Random things I was worried about but shouldn't have been...

[larry sellers]

Hello everyone. This week my wife arrived in the USA after getting approved for her green card at the end of November. This website has been an invaluable resource throughout the green card process, and I wanted to try to contribute some information in case someone in the future has problems or worries similar to mine and is frantically searching for help on these forums. I also would like to take this opportunity to thank any and all of you who helped us along the way.

 

First, here was our situation. I lived in China from Sept. 2002 to Sept 2012. My wife and I met in 2003, got married in 2008, got her first tourist visa to the USA in 2009, and got her green card at the end of November 2012. I did the Direct Consular Filing (DCF) at the Guangzhou consulate on August 17th, 2012. My wife was approved for her green card on Nov. 30th, 2012, so the entire process took a little over three months, but that doesn't include the two months we spent getting paperwork together for the August 17th filing. So, if you're reading this and thinking of getting started gathering paperwork today, it's going to be about six months before your wife has her green card in hand, and that's if everything goes flawlessly.

 

We had a really bad experience when we first tried to get my wife a tourist visa in 2008 (she was rudely denied after the CO refused to look at any of the documents we had prepared), and as such I have had no faith whatsoever in the people at the consulate who held our future in their hands. Because of this negative experience, I spent way too much time worrying myself sick about things I shouldn't have. Here are some things I was sweating which I shouldn't have.

 

These tips are for men doing DCFs in China for their Chinese wives, not for fiancee visas or people who met over the internet.

 

1. The best piece of advice I can give you is to tell your wife to get on the Chinese language boards on this website and make nice with the other ladies. They will tell her what forms and information she needs to get, and then she can tell you and you can just do it. The ladies do a great job of helping each other out. My wife was consistently more informed throughout the process than I was.

 

2. Establishing a domicile is easier than it sounds. If you have a bank account or still receive mail at a family member's house, you'll be fine. A letter from a parent explaining that you and your spouse will be living with them is a good idea. You do NOT need to rent an apartment or anything like that before your wife goes in for her interview. The Guangzhou consulate isn't going to fail you for not proving you have a domicile.

 

3. You and your co-sponsor MUST have copies of your income tax returns for the most recent three years. For some reason, the government gives you the option of just submitting one year, but they'll deny you if you do. They want three years, so give them three years.

 

IF YOU ARE LIVING ABROAD, FILE YOUR TAXES EVERY YEAR. Many Americans abroad (including me) are confused about whether or not you have to file taxes if you live abroad. Yes, you have to file, but unless you make more than $92,000 per year, you won't have to pay any taxes. Yes, this is stupid. You should complete form 2555 along with your 1040 every year. You do not have to prove your income by sending them a work contract or anything like that; it is strictly on the honor system. Yes, I'm serious.

 

Most tax software programs (like TurboTax) won't let you file electronically from abroad, so you're going to have to do it the old fashioned way and mail it to the USA, unless you have someone prepare you taxes for you in the USA. You do not need a tax professional.

 

3a. If you have not filed your taxes since you've been overseas, DO NOT PANIC! The IRS doesn't give a crap about you unless you owe them money, and unless you're making more than $92,000 per year, you don't owe them squat. Just file (at the minimum) the last three years (because your wife will need copies of these at the green card interview), and if you haven't filed for longer than that, file up to the last six years you haven't filed (the IRS only keeps the last six years of your information in their computers). File your back taxes now, or at least few months before your wife will go in for her interview. If you have more than six years of unfiled back taxes, you can do any years longer than six years ago later if you want at your leisure.

 

4. If you do a DCF, remember that the Guangzhou consulate doesn't care how much you make (just that you filed your taxes), unless you have a lot of money in the bank. They care how much your CO-SPONSOR makes. Here's some information about our co-sponsor and the documentation he provided.

-Your co-sponsor does NOT need to be a family member. My wife was sponsored by one of my oldest friends.

-Our co-sponsor made $30,000 per year the last three years. He supplied the following documents:

-Three most recent tax returns and W-2 copies

-Passport information copy

-The ten most recent weeks of salary receipts from his company

-A signed letter explaining who he was and his relationship to me (note, he was NOT a family member)

-Completed and signed I-864.

 

That was it. Other people have supplied more information, but that did it for us.

One more thing about your co-sponsor. It needs to be someone who isn't resistant do doing this, because the government may request more information from them. I don't believe in karma, but the person doing this needs to have a positive mindset about it, otherwise it's going to be hell for you and them. Find someone who is enthusiastic about you and your wife and ask them.

 

5. Make sure the correct person signs the correct forms. Triple check to make sure.

 

6. If your wife can speak English, she will have a much easier time at the interview.

 

7. You do NOT need a job in the USA for your wife to get a green card if you do a DCF. After I went to Guangzhou and dropped off all our information, I came to the USA to start on the job hunt. My wife stayed in China to finish her driving class and do her interview at the consulate.

