biggish data

Help with tax returns while out of country, and didn't earn enough.

will do!

thanks! you helped us out sooooo much!!!
:star:

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-08-07 13:35:00

Help with tax returns while out of country, and didn't earn enough.

hi!

thanks for all your help! i know it's been so confusing. i just want this to be OVER!!!

i miraculously stayed awake til 3am this morning and after 3 times being hung up on from the IRS london office number, i tried one last time and a wonderful lady answered straight away. she confirmed what i believed i needed to do: go to my local irs office with my 2006 1040 and 2555 forms filled out, submit them and get a stamped copy to mail to the embassy.
this is exactly what i did and i'm amazed it was so easy. i showed i made $4400 (pounds) as foreign income and it all works out that i don't owe anything. the helpful lady at my local irs office even made me eligible to receive a refund of $30 for some long distance taxes from 2003. that worked out great since i got a parking ticket! that's another story!

but i feel relieved, that now it is out of our hands and immigration will make the final decision. and soon! the courier picked up my husbands passport and my mom's cosponsor forms today. so, more waiting, but now we know we've done all we can do.

thanks for the advice! i would've never known to file the 2555 form and a 1040!

cheers!
bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-08-07 13:21:00

Help with tax returns while out of country, and didn't earn enough.

hi trailmix,

thank you for your post and understanding. i know it's all messed up and confusing now. just need to wade thru the mess i've caused and get my husband over here to be with me.

i understand i should backfile now even though the amount is so small, they just want the 1040 to say i made $0.

so, JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE i'm am going to wake this morning (3am) to call the irs office at the london embassy for 9am. i will ask them to do the backfiling for last year for me and state that my US income was $0 and also fill out the 2555 Foreign Earned Income to report what pounds i made for 2006. i've read they are helpful and can do this quickly....HOPEFULLY! :help:

my husband is having his passport picked up tomorrow (tuesday) so hopefully i can get the irs docs to meet up with his passport and my mom's I-864. wouldn't that be ideal?

thank you for sharing your experience and hope.

i hopefully, will take care of business ASAP.

cheers,
bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-08-06 17:34:00

Help with tax returns while out of country, and didn't earn enough.

hello yodrak,

this is the wife (of beckett) from above speaking!

sorry, but we have not misrepresented anything to immigration! in the original post my husband had my numbers mixed up. i clarified the actual numbers on my previous post, to emphasis our real question, which is whether i need to backfile for the small amount i made in the uk IN ADDITION to my mothers cosponsor I- 864 + tax returns.

the quote you are using is out of context. it makes it sound like i told immigration one number but actually made another. the mixup is just in how my husband reported my numbers.
for the year 2006 i was in the UK and made roughly 3000 pounds, $6000.
for this year 2007 i will be making a salary of $24,000.

FYI: my I-864 had my irs letters stating i did not file for the past 3 years and i had a letter stating why. my current employment for this year 2007 is what i gave them, my projected salary to be $24,000. that is enough to support my husband, but they want the sponsor to show past tax returns. since i do not have them we are doing the cosponsor.

please, does anyone understand?

thanks for the advice,
bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-08-06 16:46:00

Help with tax returns while out of country, and didn't earn enough.

hi,

i am going to try and sort our situation out a little. i would like to clarify the details from my husbands post above:

They initally didn't grant my husbands visa on the day of the interview because they needed my US 2006 tax return. I did not file taxes in 2006 because I was living in the UK with my husband the whole year and did some temp work that equalled around 3000 pounds ($6000). Since we are married I believed (from the irs website) that you didn't have to file unless you made over $16,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

i am aware that they are looking for the sponsor to prove 2 things:
1. that they earn enough to support the immigrant (125% above the poverty level for a household of 2)
2. they've filed taxes for the past 3 years.

i can prove i make enough to support my husband now, but do not have the past 3 years tax returns.
so we are resorting to a cosponsor, my mother who is financially able to do so. we are submitting my mothers I-864 and tax returns tomorrow. we are hoping this is all that is required to finish up our visa process.

my husband is wondering if in addition to my mothers I-864 and tax returns, if I still need to backfile for the small amount I did make in the UK.
i am thinking not, that the co-sponsor is what they base the financial details on. does anyone have any info on this matter?

