Several Questions regarding Form I-864 (merged threads)

[AhmadHamouda 5]

Hello All,

We are preparing our documents for NVC, my wife is American but living here in Egypt and she’s been making 2~3K$ per year so she didnt file any taxes as she’s not obligated to pay taxes with these salaries. 
 

my question here is should she file i864 also? Her brother will sponsor us he’s already there and making enough money to be my sponsor instead of her.

 

also do we need to get proof from all 3 different companies she worked for here in Egypt that she has been making very low or she can write like a confirmation paper and sign it as proof and don’t file any taxes papers?

 

 

Thank you all

[AhmadHamouda 5]

17 minutes ago, AhmadHamouda said:

Hello All,

We are preparing our documents for NVC, my wife is American but living here in Egypt and she’s been making 2~3K$ per year so she didnt file any taxes as she’s not obligated to pay taxes with these salaries. 
 

my question here is should she file i864 also? Her brother will sponsor us he’s already there and making enough money to be my sponsor instead of her.

 

also do we need to get proof from all 3 different companies she worked for here in Egypt that she has been making very low or she can write like a confirmation paper and sign it as proof and don’t file any taxes papers?

 

 

Thank you all

sorry i mean by filing taxes is the tax return document needed to be sent to nvc

[Vickys_Mom 225]

I'm assuming you're doing a visa based on marriage.  If so, your spouse is the primary sponsor (petitioner) and will do an I-864.  She'll explain her income as a part of that form and attach whatever evidence is needed.

 

Her brother is a joint sponsor.  He'll do an I-864 as the joint sponsor and attach evidence of his own income.

 

It will be a lot easier for her to gather evidence of her income from those three companies while she's still there.  And yes, she needs to gather the evidence.  It'll be more valuable than a statement that she didn't make enough money to pay taxes.

 

Regards,

Vicky's Mom

 

 

[AhmadHamouda 5]

29 minutes ago, Vickys_Mom said:

I'm assuming you're doing a visa based on marriage.  If so, your spouse is the primary sponsor (petitioner) and will do an I-864.  She'll explain her income as a part of that form and attach whatever evidence is needed.

 

Her brother is a joint sponsor.  He'll do an I-864 as the joint sponsor and attach evidence of his own income.

 

It will be a lot easier for her to gather evidence of her income from those three companies while she's still there.  And yes, she needs to gather the evidence.  It'll be more valuable than a statement that she didn't make enough money to pay taxes.

 

Regards,

Vicky's Mom

 

 

Yes exactly marriage visa!

 

thank you so much for explaining! So she’ll need like letters from these companies but she doesn’t need to file anything to IRS or have a tax return document right? We’ll just attach the proof of income from her previous 3 companies?

[SalishSea 17,819]

54 minutes ago, AhmadHamouda said:

Yes exactly marriage visa!

 

thank you so much for explaining! So she’ll need like letters from these companies but she doesn’t need to file anything to IRS or have a tax return document right? We’ll just attach the proof of income from her previous 3 companies?

No.   Unnecessary.  She needs to complete the I-864.  Income earned abroad that will not continue once in the US is not considered.

 

have you looked at the domicile requirements?

 

Most Americans living abroad will need to return to the US before their immigrant spouse to sort out a job, etc.

 

Even if she wasn’t required to pay income tax, Americans living abroad are supposed to file a tax return.

 

Your spouse is your sponsor, and as such, she needs to compete the affidavit of support and all supporting documentation.   Any eligible joint sponsor will do the same.

[AhmadHamouda 5]

22 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

No.   Unnecessary.  She needs to complete the I-864.  Income earned abroad that will not continue once in the US is not considered.

 

have you looked at the domicile requirements?

 

Most Americans living abroad will need to return to the US before their immigrant spouse to sort out a job, etc.

 

Even if she wasn’t required to pay income tax, Americans living abroad are supposed to file a tax return.

 

Your spouse is your sponsor, and as such, she needs to compete the affidavit of support and all supporting documentation.   Any eligible joint sponsor will do the same.

Sorry I’m a bit confused, you mean she needs to file tax return and have the document and upload it? But she doesn’t need to get proof from the 3 companies stating her income during the last 3 years? Right?

[Chancy 6,241]

4 hours ago, AhmadHamouda said:

she’s been making 2~3K$ per year so she didnt file any taxes as she’s not obligated to pay taxes with these salaries. 

 

What year did you get married?  Minimum filing threshold for a married person filing taxes separately is $5 (yes five, not 5k) income per year.  If you were married in 2020, 2021, or 2022, make sure your wife back-files her taxes for the tax years when you were married.

 

[SalishSea 17,819]

2 hours ago, AhmadHamouda said:

Sorry I’m a bit confused, you mean she needs to file tax return and have the document and upload it? But she doesn’t need to get proof from the 3 companies stating her income during the last 3 years? Right?

She should file her tax returns x 3 years, like Chancy said - even if she owes no taxes.