 

8. It took about one week for the consulate to mail my wife her passport with her provisional green card, or whatever it's called, in it after she passed her interview, so take that into consideration when booking flights.

 

9. You don't go to the interview with your wife if you do a DCF. You go first to start the process, and then she goes by herself later for her interview after you prepare an ungodly amount of paperwork.

 

10. Unless you live in Guangzhou, getting your wife her green card is going to cost you a minimum of $2,000 for all the consulate fees, the hospital checkup, the plane/train tickets to and from Guangzhou, and the hotel in Guangzhou. Minimum.

 

 

That's about all I can think of right now with regard to our experience. Just to be clear, I am not an immigration attorney or a tax professional, so use this information at your own risk.

 

Good luck, grasshopper!

[Randy W]

Congratulations and thanks for the input! That seems pretty cut and dry and inline with everything we've heard.

 

I'm expecting to be able to file my income taxes electronically from China this year - the IRS offers free efile of most forms.

[dan1984]

Great write-up, thanks! Saved for future reference.

 

Also, hmmmm, I'm not sure if I've just gotten lucky or what the deal is, but I've used TurboTax to file my taxes online from here in China the past 3 years...........

[Urkidding]

Larry,

 

I hope you didn't worry yourself sick to the point of ulcers and major headaches.

 

Like many other people before you I'm am sure those people behind you will benefit from this.

 

Welcome back to America!

Edited December 22, 2012 by Urkidding (see edit history)

[larry sellers]

Thanks everyone! Looking back on the process it was pretty cut and dried. It's just that there are a million things that can go wrong, which I won't list here because I don't want people to worry about things they haven't thought of yet. Ignorance can be bliss!

 

I was just worried because of our extremely negative experience the first time we went to get a tourist visa for my wife so we could visit the US. That delayed our first trip together to the US for my wife to meet my family and friends by 13 months. If that happened again I was going to lose my mind.

 

Just to clear up a point about the taxes, I think I meant you can't use online software for filing back taxes abroad. I could be totally wrong about that, though. I am obviously not a tax or tax software expert. I just ended up doing them by hand and sending them to the IRS in the USA and everything went fine.

 

Also, one more thing I should have added to my original list above was the following:

 

11. After your wife gets her green card and you both move back to the USA, be prepared to gain about 10-15 pounds. The portion sizes here are ridiculous!

[warpedbored]

Great write up Larry. Welcome back to America. Just in the interest of clarification, the interview your wife had was for an I-130 petition which results in an IR-1 visa. If you had been married for less than two years it would have resulted in an CR-1 visa which would require removing conditions later. The stamp in her passport also serves as a temporary green until she receives a green card in the mail, usually about a month after entering the USA. The spouse doesn't get a green card until passing a port of entry to the USA.

[dan1984]

Great write up Larry. Welcome back to America. Just in the interest of clarification, the interview your wife had was for an I-130 petition which results in an IR-1 visa. If you had been married for less than two years it would have resulted in an CR-1 visa which would require removing conditions later. The stamp in her passport also serves as a temporary green until she receives a green card in the mail, usually about a month after entering the USA. The spouse doesn't get a green card until passing a port of entry to the USA.

 

If you have been married less than 2 years at the time of the interview and receive a CR-1 visa, BUT, you enter the US on a CR-1 visa and at the time of entry the marriage has been longer than 2 years, is a 2 year temporary green card or 10 year permanent green card issued?

[warpedbored]

Good catch Dan, I meant to say CR-1 visa. I edited my reply.

[larry sellers]

Great write up Larry. Welcome back to America. Just in the interest of clarification, the interview your wife had was for an I-130 petition which results in an IR-1 visa. If you had been married for less than two years it would have resulted in an CR-1 visa which would require removing conditions later. The stamp in her passport also serves as a temporary green until she receives a green card in the mail, usually about a month after entering the USA. The spouse doesn't get a green card until passing a port of entry to the USA.

 

^ Exactly.

[Randy W]

Great write up Larry. Welcome back to America. Just in the interest of clarification, the interview your wife had was for an I-130 petition which results in an IR-1 visa. If you had been married for less than two years it would have resulted in an CR-1 visa which would require removing conditions later. The stamp in her passport also serves as a temporary green until she receives a green card in the mail, usually about a month after entering the USA. The spouse doesn't get a green card until passing a port of entry to the USA.

 

If you have been married less than 2 years at the time of the interview and receive a CR-1 visa, BUT, you enter the US on a CR-1 visa and at the time of entry the marriage has been longer than 2 years, is a 2 year temporary green card or 10 year permanent green card issued?