i worship the ground that my husband walks upon. every second away from him weighs heavier on my aching heart.
just want him here with me and to stop arguing over things that haven't happened.

thanks for listening,
bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-08-06 13:57:00

alcohol & drugs test at the medical

hey!

you sound just like my husband!! but his father is the one who made him have a pint before the exam!
you're one lucky #######!!!

once again, we lucked out!!!

kisses,
bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-08-29 23:20:00

alcohol & drugs test at the medical

wow, i have another question!

my husband had his medical the other day (in london) and was given a blood test for alcohol & drugs. he wasn't expecting it because he had drinks the night before and a beer with his dad before going into the medical! then the dr. asked him if he'd ever been convicted of drink driving and my husband stated he had, but 10 years ago.
did anyone else out there get asked this? did it come up at the interview? does anyone think this will be a problem for receiving his spousal visa?

paranoid!

bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-07-02 12:40:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

visa = happiness

hiya! end of the road update-

on august 16th, we hit a really low point with being 4000 miles apart and my mom offered to buy me a ticket to go to wales to visit robbie. expensive but SO worth it!!! we spent a lovely week together and knew we were waiting to hear if they had finished up with our final paperwork and approved the visa. we had a friend call the state dept every day, but they never told us they received any of the paperwork. the day i had to fly back to omaha, we were walking around london and were near the embassy. we wanted to storm in and demand they give us his visa so he could fly back with me!!!! but of course we just have wild imaginations. so i flew back on my own. but we were hopeful it we would be reunited again soon. i was afraid it would take another 2-3 weeks to get the visa couriered, like it did last time.
so i flew home on a friday, and robbie called me saturday to tell me the courier came to the house but he wasn't in!
we were so perplexed, it couldn't be the visa, it was toooo fast! we had called every day and they said nothing! we then began to worry they were returning the passport without the visa due to another miniscule problem.... so he rescheduled delivery for the next wednesday and it turned out to be the magic ticket!!! a beautiful pass to enter the US legally as my husband!!! oh what joy such a simple piece of fancy paper can bring! so we flew him out 2 days later and we are soooo unbelievably happy to be together forever. never going to be apart again!!!!!

just wanted to say thanks for all the wisdom we have acquired here and all the helpful people to listen to our stupid questions. VJ truely helped us figure the small stuff out, and without it we'd still be apart moaning about how horrible immigration is.

bee

justbee

Female

Wales

2007-09-17 13:55:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Updating my dates.

California Service Center (18 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO
SUPERMANBACK.......07/26/10..........08/02/10.......09/03/10........--/--/10....ST. LOUIS, MO
MARIENMICHELLE.....07/29/10..........08/09/10.......09/14/10........--/--/10....LOS ANGELES, CA
LILI...............07/30/10..........08/02/10.......08/27/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA
BRIAN&MEL..........08/03/10..........08/09/10.......08/24/10........--/--/10....
SWEETPIANO.........08/03/10..........08/13/10.......09/10/10........--/--/--....DETROIT, MI
PSHO...............08/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA
RMC................08/05/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
REALPI.............08/05/10..........08/09/10.......09/03/10........--/--/10....MILWAUKEE, WI
KGSODIE............08/06/10..........08/09/10.......08/30/10........--/--/10....OMAHA, NE
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER...08/07/10..........08/09/10.......08/27/10........--/--/10....
THE2OFUS...........08/08/10..........08/10/10.......09/02/10........--/--/10....MILWAUKEE,WI
Z AND S............08/09/10..........08/16/10.......--/--/--........--/--/--....CHICAGO, IL
GOUCHO727..........08/10/10..........08/10/10.......09/08/10........--/--/10....
CAMISTANBUL........08/10/10..........08/20/10.......--/--/--........--/--/--....SAN FRANCISCO, CA
DANYELYMIGUEL......08/11/10..........08/16/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....DETROIT, MI
ALI E JEFF.........08/12/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA
MACPARA............08/17/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ
DDKM...............08/20/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ

Vermont Service Center (12 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO
MARKANDLADA........07/29/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....Charlotte, NC
BABYBEBITA.........07/29/10..........08/03/10.......09/03/10........--/--/10....
HELIOSPAN1676......07/31/10..........08/03/10.......09/01/10........--/--/10....
MURFIE.............07/31/10..........08/02/10.......08/24/10........--/--/10....
WI751..............07/31/10..........08/04/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
MEL AND SYL........08/02/10..........08/06/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
PAUL&OLENA.........08/04/10..........08/06/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
RAINBOW007.........08/11/10..........08/16/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
ODOJOE.............08/12/10..........08/16/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....Orlando, FL
BOURNE25...........08/13/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....New York
EJBROOKS...........08/16/10..........08/19/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
SCOTSVISA..........08/17/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!
* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.
* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.
* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.
* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment
Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list
* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*
* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2010-08-26 12:41:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

California Service Center (13 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO
SUPERMANBACK.......07/26/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....ST. LOUIS, MO
MARIENMICHELLE.....07/29/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
LILI...............07/30/10..........08/02/10.......08/27/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA
BRIAN&MEL..........08/03/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
SWEETPIANO.........08/03/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....
PSHO...............08/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA
RMC................08/05/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
REALPI.............08/05/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....MILWAUKEE, WI
KGSODIE............08/06/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....OMAHA, NE
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER...08/07/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
THE2OFUS...........08/08/10..........08/10/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
GOUCHO727..........08/10/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
DANYELYMIGUEL......08/11/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....DETROIT, MI

Vermont Service Center (6 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO
MARKANDLADA........07/29/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....Charlotte, NC
HELIOSPAN1676......07/31/10..........08/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
MURFIE.............07/31/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
WI751..............07/31/10..........08/04/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
MEL AND SYL........08/02/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
RAINBOW007.........08/11/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!
* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.
* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.
* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.
* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment
Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list
* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*
* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2010-08-16 17:49:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

They cashed our check on Wednesday (8/11) and yesterday our daughter got her letter saying her application to remove conditions was received and dependent on my wife's petition, but nothing yet for my wife. Perhaps today.

Oh, and hello everyone!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2010-08-13 13:30:00

California Service Center (11 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO
SUPERMANBACK.......07/26/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....ST. LOUIS, MO
LILI...............07/30/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA
BRIAN&MEL..........08/03/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
SWEETPIANO.........08/03/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....
PSHO...............08/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA
RMC................08/05/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
KGSODIE............08/06/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....OMAHA, NE
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER...08/07/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
THE2OFUS...........08/08/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
GOUCHO727..........08/10/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
DANYELYMIGUEL......08/11/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....DETROIT, MI

Vermont Service Center (6 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO
MARKANDLADA........07/29/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....Charlotte, NC
HELIOSPAN1676......07/31/10..........08/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
MURFIE.............07/31/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
WI751..............07/31/10..........08/04/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
MEL AND SYL........08/02/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....
RAINBOW007.........08/11/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!
* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.
* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.
* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.
* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment
Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list
* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*
* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2010-08-13 13:19:00

visa interview fee increase

I'd heard from Natasha that the fee was increasing, but I hadn't heard a specific amount. $131? They must need one-dollar bills bad at the embassy! Yes, you do pay the visa fee at the interview at the embassy.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-12-19 14:14:00

MY INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

We'll keep you in our prayers for a speedy visa delivery. CONGRATULATIONS!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2008-02-07 09:30:00

I was approved!!!!! Feb 6 interview, wohoooo!!!!

Many CONGRATS!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2008-02-06 21:23:00

I miss home

Missing Russia is definitely what Natasha feels most acutely. Some days are pretty rough, but I do agree it is the price that is paid.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2008-06-30 13:09:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Divorce paper

All divorce certificates are required.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2008-08-25 14:01:00

Attention July Filer!!

I don't know if anyone would be interested in the information, but I've been working on some tools to 'mine' the data on the USCIS site. It's all public information, after all, and I've been curious how many petitions get filed each day, and how many are I129F petitions.

I have the code all done but the USCIS has thrown me a curve - they have monitors in place that check how many requests are coming from a given IP (or possibly gateway), and they 'shut off' access for 2 or 3 days if you exceed whatever the limit is. There is a flood check for a short duration, and after I slowed my requests down (one lookup every 15 seconds) I hit a longer duration monitor that also shut me down.

So my next try will be to slow my code WAY down (maybe one lookup every 2 to 5 minutes), but I have already determined that the average number of petitions received by the California Service Center is around 4000 (or more) (my code has a binary search component that can determine the number of petitions in about 14 searches). To determine which are I129F petitions (or any other type) I have to query each individual petition. Once I know which ones are I129F, I log the numbers so that I can watch for status changes on subsequent days.

