Can You File an I-130 if You Haven't Filed Taxes?

[menegichu 0]

We have concerns about the petitioner's financial history.

 

-The petitioner (U.S. sponsor) lived in Japan from 2020 to the summer of 2023, earned below the income guidelines during that time, and didn't file taxes.

-His last U.S. employment was in 2017, and he did not file taxes before or after that year.

-He is currently in the process of filing his missed taxes, but it’s not completed yet.

-We plan to have the beneficiary's aunt serve as the financial sponsor instead of the petitioner.

 

Given this situation, can we start the initial CR1 visa process while the petitioner's tax filings are incomplete?

[pushbrk 12,913]

Yes.  There is no requirement to have filed tax returns to file the I-130.  However, in order to qualify as your spouse's sponsor, you have to have either filed the last three tax returns, or show you were not required to.  The acceptable reason for this is that your income was below the filing threshold.  If that's true, then you won't qualify as the financial sponsor.  Two choices.  Return to the USA and go to work, or have a willing and qualified joint sponsor.  The sponsorship issue comes up only after the petition is approved, a year or so after filing.

[Family 4,014]

27 minutes ago, menegichu said:

We have concerns about the petitioner's financial history.

 

-The petitioner (U.S. sponsor) lived in Japan from 2020 to the summer of 2023, earned below the income guidelines during that time, and didn't file taxes.

-His last U.S. employment was in 2017, and he did not file taxes before or after that year.

-He is currently in the process of filing his missed taxes, but it’s not completed yet.

-We plan to have the beneficiary's aunt serve as the financial sponsor instead of the petitioner.

 

Given this situation, can we start the initial CR1 visa process while the petitioner's tax filings are incomplete?

Start the I-130 now. Financial docs and I-864 won’t be needed for a while . After USCIS approves and sends case to NVC ( at least a year) , USC Petitioner files an I-864 and Joint Sponsor also files I-864.

No worries , it’s ok for Petitioner to earn little or nothing as long as he has a rich auntie😂