 

THIS is correct. It's a CR-1 for less than 2 years at the time of entry, or IR-1 if married at least 2 years at the time of entry.

 

CR-2 and IR-2 are the equivalent visas for her children.

 

CR visas are for conditional residency. IR are for the 10 year card.

[dan1984]

Good catch Dan, I meant to say CR-1 visa. I edited my reply.

 

:happydance:

[Ryan H]

The stamp in her passport also serves as a temporary green until she receives a green card in the mail,

 

Just to clarify, the temporary green card is a combination of the visa itself and a standard entry stamp placed on the page next to the visa by CBP. CBP will write in the A# and expiration date on the entry stamp fields; this is the "endorsement" that is referenced on the notation that appears at the bottom of the visa.

[myriah8]

 

3. You and your co-sponsor MUST have copies of your income tax returns for the most recent three years. For some reason, the government gives you the option of just submitting one year, but they'll deny you if you do. They want three years, so give them three years.

 

IF YOU ARE LIVING ABROAD, FILE YOUR TAXES EVERY YEAR. Many Americans abroad (including me) are confused about whether or not you have to file taxes if you live abroad. Yes, you have to file, but unless you make more than $92,000 per year, you won't have to pay any taxes. Yes, this is stupid. You should complete form 2555 along with your 1040 every year. You do not have to prove your income by sending them a work contract or anything like that; it is strictly on the honor system. Yes, I'm serious.

 

 

 

Thanks Larry,

You experience is very similar to ours, and this has been helpful in giving me a bit of peace. My husband's interview is in 9 days. I double-checking that all the Ts and are crossed and is are dotted.

 

 

Dear Friends,

One concern I have is on the 1-864. I have been filing my taxes under the foreign earned income exclusion so my wages show as zero on my w-2s. However, obviously I am earning income. So on line 23 where it asks:

 

My current individual income is: _________________

 

Do I put zero as that is what I am filing, or do I enter my annual income that I am actually earning?

And then the same concern goes for # 25 where it asks for the past 3 years as I have been filing under the exclusion.

 

 

Anybody with similar experiences?

 

I sure would appreciate your advice!

 

Thanks,

Mariah

 

 

[Randy W]

 

 

3. You and your co-sponsor MUST have copies of your income tax returns for the most recent three years. For some reason, the government gives you the option of just submitting one year, but they'll deny you if you do. They want three years, so give them three years.

 

IF YOU ARE LIVING ABROAD, FILE YOUR TAXES EVERY YEAR. Many Americans abroad (including me) are confused about whether or not you have to file taxes if you live abroad. Yes, you have to file, but unless you make more than $92,000 per year, you won't have to pay any taxes. Yes, this is stupid. You should complete form 2555 along with your 1040 every year. You do not have to prove your income by sending them a work contract or anything like that; it is strictly on the honor system. Yes, I'm serious.

 

 

 

Thanks Larry,

You experience is very similar to ours, and this has been helpful in giving me a bit of peace. My husband's interview is in 9 days. I double-checking that all the Ts and are crossed and is are dotted.

 

 

Dear Friends,

One concern I have is on the 1-864. I have been filing my taxes under the foreign earned income exclusion so my wages show as zero on my w-2s. However, obviously I am earning income. So on line 23 where it asks:

 

My current individual income is: _________________

 

Do I put zero as that is what I am filing, or do I enter my annual income that I am actually earning?

And then the same concern goes for # 25 where it asks for the past 3 years as I have been filing under the exclusion.

 

 

Anybody with similar experiences?

 

I sure would appreciate your advice!

 

Thanks,

Mariah

 

 

 

 

 

?????

 

Your income tax returns should show your actual income. Yes, foreign income is "excluded", but you should still be showing the amount earned in order to "exclude" it. If the IRS were to somehow learn about income you did not report, they could deny the exclusion and charge you for back taxes and penalties.

 

A W-2 you got from your employer actually shows $0 income ???

 

So, yes, if you report $0 income to the IRS, you're stuck with that, unless you file corrected amended returns (which would still show $0 tax, but also show the amount "excluded"). If you report $0 to the IRS while claiming an "annual income that I am actually earning", that's a major red flag.

[Randy W]

By the way, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is not actually an exclusion - it's a different way of figuring your tax. See the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet in the 1040 Instructions.

 

On that worksheet, you will figure the tax INCLUDING the foreign earned income Then, you figure the tax on ONLY the Foreign Earned Income with no deductions or exemptions (this is typically 10%).

 

The tax you pay is the difference between the two amounts. So what you actually exclude is the (usually 10%) tax figured on the foreign income.

 

But, yes, if you have ONLY Foreign Earned Income, then the entire amount is excluded (up to the $92,000+ limit).