N-400 and filing past tax returns

[Mike E 11,741]

54 minutes ago, Rebuilt said:

But by the rule of law, I had abandoned my residency, without even knowing it. 

No because you were admitted as a returning resident. You should stop dwelling on it.  

 

36 minutes ago, Rebuilt said:

All I am asking is for some empathy, compassion, and understanding

You have  mine. I can’t promise you that USCIS will show any.   So you should file your tax returns, whether another contributor says I am silly or not; due to which I am out. 
 

 Best wishes.  

[iwannaplay54 985]

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

No because you were admitted as a returning resident. You should stop dwelling on it.  

 

You have  mine. I can’t promise you that USCIS will show any.   So you should file your tax returns, whether another contributor says I am silly or not; due to which I am out. 
 

 Best wishes.  

Nothing silly about this thread bro

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

2 hours ago, Rebuilt said:

He is a disabled veteran; he came back from Iraq completely broken, and it broke me in the process; always led me to believe that my GC was some sort of "passport" for foreigners; abused me in ways not suitable to discuss in a public forum, though he never laid a hand on me. He worked for a grand total of maybe 7-8 months through the entire duration of our almost 12 years marriage. Lied to me about his post-discharge situation the entire time. We went to my country in order to get some medical help for him. Once there, all hell broke loose; death of my father, illness of my mother, death of our puppy (his service animal), and many more horrible things. My parents, the two most amazing people I've ever known, supported us at all times. At some point he gets in touch with one of his military buddies, who works for the VA, and sets him up with disability compensation. I was in my country waiting for him to settle, then I was supposed to join him and continue our live together. He led me on the entire time, all the while making me believe that everything was ok with my GC. Next thing I know, he stops all contact and move to his paramour's house. Basically the moment he got his compensation, he threw me out like yesterday's newspaper.

 

I managed to come back to America, and got admitted without question. But by the rule of law, I had abandoned my residency, without even knowing it. 

 

That's the gist of it. Like I said, there are many more details, but I cannot discuss them in a public forum. Suffice to say, while he was my entire life, I was merely a living sex toy. And a crutch to lay on while he found something better. Traumatizing, and demeaning is the least I can say of it.

I am so sorry you went through that. As far as how that affects the tax return situation, I would think it would be sufficient to say that your husband was a disabled veteran (or whatever term is most accurate) and you struggled through with no money and the help of your relatives to get through that difficult time. But I fully admit I am not an expert on how filing (or not filing) taxes can have different implications with immigration. But the IRS has specific rules and instances where not filing is allowed and it seems to apply to your situation. 

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

No because you were admitted as a returning resident. You should stop dwelling on it.  

 

You have  mine. I can’t promise you that USCIS will show any.   So you should file your tax returns, whether another contributor says I am silly or not; due to which I am out. 
 

 Best wishes.  

Wait a second, I did not say you or anyone else here is "silly". I was only saying that going through the effort to file old tax returns when no money was earned seems like extra effort/stress that is not needed (at least from an IRS standpoint). If others think it would be beneficial to the OP for their specific situation, then that is fair. 

[OldUser 7,026]

4 minutes ago, beloved_dingo said:

Wait a second, I did not say you or anyone else here is "silly". I was only saying that going through the effort to file old tax returns when no money was earned seems like extra effort/stress that is not needed (at least from an IRS standpoint). If others think it would be beneficial to the OP for their specific situation, then that is fair. 

The problem is proving it wasn't necessary and convincing USCIS may be more effort than filing $0 taxes. My personal opinion only, it's much better to put this effort now than wait for USCIS to point out the taxes issue later in the process. I wouldn't want to rely on IO's mercy to understand my situation and approve case. I'd rather do everything possible to avoid taxes issue altogether.

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

5 minutes ago, OldUser said:

The problem is proving it wasn't necessary and convincing USCIS may be more effort than filing $0 taxes. My personal opinion only, it's much better to put this effort now than wait for USCIS to point out the taxes issue later in the process. I wouldn't want to rely on IO's mercy to understand my situation and approve case. I'd rather do everything possible to avoid taxes issue altogether.

I get what you are saying. Filing the past returns means avoiding having to "admit" to not filing a past return, even if it was allowable to do so. 