So if I query 1 case every 2 minutes, it will take 8000 minutes, or 134 hours, or nearly 6 full days. And that's just to locate the receipt numbers for a single day. To scan all of July (our filing month) will take about 117 days (21 fiscal days in July, or so)! I would eventually like to give this code to VJ so they don't have to rely on users to input timelines, and they would gain access to a ton of more petitions. I have already contacted VJ and they are interested - if I can get it to work.

Why do all of this? Because I can, and I want to. It's an interesting technical challenge. Would there be anyone out there reading this who would like to donate some of their computer time? I could provide you the code (it's written in python) along with the instructions, and we could split up the days in July of 2007, in order to locate the petitions we're interested in.

I've also requested of the USCIS that this data be made available in an off-line form so I don't have to query it online so slowly. If they agree, and I'm not holding my breath, then this would all be moot, but I thought I'd see if there is any interest, other than my own!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-08-17 10:42:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Another Approval!!!

Congratulations, and many happy wishes for the rest of the process, and for your future!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-10-30 15:56:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

I-129F is APPROVED!!! (God Thank You)

Many happy congratulations!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-04 10:35:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Flying into Seattle

QUOTE (Rodgiegirl @ Nov 5 2007, 12:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (julezabelle @ Nov 5 2007, 11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The reports about getting the EAD stamp is that JFK seems to be the only airport POE that issues it anymore. You can ask at the POE, but it is unlikely it will be granted.

Okay, that's what I've heard, but I thought maybe somebody had first hand experience. But if Rodgers flys into JFK will they question why he flew into there instead of Seattle? Because on our I 129F application one of the questions is what airport will you fly into........so I'm wondering if he will be hassled and questioned???

The 129F had a question about the airport you will fly into? I don't remember that. I remember the question about which consolate, but not about which airport.

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-05 13:24:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

WE ARE APPROVED GO CSC!!!!

Many congratulations!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-07 13:10:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

QUOTE (moxcamel @ Nov 12 2007, 04:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (NavarreMan @ Nov 12 2007, 12:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I will do my best never to let that fountain of Russian vocabulary be directed in at me!!!

LOL. It's not a question of "if" it happens, only "when." You *will* find yourself on that end of a tirade, and when it happens you will be completely unprepared. Because you won't even know what you did to cause it to happen until she's done with the screaming and the hand waving and the more of the screaming. Oh and the "p'too'ing." If she does the p'tooing, then you know you're in big trouble.

The best part is that you won't know whether to be very, very afraid, or very, very turned on.

Wait...did I say that last part aloud?

he best part is that you won't know whether to be very, very afraid, or very, very turned on.

Wait...did I say that last part aloud?

You mean you can CONTROL that!!!!!!??????

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-12 17:30:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

QUOTE (moxcamel @ Nov 12 2007, 01:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (StillThePrettiest @ Nov 12 2007, 11:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there MAY be more to it than that, but I've yet to be convinced

I think you have it spot on. There are hundreds of thousands of petitions that go through the system. Even discounting RFE's, there's just no way they can be processed in exactly the same order. The only way that could happen is if there was one person working on all petitions, one at a time. Once you start parallelizing the workflow (can you tell I'm a project manager?

) then things start to get out of sync. Where I would be concerned is if all of a sudden June filers stopped seeing NOA2's, and October filers were being approved left and right. But what we're actually seeing is a distribution that we would roughly expect to see, however slow that may be.

Once you start parallelizing the workflow......

Stop it, I'm having flashbacks.....

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-12 15:03:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

It is frustrating though to see NOA1 dates after your own receive NOA2 from the same service center while yours remains unprocessed, regardless of what country they are from. We are all just anxious during our long wait. Courage, NavarreMan, it will come!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-12 14:04:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

QUOTE (NavarreMan @ Nov 12 2007, 10:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I understand this but I still don't know why all but two of these applications were received after mine and yet there is still no word. I am like everyone else. Just fraking out a little because I am still in limbo. Arrrggggg!!!

We all get anxious, so now worries. We all want NOA2 so we can start waiting on NVC!

KGSodie

Male

Russia

2007-11-12 12:06:00