Direct Consular Filing

Ugg, i REALLY hope someone here can help me i have asked sooo many people.....

I am a US citizen married an Australian and living in Australia for the last 2 years.

We want to come back to american to live now and plan to do this by applying for our visa by direct consular filling in sydney.

This is supposedly the easiest and fastest way to get him to america to live with me.

Now, on the affridavid of support (I-864), i need to put the last 3 years of employment and tax returns for the US. but i have been abroad for the last three years. What do I do? how am i supposed to full it out.

Also , is it going to be a problem that i have not LIVED in america over that last three years? I do have a residence there still, though it is not in my name (familiy home). and bank accounts, belongings,etc....

ok, that's my situation, sounds confusing, i know, that is why i am stuck on what to do.....if anyone has been it this situation or has any advice, please hook me up.

Ta, ....

Ugg, i REALLY hope someone here can help me i have asked sooo many people.....

I am a US citizen married an Australian and living in Australia for the last 2 years.

We want to come back to american to live now and plan to do this by applying for our visa by direct consular filling in sydney.

This is supposedly the easiest and fastest way to get him to america to live with me.

Now, on the affridavid of support (I-864), i need to put the last 3 years of employment and tax returns for the US. but i have been abroad for the last three years. What do I do? how am i supposed to full it out.

Also , is it going to be a problem that i have not LIVED in america over that last three years? I do have a residence there still, though it is not in my name (familiy home). and bank accounts, belongings,etc....

ok, that's my situation, sounds confusing, i know, that is why i am stuck on what to do.....if anyone has been it this situation or has any advice, please hook me up.

Ta, ....

As a US citizen by law you are required to file your US income tax every year, regardless of whether you live here or not, and regardless of whether you had any income or not.

You will need to file the income tax for each year that you have not filed for in the past.

That is not completely accurate, in fact you can work in the United States and if you make under a certain amount of money you are not required to file a tax return.

However, in regards to this situation I am not exactly sure how this would work. I would definitely save your tax returns from Australia as you may need (or perhaps should) present them.

Another option, that I know is available, is for you to obtain a co-sponsor that can provide tax returns for the last three years.

In your particular case I am not sure whether or not tax returns from Australia would be sufficient or if they would only work in conjunction with a co-sponsor. You will need to check with a lawyer, or need to call the INS (about 5 times) to see what they tell you.

Good Luck

from www.irs.gov:

"As a U.S. citizen, your worldwide income generally is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where you are living. However, you may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, foreign housing exclusion or foreign housing deduction, or the foreign tax credit."

My understanding is that you still need to file, even though you live abroad, but I am neither a tax accountant, nor an immigration lawyer. The best thing to do is check with an immigration lawyer.


This is my source:
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/page/0,,id%3D15932,00.html


If the link does not work:

1) go to http://www.irs.gov
2) Click on "Individuals" under the "contents" section on the left side.
3) Click on "Frequently Asked Questions" under the resources section on the left side.
4) Click on the category "Aliens and U.S. Citizens Living Abroad".
5) Click on "U.S. Citizens Overseas"

Hope this helps.

You should file petition for your husband in Sydney. You can still file your US Income Tax Returns for back years. On affidavit of support, your husband can sign as household member and sponsored beneficiary. You can go online and file your incometax returns for the past years and print copies of your returns and file with the Affidavit of Support. You have to be truthful while filling Affidavit of Support that you are not working (if it is true) or otherwise and mention your yourhold income as your husband's income. I don't think there will be any problem. If your household income is less than the guidelines then U.S. Consulate will ask you for additional Affidavit of Support.

It is true that you have to meet a threshold for filing IRS returns when you are living overseas. The best place to get guidance for it are the IRS overseas offices or the US Consulate in Australia.

You may want to check and see if IRS has offices in Australia. IRS had offices in Saudi etc because of oil company emplyees. I am sure these offices are strategically located to serve the American ex-pat communities.

thanks for the info Umesh. Do you(anyone) know if it will be a problem that I don't live in America.(have domicile?) Because i live in Australia...

No there will be no problem. You are Citizen of the United States and can live anywhere in the world. You have to follow the rules of the country of your residence and have an obligation to file Income Tax Return with the IRS every year.
Good luck.

Thanks again for the reply, not to be a pest and repeat my question, but i'm just curious where you get your info from cuz i keep getting conflicting information on this subject. Here is something i read somewhere else, tell me what you think......


"In order to sponsor your spouse, however, you must demonstrate that you are domiciled in the US (treat the US as your primary residence and have maintained ties in the US) . If you have not maintained a residence/domicile in the US then you would need to reestablish domicile in the US and then sponsor him. If you cannot reestablish domicile in the US then you cannot be able to sponsor him."


To me, this is saying that I can NOT file by direct consular filing (DCF) because i live in Australia and not in america. (even though i AM still a US citizen, and this is why i can't believe it!)

What's your opinion?
Ta umesh

I don't think there will be any problem, because you are USC. As a USC, you are stay out of country, there is no bar on it. Since, your husband is there, you have a valid reason to be there. Moreover, you have your own house and are maintaining your Bank Account here in the United States.
Let me check more on this issue and I will post you my complete response.
Good luck....