I-751 Evidence (Split)

[HarryWL 262]

On 11/8/2023 at 6:49 PM, Crazy Cat said:

It Depends.  If you and spouse filed a joint return, world-wide income from both spouses for the entire year would have to be reported.  Otherwise, you are correct.

 

Married Filing Joint - Spouse of Nonresident Alien or Dual-Status Alien Treated as Resident (taxact.com)

 

"Generally, a married couple can't file a joint return if either one is a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year. However, if one spouse was a nonresident alien or dual-status alien who was married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the year, the spouses can choose to file a joint return. If you do file a joint return, you and your spouse are both treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year. See chapter 1 of Pub. 519."

 

On 11/8/2023 at 6:16 PM, Nelly_M said:

My understanding is that any income earned prior to becoming a conditional PR is not counted as taxable income here in the US. You were already paying taxes in the country where you were living and working prior to becoming a PR. At least that’s how it was explained to me. Any income earned from the moment you become a PR whether it was earned here or worldwide is taxable and should be reported on your income tax return if above certain amount as set by IRS rules. We have a letter from a tax specialist saying that we were not required to file tax for a year in which we had no income that I was planning to submit with I-751. I was also told that IRS might reject a tax return with zero income. Not really sure how this can affect a naturalization process. 

 

Good evening both of you. 

 

I just wanted to come back to this topic for some advice. So this evening according to my case tracker, my interview has been scheduled to which I should receive the correspondence in the mail in the coming days. Actually surprised how fast that happened, because I filed September 19th and it's Orlando, so you'd presume it would be busy field office. 

 

I called the IRS last week about my 2018 return and was told that processing would be delayed and my inquiry date would be February 2024. As a reminder I moved to the United States on December 18th 2018 and didn't work for the rest of the year. With all the conflicting advice on both the IRS website and tax professionals on if a return was required, I filed a return just before applying for my citizenship based on my 20k income from Canada before I had any legal status in the United States. 

 

Given the delay, and my interview potentially being in the next couple of weeks, I will only have 4 years worth of tax returns (2019-2022). Obviously the big question of if a 2018 return was even required still lingers, but do you see this being an issue for my interview? I was honestly expecting this process to take longer so I would end up with my 2023 return. 

 

Thank you.

[Nelly_M 7]

On 11/29/2023 at 8:43 PM, HarryWL said:

 

 

Good evening both of you. 

 

I just wanted to come back to this topic for some advice. So this evening according to my case tracker, my interview has been scheduled to which I should receive the correspondence in the mail in the coming days. Actually surprised how fast that happened, because I filed September 19th and it's Orlando, so you'd presume it would be busy field office. 

 

I called the IRS last week about my 2018 return and was told that processing would be delayed and my inquiry date would be February 2024. As a reminder I moved to the United States on December 18th 2018 and didn't work for the rest of the year. With all the conflicting advice on both the IRS website and tax professionals on if a return was required, I filed a return just before applying for my citizenship based on my 20k income from Canada before I had any legal status in the United States. 

 

Given the delay, and my interview potentially being in the next couple of weeks, I will only have 4 years worth of tax returns (2019-2022). Obviously the big question of if a 2018 return was even required still lingers, but do you see this being an issue for my interview? I was honestly expecting this process to take longer so I would end up with my 2023 return. 

 

Thank you.

Sorry about late reply, I just didn’t catch this sooner. I think you should be fine considering you have already filed taxes for 2018 even though it hasn’t been processed yet. You can show the proof of filing taxes for that year. Are you required to bring the actual tax returns for the last five years for your interview? 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Nelly_M

[HarryWL 262]

10 hours ago, Nelly_M said:

Sorry about late reply, I just didn’t catch this sooner. I think you should be fine considering you have already filed taxes for 2018 even though it hasn’t been processed yet. You can show the proof of filing taxes for that year. Are you required to bring the actual tax returns for the last five years for your interview? 

 

I think I'm going to call the IRS to ask if there's a way for them to send me some type of receipt that they've received the return. 

 

This quote is directly from the letter. It doesn't seem to mention tax returns, and I wasn't actually required to upload them when I did my N-400 online application. So it seems to be one of those conflicting dos and don't, I hear people getting asked to see them, and others not. 
 

Quote

 

You MUST BRING the following with you to the interview: This letter. Your Alien Registration Card ("green card"). Any evidence of Selective Service Registration. Your passport and/or any other documents you used in connection with any entries into the United States. Those items noted below which are applicable to you:   If applying for NATURALIZATION AS THE SPOUSE of a United States Citizen; Your marriage certificate. Proof of death or divorce for each prior marriage of yourself or spouse. Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.   If applying for NATURALIZATION as a member of the United States Armed Forces; Your discharge certificate, or form DD214.   If copies of a document were submitted as evidence with your N400 application, the originals of those documents should be brought to the interview.

 

 

[OldUser 6,633]

1 hour ago, HarryWL said:

 

I think I'm going to call the IRS to ask if there's a way for them to send me some type of receipt that they've received the return. 

 

This quote is directly from the letter. It doesn't seem to mention tax returns, and I wasn't actually required to upload them when I did my N-400 online application. So it seems to be one of those conflicting dos and don't, I hear people getting asked to see them, and others not. 

Don't volunteer information during the interview. If interviewer asks whether you filed all taxes, say yes. They may / may not want to see the docs.

If they ask, I'm pretty sure you'd have a copy of what you filed for 2018 + other years' tax return transcripts?

The worst case, you'd get an RFE and have to get it within 90 days.

Edited December 2, 2023 by OldUser

[HarryWL 262]

10 hours ago, OldUser said:

Don't volunteer information during the interview. If interviewer asks whether you filed all taxes, say yes. They may / may not want to see the docs.

If they ask, I'm pretty sure you'd have a copy of what you filed for 2018 + other years' tax return transcripts?

The worst case, you'd get an RFE and have to get it within 90 days.

 

I already have the transcripts for 2019-2022, but as it's still processing for 2018, nothing on record yet. That's what I'm hoping for, that they don't even ask to see them.