SansTortoise

Did she sign any form to abandon her green card or did the green card physically expire (I.e. it’s past the date printed on the physical card)? Or are you just assuming it’s invalid because of the 12 month rule? Asking because CBP has been known to use discretion around the 12 month rule even without a re-entry permit, but a lot depends on the exact circumstances. If it’s not expired and she didn’t sign it away/an immigration judge didn’t revoke it, it might be worth talking to a lawyer to see what they think the best option is.

The CR-1 visa is the document fixed in your passport by the embassy or consulate that gives you permission to seek admission to the United States as an immigrant at a port of entry. Said in layman’s terms: its permission for you to get in the plane.

You clearly haven’t worked with the government much… I’d also add the strictness on this probably partially depends on if the country is a fraud risk. Europe and contractor so I’m assuming Germany or similar. Not much fraud coming from the wealthier countries in the EU.

The embassy doesn’t get a say. It’s decided by the Assistant U.S. Attorney your case lands with.

Do you or your wife have a sufficient level of both German and English to provide an accurate translation even if the English part wasn’t there? If so, you are allowed to do the translation yourself and self-certify. I’m assuming the answer to the above is “yes” since you’re writing here in English about a marriage to a German national. If the biggest concern is cost, it seems like the most straightforward answer is to certify the translation yourself — which USCIS allows — certified does not mean professional. It’d also probably be quicker than getting a response from them. Yes, it’s stupid. But give them what they want and move on.

Also — if you need additional documents translated you don’t need to pay. Your English looks to be sufficient to self-translate for USCIS and presumably your husband is fluent in English and Spanish since he originally is from Peru and is now a USC. You guys can self-translate and certify your fluency in both languages on your own.

Not that government agencies not following the law as written doesn’t occur, but if those internet stories are real, USCIS would be directly violating the U.S. Code: 22 USC 2705 makes a passport equivalent to a naturalization certificate or citizenship certificate. I get that people want to play it safe, but the short answer to OP’s question is that the law is clear that a valid U.S. passport is legally equivalent to a citizenship certificate or naturalization. My overall view is that when the law is clear that something that somebody already has is sufficient, we shouldn’t be telling them to spend more money in an already expensive process on the off chance USCIS decides to not follow the law.

A valid US passport is absolute proof of citizenship. If one has it there is no need for a citizenship certificate because the Department of State has determined that the individual in question is a U.S. citizen. That’s why adults without CRBA can apply for a passport and bypass USCIS entirely. There was talk ages ago of moving passport issuance to USCIS, but because of their poor reputation within the confines of DC that never happened because getting citizenship determination and passport issuance right was too important. Short of it is: a valid passport is all that is needed to prove citizenship to the U.S. government. That includes for immigration purposes.

Since making posts about taxes is my thing as the traditional lurker today… 3/15 is the absolute latest most people should have all tax forms. 1099s come 2/15 and K-1s come Marchish. If someone has no investments file in February. If someone has investments wait until early March since surprise K-1s are a thing. K-1 being both the most annoying tax form and a visa can be added to the list of things the government should rethink.

Most people sponsoring spouses to come to the U.S. don’t qualify for the EITC, so that’s unlikely to be applicable in many circumstances. Everyone has a unique tax situation and when it involves foreign income it’s complex enough to hire a professional and not TurboTax it. This is a DIY forum for how to fill out immigration paperwork — the answer OP’s been given for immigration purposes is correct — it doesn’t matter. Multi jurisdictional tax issues are much more complex than the I-130, though and consulting a qualified CPA who has experience dealing with international tax in individual returns would give a definitive answer and would likely save OP significant money now rather than in 2-3 years. I am a CPA but I wouldn’t consider figuring it out on my own because the situation is abnormal enough that TurboTaxing it or asking on a forum is unlikely to get you to the best answer from an income tax perspective.

Hire a real CPA for your taxes that has experience with foreign income. It’ll save you thousands of dollars. You’ll likely also get a refund this year in either of the married statuses, so if MFJ is most advantageous the CPA can help you file for an extension on your tax return. If you go the file single and amend route I would even more suggest a CPA. Yes, you can self-file for any U.S. tax situation, but typically it’s advisable to hire a CPA when you’re dealing with income from two different U.S. states. Two different countries even more so.

Unfortunately, no. Both surnames are required. I saw some old posts on here/other Internet forums that suggested that there was a USCIS/State disconnect on this and that I-130 under one name would result in a green card under one name even if DS-260 uses both and state would issue the IV under both. But most of those were a decade plus old and were light on details. Figured it was worth asking in case anyone had more recent experience.

Right — but I’m specifically asking about I-130 and USCIS and if someone from a Hispanic country has experience getting USCIS to issue a green card using only the paternal last name. Not about naturalization or what the consulate will do. State is going to issue a visa using the name in the passport. The question is if by filling out I-130 with one name and then listing both last names as other names used, USCIS will process the application/will issue a green card with one last name. I figured this was a fairly common occurrence since it’s the norm in most of the Hispanic world, but there’s not much on here about the topic.

Thanks, that seems to suggest that State wouldn’t have any issues with it (even though it doesn’t cover DS-260 within its scope.) There doesn’t seem to be similar guidance for I-130/USCIS so maybe someone with experience there could chime in.

Yes, I know it’s possible during the citizenship process; but this is more for the green card. Basically the custom in many Spanish-speaking countries is to have a paternal and maternal last name, but to primarily use the paternal for everything but legal purposes. He’d prefer to just drop the maternal last name at the green card stage for simplicity’s sake rather than to have two last names and have to legally change it on all the paperwork in 3 years.

My husband (both male) and I are filling out form I-130. He would prefer to drop his maternal last name on US legal documents such as SSN, GC, and eventually passport, but we also don’t want to cause any issue with USCIS/NVC. Searching the forum, it seems that some people have had luck with using only the paternal last name as the main name, and then using the full last name as an additional name used. Any advice/experience would be appreciated.