 

She does not need any documentation for the minimal income she had in Egypt, because it will not be considered when evaluating her ability to support you.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

4 hours ago, AhmadHamouda said:

Hello All,

We are preparing our documents for NVC, my wife is American but living here in Egypt and she’s been making 2~3K$ per year so she didnt file any taxes as she’s not obligated to pay taxes with these salaries. 

 

1.  You're wife's filing status is married filing separately.   She is required to file if she earned more than 5 dollars.  $5.00

 

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p54#en_US_2022_publink100047319

 

Scroll down to "Filing Requirements".

[AhmadHamouda 5]

@Chancy @SalishSea @SteveInBostonI130

 

Thank you all for your replies and help! Really appreciate it!

 

We were married in October 2021 so:

1- she needs to file for 2021 and 2022 right?

2- can we file them electronically or by mail?

3- how long does it taken for a tax return for the two years to be received after filing them? Or i can attach proof of filling like the forms of these years in NVC documents?

 

sorry for asking too many questions!

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

11 hours ago, AhmadHamouda said:

@Chancy @SalishSea @SteveInBostonI130

 

Thank you all for your replies and help! Really appreciate it!

 

We were married in October 2021 so:

1- she needs to file for 2021 and 2022 right?

2- can we file them electronically or by mail?

3- how long does it taken for a tax return for the two years to be received after filing them? Or i can attach proof of filling like the forms of these years in NVC documents?

 

sorry for asking too many questions!

1. Yes.

 

2. By mail.  She needs to write your name and hand-write "NRA" in your social security number field.  I have heard there is a program out there that allows electronic filing this way, but I have not seen it and it is not TurboTax.

 

3. Make 2 complete copies, including all 1099s and W2s.  One copy in paper and one copy ask PDF.  Mail the originals to IRS, keep the paper copy for your records and upload the PDF copy to NVC.  One set for each tax year.

 

Only the 2022 tax needs to be uploaded to NVC.  2020 and 2021 are optional. 

[AhmadHamouda 5]

Hello everyone,

 

The case is my spouse is an American Citizen and we received the welcome letter from NVC (applying for IR1 (green card for me)), she's been going back and forth between Egypt and United States.

 

Since our marriage, in October 2021, she didn't file taxes but she's working since September 2021 and she's making 3,800$/year, However she's been dependent under her brother since 2018 and he files his taxes every year.

 

1. Another person is going to be our sponsor and is going to file i864 and submit his tax returns and that's okay, Does she need to file taxes for 2022 and 2021 and wait until we get the tax transcript and submit the documents, OR just submit the tax return of her brother and write a document stating that she's been under him as a dependent and that she's making less than 4,400$/year (can also attached employment letter from her work in Egypt stating her salary)?
2. She should submit also i864 even if she's not going to be my sponsor? , If yes, which answer should she check in Part 1 and Part 3 in the form (her form not the sponsor's one).

 

Thank you so much 

Edited April 25, 2023 by AhmadHamouda

[Crazy Cat 41,838]

2 minutes ago, AhmadHamouda said:

Hello everyone,

 

The case is my spouse is an American Citizen and we received the welcome letter from NVC (applying for IR1 (green card for me)), she's been going back and forth between Egypt and United States.

 

Since our marriage, in October 2021, she didn't file taxes but she's working since September 2021 and she's making 3,800$/year, However she's been dependent under her brother since 2018 and he files his taxes every year.

 

1. Another person is going to be our sponsor and is going to file i864 and submit his tax returns and that's okay, Does she need to file taxes for 2022 and 2021 and wait until we get the tax transcript and submit the documents, OR just submit the tax return of her brother and write a document stating that she's been under him as a dependent and that she's making less than 4,400$/year (can also attached employment letter from her work in Egypt stating her salary)?
2. She should submit also i864 even if she's not going to be my sponsor? , If yes, which answer should she check in Part 1 and Part 3 in the form (her form not the sponsor's one).

 

Thank you so much 

Your spouse is the primary sponsor.  As such, she will have to submit an I-864.  She will also have to either file taxes for the 3 most recent tax years or explain why she wasn't required to file taxes for those years.  She cannot submit her brother's tax return.   Her brother will also submit an I-864 and supporting documentation.   

 

[AhmadHamouda 5]

10 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Your spouse is the primary sponsor.  As such, she will have to submit an I-864.  She will also have to either file taxes for the 3 most recent tax years or explain why she wasn't required to file taxes for those years.  She cannot submit her brother's tax return.   Her brother will also submit an I-864 and supporting documentation.   

 

What kind of supporting documentation? and sorry you mean the sponsor not her brother right?

 

Also as per below screenshot from instructions for I1040 from IRS, with me as a spouse (not U.S Citizen not living in the U.S and not filing taxes), she should still file taxes?

[TBoneTX 45,267]

Related threads have been merged.  Further questions should be asked in the current thread.