Petitioning husband to US (f2a) from Philippines inquiry

[Nicole06 1]

Hello! My husband and I recently got married in the Philippines and I have several questions before I file the form I-130

 

1. Do I need to use my Married name? My passport, greencard, SSN, Driver's permit, are all under my maiden name. 

2. Do I need to change my name on my ID's if I file using my married name?

3. How do I change my status for tax filing season?

 

Thank you guys

 

[Verrou 1,962]

8 minutes ago, Nicole06 said:

Hello! My husband and I recently got married in the Philippines and I have several questions before I file the form I-130

 

1. Do I need to use my Married name? My passport, greencard, SSN, Driver's permit, are all under my maiden name. 

2. Do I need to change my name on my ID's if I file using my married name?

3. How do I change my status for tax filing season?

 

Thank you guys

 

1. are you the petitioner or beneficiary? if you are the petitioner, u dont have to use your married name if you dont want to. if you are GC holder, i will suggest to file i-130 with maiden name. easier. if you want to legally change ur name, u have to pay over $500 to get the GC replace with the new name. 

2. again, what name do you want to use? there's no rule to use your spouse name for immigration standpoint if you dont want to

3. you dont change ur status. for 2023 tax that you are going to file in 2024, put what is your marital status on dec 31st 2023 when u file it in 2024. 

Edited August 2 by Verrou

[top_secret 2,458]

If you are the petitioner just use whatever name you actually intend to really use in your daily life.  If you dont want to use your husband's name then you don't have to, and if you do want to us his name then the sooner you start using it on everything the better.    It won't have any impact on the immigration case one way or the other.

 

For filing taxes you can file as married filing separately without doing anything, but you may get a much larger return filing as married filing jointly.  For the Philippines, your husband can get a certified copy of his Philippine Passport from any DFA office.  It costs P150.  You can submit the certified copy of his passport with a paper 1040 return, a letter electing for your husband to treated as resident for tax purposes, and form W7.  They would then issue your husband an ITIN you can use filing taxes while you wait for the immigration case.  In some cases it can make a HUGE difference in the amount of your tax return.

 

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-7

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

Quote

How to Make the Choice

Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information:

1. A declaration that on the last day of the tax year one spouse was neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident within the meaning of IRC section 7701(b)(1)(A) and the other spouse was, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.
2. The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)

 

[Nicole06 1]

3 hours ago, top_secret said:

If you are the petitioner just use whatever name you actually intend to really use in your daily life.  If you dont want to use your husband's name then you don't have to, and if you do want to us his name then the sooner you start using it on everything the better.    It won't have any impact on the immigration case one way or the other.

 

For filing taxes you can file as married filing separately without doing anything, but you may get a much larger return filing as married filing jointly.  For the Philippines, your husband can get a certified copy of his Philippine Passport from any DFA office.  It costs P150.  You can submit the certified copy of his passport with a paper 1040 return, a letter electing for your husband to treated as resident for tax purposes, and form W7.  They would then issue your husband an ITIN you can use filing taxes while you wait for the immigration case.  In some cases it can make a HUGE difference in the amount of your tax return.

 

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-7

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

 

Thank you! Is married filing jointly much better than filing as the head of the household? 

[Nicole06 1]

3 hours ago, Verrou said:

1. are you the petitioner or beneficiary? if you are the petitioner, u dont have to use your married name if you dont want to. if you are GC holder, i will suggest to file i-130 with maiden name. easier. if you want to legally change ur name, u have to pay over $500 to get the GC replace with the new name. 

2. again, what name do you want to use? there's no rule to use your spouse name for immigration standpoint if you dont want to

3. you dont change ur status. for 2023 tax that you are going to file in 2024, put what is your marital status on dec 31st 2023 when u file it in 2024. 

 

Yes, I am the petitioner. Also, since I am applying for a drivers license? Should I put my maiden name or married name on my drivers permit before obtaining a drivers license? 

[top_secret 2,458]

4 minutes ago, Nicole06 said:

Thank you! Is married filing jointly much better than filing as the head of the household? 

 

 

It really depends on the tax situation of those filing.  Our case is perhaps an extreme example but our return was literally over $10,000 more by us filing jointly rather than me filing separately.  I would not have been able to file head of household.  Other people may see less benefit but most of the time a return for married filing jointly is going to be larger.

[Verrou 1,962]

23 hours ago, Nicole06 said:

 

Yes, I am the petitioner. Also, since I am applying for a drivers license? Should I put my maiden name or married name on my drivers permit before obtaining a drivers license? 

Only you can answer that question. Like I said above, u want to change ur name now ? Prepare to pay for GC replacement for new name. I personally won’t do it because I don’t want to give my money to USCIS.

 

you don’t have to change ur name. So I can’t answer what name should you choose. Only you can answer that question 

Edited August 3 by Verrou