[OldUser 7,026]

6 hours ago, beloved_dingo said:

I get what you are saying. Filing the past returns means avoiding having to "admit" to not filing a past return, even if it was allowable to do so. 

She cannot withhold information either. If she didn't file she should truthfully answer "yes" and explain she didn't need to. Otherwise file taxes now and answer "no" on the form, because late filing is not the same as not filing.

 

Similar situation, lawyers suggest answering "yes":

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/n-400-should-i-answer-yes-for-the-question-if-i-ha-5683392.html

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by OldUser

[Rebuilt 9]

On 2/2/2023 at 11:25 AM, iwannaplay54 said:

<grin> we were out 4 years and three years after returning they didnt mention abandoned residency.  “Rule of law” is fluid and after 15 years of marriage and 8 of those outside the country our citizenship app went through without a hitch.  

 

You have another document to cross-reference with your taxes and that is your personal social security earnings.  These are yours not his and the statement covers your entire lifetime, year by year.

 

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImOb90rf3_AIVFhXUAR0cLQ2CEAAYASAAEgL16PD_BwE

 

Create an account.  You can access your lifetime SS earnings and demonstrate that you were or were not required to file taxes.  All earnings reported by all employers are added on that statement.

 

Example:  From my statement back in 1984 my taxed social security wages were a whopping $118 (LOL I was a kid).  I assure you I did not file taxes in 1984 for that reason and I assure you I have no idea what that money was for, but I can go back 39 years and show I was not required to file taxes that year because I didnt earn enough to meet the requirement.  Burden of proof on that isn’t my problem it’s theirs. 

 

You can’t back-file MFS without your personal W2’s and 1099’s and earnings records (and) validity of your marriage or anything about your marriage under the 5-yr rule is irrelevant.  You need to demonstrate you filed the last 5 years of taxes IF REQUIRED and that’s all you need to worry about.  

 

You have given me so much peace of mind!!! This is a very important piece of information that never occurred to me before. Thank you so very much!!! ❤️

Edited February 3, 2023 by Rebuilt

[Rebuilt 9]

On 2/2/2023 at 11:32 AM, Mike E said:

No because you were admitted as a returning resident. You should stop dwelling on it.  

 

You have  mine. I can’t promise you that USCIS will show any.   So you should file your tax returns, whether another contributor says I am silly or not; due to which I am out. 
 

 Best wishes.  

Thank you so much Mike, I truly appreciate your words. And you are completely right, I am dwelling on this too much, and I should stop because is truly driving me insane

 

I'm just so afraid of everything. Thank you very much for all your input ❤️

[Rebuilt 9]

23 hours ago, beloved_dingo said:

I am so sorry you went through that. As far as how that affects the tax return situation, I would think it would be sufficient to say that your husband was a disabled veteran (or whatever term is most accurate) and you struggled through with no money and the help of your relatives to get through that difficult time. But I fully admit I am not an expert on how filing (or not filing) taxes can have different implications with immigration. But the IRS has specific rules and instances where not filing is allowed and it seems to apply to your situation. 

 

23 hours ago, OldUser said:

The problem is proving it wasn't necessary and convincing USCIS may be more effort than filing $0 taxes. My personal opinion only, it's much better to put this effort now than wait for USCIS to point out the taxes issue later in the process. I wouldn't want to rely on IO's mercy to understand my situation and approve case. I'd rather do everything possible to avoid taxes issue altogether.

 

22 hours ago, beloved_dingo said:

I get what you are saying. Filing the past returns means avoiding having to "admit" to not filing a past return, even if it was allowable to do so. 

 

16 hours ago, OldUser said:

She cannot withhold information either. If she didn't file she should truthfully answer "yes" and explain she didn't need to. Otherwise file taxes now and answer "no" on the form, because late filing is not the same as not filing.

 

Similar situation, lawyers suggest answering "yes":

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/n-400-should-i-answer-yes-for-the-question-if-i-ha-5683392.html

 

Thank you so much to both of you for your help ❤️

 

And yes, the thing about filing taxes, albeit late, and no necessary, is precisely to avoid having to answer compromising questions