Guidence needed for Naturalization

H

hii19

Registered Users (C)
Hi
I am a new user so I dont know about this much. I have a doubt that I would like to discuss with you. I am here on F1 visa and my wife has recently applied for citizenship. Now we have declared that we are married on N-400 so will that affect her naturalization procedure or my legal status in this country. We got married last year in our home country. We are planning to apply for my greencard after she becomes citizen.
Your replies are highly appreciated
 
Your wife's naturalization application should not be affected in any adverse way by her marriage to you. Just answer the N-400 marriage questions truthfully. Your primary obligation until your wife obtains naturalized citizenship is to stay "in status". Do not violate the terms of your F-1 status and do not break the law.

Your F-1 status for immigration purposes does not change until your wife files a petition to obtain some derivative immigration benefit for you. In other words, once your wife becomes a naturalized citizen, she can apply for you to obtain legal permanent residency (a green card). When you go through that process (I-130 filed by your wife on your behalf), you will eventually go through an adjustment of status (I-485 filed by you) from F-1 to Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or green card holder). But as you noted, you should only initiate this process once your wife is a US citizen.

However, for all marriage-based green card applications, you and your wife will have to provide evidence that the marriage and underlying relationship is genuine and not entered into solely for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining immigration benefits.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
NewRunner said:
Your wife's naturalization application should not be affected in any adverse way by her marriage to you. Just answer the N-400 marriage questions truthfully. Your primary obligation until your wife obtains naturalized citizenship is to stay "in status". Do not violate the terms of your F-1 status and do not break the law.

Your F-1 status for immigration purposes does not change until your wife files a petition to obtain some derivative immigration benefit for you. In other words, once your wife becomes a naturalized citizen, she can apply for you to obtain legal permanent residency (a green card). When you go through that process (I-130 filed by your wife on your behalf), you will eventually go through an adjustment of status (I-485 filed by you) from F-1 to Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or green card holder). But as you noted, you should only initiate this process once your wife is a US citizen.

However, for all marriage-based green card applications, you and your wife will have to provide evidence that the marriage and underlying relationship is genuine and not entered into solely for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining immigration benefits.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the reply.
What evidence do we need
I have the original Marraige certificate form my home country (in English) also I have added her up to my bank account also we have both our names on car insurance
Also 1 more question. We have filed our returns seperately this time so is it compulsary that we need to file joint return even though we didnt share income (or even state of residency) for the full year of 2008.
 
No, your IRS tax filing status is irrelevant for this purpose. Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately is not a statement describing the marriage, so this is irrelevant. IRS filing status decisons are usually made based on unique financial circumstances, such as living in separate states, etc. - it has no bearing on immigration benefits in this case.

You can check the Green Card section of this forum to see what people have used as evidence to show that a marriage is genuine. The marriage certificate, in and of itself, is not evidence that there is an underlying relationship - you get one when you get married, but you could have gotten married just for the green card.

The instructions for Form I-130 list evidence requirements to show the existence of a bonafide marriage. I have provided an extract here, but you should go to www.uscis.gov and download I-130 and its separate instructions and review them yourself.

Evidence of a bonafide marriage. USCIS lists examples of acceptable evidence as:

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources; or

4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, the petitioner, and your spouse together; or

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship (Each affidavit must contain the full name and address, date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner of beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or

6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.
 
NewRunner said:
No, your IRS tax filing status is irrelevant for this purpose. Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately is not a statement describing the marriage, so this is irrelevant. IRS filing status decisons are usually made based on unique financial circumstances, such as living in separate states, etc. - it has no bearing on immigration benefits in this case.
Click to expand...

Your tax filing status can be indirectly used by USCIS to verify your martial union and can raise further questions if you filed separately and lived apart. For example, a separated couple (either because of divorce or hardship) who chooses to file as married filing separately raises questions as to why they were living apart at the time.
 
hii19 said:
Thanks a lot for the reply.
What evidence do we need
I have the original Marraige certificate form my home country (in English) also I have added her up to my bank account also we have both our names on car insurance
Also 1 more question. We have filed our returns seperately this time so is it compulsary that we need to file joint return even though we didnt share income (or even state of residency) for the full year of 2008.
Click to expand...

Are you on OPT? If not, as an F1, how come you have enough income that requires filing tax returns with IRS? I know you can work on campus as F1 but not anywhere outside unless you have permission from international office.
 
milk said:
Are you on OPT? If not, as an F1, how come you have enough income that requires filing tax returns with IRS?
Click to expand...

Unless the IRS income limits have changed, I had taxable income as an F-1 student as an undergrad, and this was before CPT/OPT. I was allowed to work upto 20 hours a week on-campus and full-time during all school breaks. I received a W-2 and filed taxes. But this was around 20 years ago, so I don't know if newer income thresholds exclude most non-OPT F-1s from paying taxes anymore.
 
milk said:
Are you on OPT? If not, as an F1, how come you have enough income that requires filing tax returns with IRS? I know you can work on campus as F1 but not anywhere outside unless you have permission from international office.
Click to expand...

Yes I am currently on OPT.
Also even if you are working on campus you need to file a tax return
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top