question about processing...

[dillydally 0]

hello VJers,

ok...i need to give a rundown and then ask the question...

i am a 21 year old student who attends college...and I am covered under my father's health insurance...now...since I got married in december of 2006 in egypt, technically the USA had no record of this...but NOW since my petition has been approved (el hamdulillah) i am wondering...when am I "considered officially married on all documents in the USA"... i know its an odd question but i need to know ASAP because if its already official under my SSN then I need to get my own insurance as a student... but then I wonder because he is not here yet and technically I should be under my husband's insurance when he arrives... SO the question is... at what stage of the process am I officially listed as "married" in the USA??? any advice or info would be greatly appreciated and thanks!! take care everyone

[Urge To Race 2]

hello VJers,

ok...i need to give a rundown and then ask the question...

i am a 21 year old student who attends college...and I am covered under my father's health insurance...now...since I got married in december of 2006 in egypt, technically the USA had no record of this...but NOW since my petition has been approved (el hamdulillah) i am wondering...when am I "considered officially married on all documents in the USA"... i know its an odd question but i need to know ASAP because if its already official under my SSN then I need to get my own insurance as a student... but then I wonder because he is not here yet and technically I should be under my husband's insurance when he arrives... SO the question is... at what stage of the process am I officially listed as "married" in the USA??? any advice or info would be greatly appreciated and thanks!! take care everyone

There are various answers to your question. It really depends on what aspect you are looking at. You are officially married on the day that is on your marriage certificate is the first answer, and many organizations will use that date. Health insurance and IRS look at it differently.

For health insurance, I have done some research on something quite similar. My wife is not in the US, so naturally I didn't want to pay the higher family premiums since she cannot use it. Health insurance companies (and it might even vary by companies) consider the arrival of your foreign spouse in the US to be a "life event" that permits you to change coverage types from single to family. So for now, until my wife gets her visa, I have single coverage. I am listed as married, but elected single coverage.

As for the IRS, you should have all W4s withholdings done as "single" until your spouse is considered a US resident for tax purposes. This means that the spouse must be here in the US at least. From there, your spouse can request to be considered a US resident for tax purposes. You would do this if your spouse earned/will earn nothing or very little and filing a joint return and using the married standard deduction would give you a tax advantage. If your spouse earned/will earn a good income, this will cost you more in taxes, and he doesn't necessarily need to claim to be a resident for tax purposes in his first year unless he meets the substantial presence test. And you would want to avoid this to help save on taxes if he earns enough to put you at a tax disadvantage. Starting his first full year here, it is no longer an option.

[pushbrk 12,877]

hello VJers,

ok...i need to give a rundown and then ask the question...

i am a 21 year old student who attends college...and I am covered under my father's health insurance...now...since I got married in december of 2006 in egypt, technically the USA had no record of this...but NOW since my petition has been approved (el hamdulillah) i am wondering...when am I "considered officially married on all documents in the USA"... i know its an odd question but i need to know ASAP because if its already official under my SSN then I need to get my own insurance as a student... but then I wonder because he is not here yet and technically I should be under my husband's insurance when he arrives... SO the question is... at what stage of the process am I officially listed as "married" in the USA??? any advice or info would be greatly appreciated and thanks!! take care everyone

You are married on your marriage date. Failure to notify your father's health insurance company of your change in marriage status it insurance fraud. So, your course of action should be determined by your conscience. You are not likely to be "caught" unless you have an expensive illness. Insurance companies tend to underwrite at claim for such things and will investigate to find any way not to pay the claim. You should consider that in a catastrophic illness scenario, you are really NOT insured.