Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) tax filing and CR1/IR1 visa for my spouse

[dd2024dd 7]

I applied for the CR1/IR1 visa for my spouse back in Feb 2024. We were married online in the UT state prior to that. I lived with her since Dec 2023. I was able to do that because I work remotely for a US company.

 

I'm filing my taxes for the year 2024 now and since I haven't set foot on the US soil in 2024, my tax advisor prepared the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) tax write-off for me. Which is a decent amount.

 

My question is (maybe someone knows) - can the FEIE filing affect my wife's visa application?

Edited 11 hours ago by dd2024dd

[OldUser 8,066]

How do you prove domicile?

[dd2024dd 7]

@OldUser I'm assuming that you're referring to what I provided in the form I-130 in the "Address history" section. (I had to look it up to check.)

I gave them two addresses. 1) My address in the US (I co-rent it with my friend and still pay rent there, and keep all my registrations there) and 2) provided the address in Africa where we're staying with my wife.

[Edward and Jaycel 876]

The only other risk I can see (Aside from @OldUser's concern above) is if it takes the "Total Income" on your tax return transcript below the income required for the I-864. I took the FEIE in the 2023 tax year and it significantly reduced my total income, which is the amount you have to report on the I-864. Fortunately, I was still a good bit over the 125% of poverty level when I filed the I-864 for Jaycel's AOS.

[dd2024dd 7]

@Edward and Jaycel thanks for the tip. You mean "total income" as in "taxable for the IRS", right? Because my total income will be what it is. It's just that I don't pay tax on a good portion of it. I think it's around $126k now that FEIE allows to write-off.

Just from the curiosity, what is the minimum income required for the I-864? I found this. I am assuming it will be for 2 people, right. So the poverty line is $21k/yr. Then we get 125% off it, so the min income should be $26.5k/yr.

As for the @OldUser's question. Sorry, I'm not a lawyer, so I didn't understand it right away. I googled it and it seems like I need to prove these points for the domicile:

U.S. Tax Returns
Employment in the U.S.
Property Ownership or Lease Agreements
U.S. Bank Accounts
Driver’s License or State ID
Voting Records

I have all of those, except the last one. I have a voter registration card, but I haven't voted for the last year. (Since I was abroad.) But can the US government actually ask for a proof of voting? I don't think so.

[OldUser 8,066]

2 minutes ago, dd2024dd said:

Just from the curiosity, what is the minimum income required for the I-864? I found this. I am assuming it will be for 2 people, right. So the poverty line is $21k/yr. Then we get 125% off it, so the min income should be $26.5k/yr.

 

You don't want to do the minimum. The more the better. $30-40K+ is much more likely to get accepted. And $100K+ is for sure accepted.

 

4 minutes ago, dd2024dd said:

As for the @OldUser's question. Sorry, I'm not a lawyer, so I didn't understand it right away. I googled it and it seems like I need to prove these points for the domicile:

U.S. Tax Returns
Employment in the U.S.
Property Ownership or Lease Agreements
U.S. Bank Accounts
Driver’s License or State ID
Voting Records

I have all of those, except the last one. I have a voter registration card, but I haven't voted for the last year. (Since I was abroad.) But can the US government actually ask for a proof of voting? I don't think so.

I'm not an immigration lawyer, but to me claiming FEIE highlights you're living abroad and working abroad, undermining your claim to have US domicile.

[dd2024dd 7]

@OldUser "to me claiming FEIE highlights you're living abroad and working abroad, undermining your claim to have US domicile."

Yes, that's why I'm asking. Hoping that someone else went through this FEIE as well.

 

On one hand I wouldn't mind not sharing my hard earned $$ with Uncle Elon (or whoever else runs this country now), but on the other hand I don't want to jeopardize this marriage visa. (It takes several years to complete, so I don't want to save some money and then get a bunch of complications over it.)

 

But, on the other hand, it also proves that I'm living with my wife and it's a genuine marriage. This is what they want after all, right? And if they were moving a bit faster and didn't take years to process these cases, I wouldn't have to live abroad for this long.

Edited 2 hours ago by TBoneTX
Disguised profanity removed.

[Edward and Jaycel 876]

13 minutes ago, dd2024dd said:

thanks for the tip. You mean "total income" as in "taxable for the IRS", right? Because my total income will be what it is. It's just that I don't pay tax on a good portion of it. I think it's around $126k now that FEIE allows to write-off.

 

Yes so lets's say (just as an example - not using my real income here Mods  ) my total wages from W-2 work in 2023 was $110,000 and in my case I was able to take the FEIE for January through August. What the IRS does is take that FEIE as an "Additional Income" entry on the Tax Return Transcript in a negative amount and subtract it from the total wages. In my hypothetical case for those 8 months, they would have subtracted $74,609 from my $110,000 wages, leaving me with a total income of $35,391 (which is what they then tax). But that did take a big chunk out of my "Total Income" bringing me down closer to the minimum amount that I would have liked. And yes, for a 2 person household, 125% is about $26.5K/year. The big thing is, proving current income is just as important (with paystubs, employment verification letter). That's the amount you put for the "My current individual annual income" part.

[dd2024dd 7]

@Edward and Jaycel that is not how FEIE works, you can't claim it for 8 months. I believe you have to be gone for 11 months or more in a year. But nonetheless I see your point. Thanks.

I wonder if anyone here actually filed for that FEIE?

[Edward and Jaycel 876]

24 minutes ago, dd2024dd said:

@Edward and Jaycel that is not how FEIE works, you can't claim it for 8 months. I believe you have to be gone for 11 months or more in a year. But nonetheless I see your point. Thanks.

I wonder if anyone here actually filed for that FEIE?

I actually did file for it in 2022 & 2023 as my time abroad spanned the 2 tax years - I claimed it for 4 months in 2022 and for 8 months in 2023

 

I had to get an extension and couldn't file my taxes for 2022 until I had spent the full year abroad

Edited 9 hours ago by Edward and Jaycel

[OldUser 8,066]

7 hours ago, dd2024dd said:

But, on the other hand, it also proves that I'm living with my wife and it's a genuine marriage. This is what they want after all, right? And if they were moving a bit faster and didn't take years to process these cases, I wouldn't have to live abroad for this long.

The other angle to look at it is...

The purpose of immigrant visa is to reunite US citizen with their foreign spouse.

 

If you already live together elsewhere, you're already reunited, and why should a visa be given? This is why domicile is important.

Living together as a proof is more critical for adjustment of status cases.

Edited 2 hours ago by TBoneTX
disguised profanity removed from quote

[dd2024dd 7]

@Edward and Jaycel hmm, interesting. I was going by what my tax preparer told me. You have to be gone 330 days out of 365 to qualify for FEIE. But maybe I misunderstood.

@OldUser yes, you make a good point there.

[Edward and Jaycel 876]

3 minutes ago, dd2024dd said:

 hmm, interesting. I was going by what my tax preparer told me. You have to be gone 330 days out of 365 to qualify for FEIE. But maybe I misunderstood.

 

I was... It just spanned August 2022 - August 2023. I had to wait until I had hit the 1 year abroad in August of 2023 to file the 2022 return which included 4 months of that year abroad and when I filed my 2023 return i got to use the other 8 months of that year abroad in that tax year. That's how you have to do it if your year abroad doesn't go Jan 1st to December 31st.

[dd2024dd 7]

@Edward and Jaycel oh, that's pretty cool. Thanks for explaining it. I didn't know that detail.

[JeanneAdil 6,723]

you need a good tax attorney

your income is based on a US company and is not eligible as foreign income for the exclusion