"??  It sounds like you do, in fact, support them.  That means you can include them as dependents on your taxes......however, the fact that they are receiving food stamps is possibly a USCIS issue as far as your ability to support your wife.  

Edited April 21, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[S*UK 543]

2 minutes ago, MoroccanLover40 said:

This paper is super confusing and will probably have a tax company file this for me. I pay for everything except their food which snap is being given to them about 200 or so a month. So I dont think I did anything illegal here as my takes have been approved for the past 10 years with no issues. I never had a audit either thankfully. 

The reason you haven't had any issues with your taxes is because you have not been audited. Just because your taxes are 'approved' does not mean that you filed correctly. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by S*UK

[geowrian 22,336]

Just now, MoroccanLover40 said:

This paper is super confusing and will probably have a tax company file this for me. I pay for everything except their food which snap is being given to them about 200 or so a month. So I dont think I did anything illegal here as my takes have been approved for the past 10 years with no issues. I never had a audit either thankfully. 

Correct - it sounds like they are dependent on you based on the above.

[MoroccanLover40 2]

1 minute ago, Lucky Cat said:

Why did you say " I don't support them at all"??  It sounds like you do, in fact, support them.  That means you can include them as dependents on your taxes......however, the fact that they are receiving food stamps is possibly a USCIS issue as far as your ability to support your wife.  

I said that because I don't do much for them except pay rent and bills like electric and water. So it doesn't feel like I do much for them but in reality maybe I am doing alot. Idk to me it feels like I dont do alot for them. 

1 minute ago, S*UK said:

The reason you haven't had any issues with you taxes is because you have not been audited. Just because your taxes are 'approved' does not mean that you filed correctly. 

😭

[MoroccanLover40 2]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Correct - it sounds like they are dependent on you based on the above.

Yeah I'm trying to be a good son and husband at the same time but things aren't working out for me. I thought once I bring her here the battle is over but it looks like the battle is just beginning for me 

[S*UK 543]

3 minutes ago, MoroccanLover40 said:

I said that because I don't do much for them except pay rent and bills like electric and water. So it doesn't feel like I do much for them but in reality maybe I am doing alot. Idk to me it feels like I dont do alot for them. 

😭

I'm sorry if this is making you upset. But the reality of it is, you have used the system in your favor (claiming tax deductions for dependents) and now you must accept that for this process, having those dependents will have negative affects on your application. 

[MoroccanLover40 2]

Just now, S*UK said:

I'm sorry if this is making you upset. But the reality of it is, you have used the system in your favor (claiming tax deductions for dependents) and now you must accept that for this process, having those dependents will have negative affects on your application. 

So it seems everyone is telling me to amend my taxes and refile i485 once that has been done. Everyone agree? BTW I appreciate everyone's input. 

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with what you said here. 

[S*UK 543]

Just now, MoroccanLover40 said:

So it seems everyone is telling me to amend my taxes and refile i485 once that has been done. Everyone agree? BTW I appreciate everyone's input. 

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with what you said here. 

IMO, no. Your parents are your dependents. You can claim them on your taxes. You provide 50% or more of their expenses (from what you have said). If you do decide to remove them from your taxes, you will likely have a BIG tax bill come your way.

If I were you I would follow previous advice, which is to wait until your current application is CLOSED (not just rejected) and then refile CAREFULLY providing evidence that you have income sufficient to support a household of 4 people. 

[S*UK 543]

. self deleted.

Edited April 21, 2020 by S*UK

[malajoe 100]

9 hours ago, Taxingprocesses said:

When you filed your parents as dependents you told the IRS that you provide over 50% of their support. You said yourself you did this to save money. Then you left your parents off your household for the AOS forms, which specifically say household must include tax dependents.   

 

2 does not equal 4.  I understand this process is stressful and frustrating, but it's very important to be accurate.  It's not stupid to reject forms that aren't filled out correctly.  They have to process thousands of pieces of paperwork and if they get conflicting info they may just have to tell the person to start over because they won't have time to help everyone figure it out.  The forms have very detailed instructions online for you to DIY.  

 

It sounds like you are very worried about your wife's status.  Once your wife's i-485 is accepted she will not be out of status while it processes.  So you just need to get your application submitted correctly.  Take a breath, work on it slowly and fill out the forms carefully and accurately.  Don't make guesses about what you think matters or not, read the form and list exactly what they ask for.  Ask questions here is you're unsure.  You can do it!

 

Once the packet is accepted you will have some time while it processes.  Regarding the public charge issue, this form is still very new and I'm not sure anyone will know exactly how USCIS will view your parents using SNAP.

 

Amending your taxes or moving to a new house without your parents are big steps and will take time so I'm not sure it's a good idea to wait to do those things before filing the AOS.  Especially because it's not clear if either one would change USCIS views since they will have the previous applications on file.

 

 

It does seem a bit strange to have your parents as tax dependents and meet the household income requirements for USCIS AND have them getting SNAP.  Are you sure they filled out their application correctly?

 

Do you share food with your parents or cook and eat meals together?  Because if so they must report household income for all people who shop and prepare food together.  You might want to look into this to just to be sure you are within the rules all around.  They could owe $$ back and the state may investigate if they knowingly lied.  But as long as they didn't commit a crime, if they aren't eligible and pay back any overpayment then it might be better from a public charge perspective?  

 

 

He will also have to include his parents on the i 944

[Ayrton 965]

11 minutes ago, S*UK said:

If I were you I would follow previous advice, which is to wait until your current application is CLOSED (not just rejected) and then refile CAREFULLY providing evidence that you have income sufficient to support a household of 4 people. 

 

I don't think there's any open application for them. The email from the lockbox he posted earlier shows that his lawyer filed AOS with the wrong category (130 instead of K1), instead of a rejection because there's an open application.

[S*UK 543]

2 minutes ago, Ayrton said:

 

I don't think there's any open application for them. The email from the lockbox he posted earlier shows that his lawyer filed AOS with the wrong category (130 instead of K1), instead of a rejection because there's an open application.

 

He also stated that after this, they refiled another application which was subsequently rejected on grounds that they file public charge paperwork. In total 3 consecutive applications, all rejected. I'm just as confused here so that's all the advice I have.