AOS for spouse w/B-2; no tax returns... what to do? I-864a?

[T-n-L 0]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm an American citizen and my wife is a Chinese national.  We met and married in China, have been married for 6 years, and have a 5 year old daughter together (born in China, but a US citizen with a CRBA).  We moved back to the US 3 months ago; she has a B2 visa which she had traveled to the US with a couple times before.  She's got 3 months left on her term of stay.

 

I've chatted with a couple lawyers about the specifics of our case, and they said that everything seemed straightforward - no criminal record, no issues with her being rejected previously, etc.  However, the high cost of using a lawyer who will ultimately just sign off on our docs has pushed us towards these forums and possibly a service like SimpleCitizen.  

 

My main concern right now is that after we married, I was on a Chinese spouse visa, which doesn't allow you to work.  Because of this, I don't have 3 years of IRS tax returns; I never had a job in China that I had to pay taxes on, so there's no record I can give to the IRS.  I had some income from investments and crypto that I reported for 2020, but it's a relatively small amount (a few grand).  I had filed zero income since 2015, but don't have any receipts or anything to show this and the IRS website won't let me retrieve them.  I paper filed my 2020 taxes after we got back to the US 3 months ago, but haven't had any correspondence from the IRS, and my attempts to figure out what's going on have gone nowhere as I can never get through to anyone, even to make an appointment at a service center.  My wife doesn't have a Tax ID number so I couldn't e-file.  My state return went through, though, and I have that.

 

I am working now and have pay stubs/records showing that I'm making over the threshold for support.  Will this be enough, or should I have my parents help us with an I-864a (they are 100% willing to do and have all their paperwork on hand)?  If we go with the I-864a, will I still be expected to submit my own tax returns, or would pay stubs and a W4 be enough?  The lawyer we spoke to said that he thought an I-864a plus current pay stubs would be fine.

 

I'm hoping to get in to the local IRS service center after they open back up next week and get something from them, but in case I'm not able to, I want to know the best way to proceed.

[Crazy Cat 41,898]

1.. You do not need an attorney or service unless she lied about her intent when she entered the US for this visit.  You have all the resources you need for her adjustment of status right here on VJ.

2.  As the primary sponsor, you will to either file taxes for the last three years or you will have to explain why you were not required to file.  

 

It sounds like you are on the right track.  Here is a guide which might help.

 

 

[T-n-L 0]

OK, thank you.  I'll check out that guide later. 

 

To clarify, I did file for the last 3 years, but 2018/19 I filed 0 income, and 2021, I haven't received the federal returns yet (I got the state returns last month).  We will need to file the AOS soon, to make sure that there's enough time for the application to be processed so that she doesn't overstay her visa, and I'm not sure what I should do if the IRS hasn't sent out last year's tax return.

 

I'm going to try to get into the local IRS office ASAP to at least get some confirmation that I had filed previously, though with COVID and everything, there are more limitations for going in person.

[Crazy Cat 41,898]

1 hour ago, T-n-L said:

and I'm not sure what I should do if the IRS hasn't sent out last year's tax return.

What does this mean?  The taxpayer generates tax returns.  You can submit a complete copy of the 2020 tax returns you have already filed. 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 41,898]

56 minutes ago, T-n-L said:

to make sure that there's enough time for the application to be processed so that she doesn't overstay her visa

The "application" does not need to be processed before her visa expires.  Once she submits a proper I-485 package, she will be granted authorized stay in the US until the application is either approved or denied.  You need to read the guide I linked. 

BTW, it could easily take a year for her to get a green card after submitting the I-485. 

[RandyW 149]

They are NOT interested in your tax situation - only in your income which was reported on your tax returns. If you filled out tax returns with $0 income, the IRS may not have kept any records of that, or might not even have accepted the return.

File your own copies of the returns (or our evidence of your financial situation) with the Affidavit of Support. 

It is YOUR responsibility to prove to the Immigrations Officer that the intending immigrant will not become a burden on society.

[T-n-L 0]

On 9/9/2021 at 12:14 PM, Crazy Cat said:

What does this mean?  The taxpayer generates tax returns.  You can submit a complete copy of the 2020 tax returns you have already filed. 

Sorry; to be totally forthright, I've never paid any attention in the least to taxes and have always just submitted my W4's to a service for processing or gone into an IRS center to have them do it.  I always thought that a "tax return" was the receipt/payment you got back from the IRS (as it's a "return" from them), and not the actual document itself, which I filled out.  Basically: I "file my taxes," I get a "tax return."  I've never been corrected on this, and just assumed this was correct.  Well, you learn something new every day.

 

To this end, I do have copies in PDF format of my tax return for 2020 that I filled out and submitted (I had to physically mail it because my wife doesn't have an ITIN/SSN), but I haven't received anything back from the IRS - no receipt, transcript, or payment.  Checking the status on the IRS webpage shows that it hasn't been processed.  I read that there's an 8.5 million tax return backlog, and I'm assuming mine is a part of that.

 

If all I have to do is print out those copies, then I'm all set.  If I need some form of receipt from the IRS, well, I don't have that.

On 9/9/2021 at 12:22 PM, Crazy Cat said:

The "application" does not need to be processed before her visa expires.  Once she submits a proper I-485 package, she will be granted authorized stay in the US until the application is either approved or denied.  You need to read the guide I linked. 

BTW, it could easily take a year for her to get a green card after submitting the I-485. 

I've since read the guide and it does make things more clear.  We wanted to make sure that we did everything after the 90-day rule, but before her TOS expires so that we don't have any drama at all with our application.  We figured that it could take a year or more to get the green card; it's not ideal obviously, but as long as she can stay here in the meantime, we can accept it.

 

On 9/11/2021 at 1:35 AM, RandyW said:

They are NOT interested in your tax situation - only in your income which was reported on your tax returns. If you filled out tax returns with $0 income, the IRS may not have kept any records of that, or might not even have accepted the return.

File your own copies of the returns (or our evidence of your financial situation) with the Affidavit of Support. 

It is YOUR responsibility to prove to the Immigrations Officer that the intending immigrant will not become a burden on society.

Thankfully, I got a job after we got back and my income is well over the minimum for supporting a family of 3.  I've been there for a couple months now and have my electronic paystubs and a copy of my contract and salary.  Because up until 3 months ago, I was living abroad and couldn't legally work, I can't claim any foreign income prior to moving back due to my visa status (I actually tried when working with two different tax preparers, but under the IRS' guidelines, I couldn't).

 

If I send my current W4's, pay stubs, and contract along with my previous year's return, would that be sufficient or should I use an I-864a from my parents?

[Crazy Cat 41,898]

19 minutes ago, T-n-L said:

We wanted to make sure that we did everything after the 90-day rule,

There is no 90 day rule......it's a myth.