S2N

Also, on FBAR, does she have a government sponsored retirement account? A format called AFPs is popular in a lot of Latin America and it does trigger FBAR reporting requirements (they’re the equivalent of mandatory 401(k)s.) We’ll have lifetime FBAR requirements because of the Chilean AFP my husband has and can’t touch until his 60s as it has more than $10,000 USD after the mandatory contributions for the time he’s been working. A lot of people only look at bank accounts and don’t think about how different retirement accounts impact it. In the case of Latin America, multiple countries have these government sponsored 401(k) equivalents that are mandatory and since the format is investments, it triggers FBAR. No one thinks of the mandatory account you can’t touch being reportable, but it can be.

This doesn’t even matter for spouses as you can always elect to treat a foreign spouse as a tax resident under 6013(g) if they’re not resident or 6013(h) if they became a resident that year. In this case 6013(h) allows the treatment of an NRA as a tax resident the year they become a permanent resident if they are married to a US citizen as of 12/31. Technically you have to attach a signed statement to the return by both spouses, but unlike 6013(g) I can’t ever imagine them enforcing that part of their internal procedure since it’s a once in a lifetime election and if they ever decided to audit you ever all you’d have to do is file an amended return with the signed statement. OP — if you want to cover all bases upload a statement signed by both of you stating that you’re married and the LPR started the year as an NRA, ended it as a resident, and you’re jointly electing to treat the LPR spouse as a tax resident for the entire year under Internal Revenue Code 6013(h) for the purposes of filing a joint return. OnlineTax, FreeTaxUSA, TurboTax, etc. should have a section where you can upload statements/attachments with your return. I don’t think it’s necessary just because of how impractical ever enforcing that part of the IRS regulation would be, but it’d cover all bases. The short answer is: you can definitely file MFJ. This is not tax advice and you should consult a tax advisor if after your own research you are unsure how to proceed.

Did you get a refund and if so how substantial?

Yes, that’s almost always the best outcome, but some of them like to know you’ve done something first. Best is to call them and see what they need.

Even if the earlier petition was closed by NVC, theoretically an I-130 is valid until withdrawn or revoked by USCIS. Also looks like it was a pre-adjustment of status I-130 where they never filed the I-485 based on some of OP’s responses, so it might be floating around somewhere in the USCIS ether since it never would have left them. Its probably worth sending USCIS a formal letter withdrawing the previous I-130 with all identifying information available just so the old I-130 is officially dead within their records. Can even include phrasing like “if not already closed by USCIS…” before the withdrawal. OP can file a FOIA request for the I-130 records as well, which USCIS has historically been pretty quick at handling. I’m sure there’s some identifying information they could use to find it, even if only a social. They were able to find my mom’s hard copy A-file 35 years after naturalization in a district court when they had previously lost all information except her maiden name, parents names, date of entry, and A# in the great USCIS digitization of immigration records of the early 2000s 🙄 USCIS is surprisingly good at finding records they misplace once you force them to.

What @rbv_shard explained. First time you owe there’s no penalty, but otherwise $999 will guarantee no penalties and interest. Speaking from a purely economic standpoint the “perfect” return would be to owe $999 every year in perpetuity because of time value of money. I’m sure someone could figure out a better way to go from owing $0 one year to the optimal amount owed the next, but takes too much thought for my brain before coffee and would be a bit too cute. The other safe harbors also exist, but $999 will be your most consistent one. Of course, everyone should follow the law and aim to pay estimated taxes/withholdings so $0 is owed as payment of refund on 4/15.

Mine was ready next day. I owed less than $500; which I count as a win, time value of money… in case anyone is interested the “perfect return” from an economic standpoint is owing $999. That’s the amount you’ll never owe penalty and interest on. Government is giving you a $999 interest free loan instead of the other way around. Can’t say I don’t like refunds, though 😅

Husband entered again today after having an approved I-130 (and therefore A#.) Used MPC. He showed his cellphone and passport to the CBP officer and was literally waved through with a hand at the Miami airport without a single word being spoken.

They’re useful for anytime you’re dealing with a rejection for a mismatch or if you’re filing for an ITIN the first time. Basically anything involving tax IDs/SSNs. Electronic filing is vastly superior in every other case, but mismatch on electronic filing due to new SSN of recently arrived foreign spouse. Is one of the niche cases where they prove their worth. Bringing the new social security card to the appointment also might be helpful.

Agreed, but would recommend doing it again on paper in a tax payer assistance center (link). These are the circumstances where an in-person paper return can be useful as the employees can see the history of the return and troubleshoot in-person.

If you got divorced, started dating, and then got married after dating less than a year while there was still a pending I-130 for your ex-wife, that’d also raise questions.

Yeah. They sped through January. We were approved 14 days ago and I filed January 1st. I’m sure there will be slowdowns, etc. but it’s been trending towards less than a year. You could see March in a few weeks at the current pace.

Looks like they’re making quick work of January!

Yep. Means it got sent to NVC. I received the NVC welcome letter two days later.

Congrats!