Non Resident Tax Return Question N-400

importal

Registered Users (C)
Hello,
I have a question in Citizenship form, N-400, Part 10-C-13. The question is "Have you ever called yourself a 'nonresident' on a Federal, State, local tax return?". I filed Illinois state tax return as a resident and also CA state tax return as a non resident. Although my employer was based in CA, I lived and worked in Illinois only. So I am not sure if I need to answer yes or No to that question.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi, check this thread:

http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=142862

I was in a similar situation -- I actually checked "yes" (for did file as a non-resident). I was asked about this during the interview and was told that I could have checked "no" (and my interviewer actually crossed out my answer and marked "no"). Then a minute or two later, she said something like, "oh, maybe we should go over your tax returns, just to be sure." I brought them, but I just gave her the short version -- what's that number again? It's just a summary of the returns you filed for the past couple of years, and she was happy with that. Actually that had nothing to do with my state/local returns, just my federal returns, but she didn't seem to care. She seemed quite happy that I was well prepared (at one point, she said, "Not everyone is like you, you know" -- a good thing to hear, I guess).

So, not to worry. I'm in fact sworn in and am a citizen.
 
Hello Lecing:
Given the above situation as previously stated, I filed two state tax returns for one of the years as Illinois resident tax return and California Non-Resident tax return. I have always filed Federal Tax returns as "resident" and as well as all other state tax returns as resident for all other years. Should I answer "NO" to the following question:

Question:
Part 10. Section C: Continuous Residence
Since becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States:
13. Have you EVER called yourself a "nonresident" on a Federal, state, or local tax return? YES or NO

I appreciate your reply

Thanks.
 
I think you can check no, but I'm obviously not a lawyer.

As I mentioned, I checked "yes," and I attached an explanation sheet that I moved, and the person who interviewed me corrected me and said I could have checked "no." To prepare for this, I gathered my tax returns and that summary (I still can't remember what the number is -- 17xx?) and a letter from my accountant, but all I showed was the 17xx stuff.

As someone mentioned in the thread I cited, I think that the question is meant to ask if you've filed as a nonresident *alien.* However, since I'm not a lawyer, I don't think that I want to tell you to do one or the other. What I could share is my personal experience, and I think that it's not an issue at all.

Good luck!
 
importal said:
Hello,
I have a question in Citizenship form, N-400, Part 10-C-13. The question is "Have you ever called yourself a 'nonresident' on a Federal, State, local tax return?". I filed Illinois state tax return as a resident and also CA state tax return as a non resident. Although my employer was based in CA, I lived and worked in Illinois only. So I am not sure if I need to answer yes or No to that question.

Thanks in advance.

I think they meant by did you ever filed 1040-NR kind of non residence. (OUT OF COUNTRY). not out of state.
 
sanjayrpatel
You are referring to Federal Tax return but the question clearly states for the State, or local tax return as well. Please see the question above. As you know, I had to file CA nonresident form 540-NR.

Thanks.
 
I think it has to do with living and earning abroad. If earning abroad the first $80,000 is tax-free. To qualify for it I believe you have to claim you're a non-resident on your taxes. It's great for citizens working abroad, but it's a way for immigration to catch PR who live abroad but still try and claim a connection to the US.
 
I think that the intent is to check to see if you've filed as a non-resident *alien* (I think, anyway), but the question is just not clearly phrased -- as phrased, it clearly asks about federal, state and local tax returns.

In any case, as I said, I checked "yes," and it wasn't an issue at all when I was asked about it.
 
The problem is when you checked "YES" it raises the redflag. Now, you need to go through IRS to get all your transactions to prove the point which is really unnecessary. It could eliminate lot of paperwork if the question cleary stated. I believe I may have to answer "NO" and see what happens. If they need proof and I may need to supplement at that point. By checking "NO" I am still being honest because of how most people interpret that question.

Is there anyway I can contact U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services personnel directly and ask that question? Does anyone have appropriate number to contact them?
 
Actually it's very easy to get IRS to send you a summary. There's a number you can call, which I got from a thread on this forum.

As for as contacting CIS directly, I'm not sure how one would do so.

I was quite concerned about checking "yes," but there wasn't a delay at all. In retrospect, I guess I could have checked "no," but since it made no difference, I don't regret checking "yes" and having them clarify it for me during the interview stage. I've copies of all my tax returns within the last couple of years anyway -- calling IRS for a summary was not difficult, as I said.

So my point is that I don't think it matters either way. I was concerned but now I'm sworn in, I realize that it's really not an issue. I think you should think through the issues and decide on what you're most comfortable doing. Just be prepared in the event and if they ask.
 
Thanks for clarifying bit further. It sounds like you only brought the federal tax return transcripts to the interview although the issue was related to the state. I was curious to know why did you have to take those transcripts with you since the application already asked you for the explanation on a seperate sheet of paper. Could you please explain? What if you haven't brought with you those transcripts to the interview (Did you receive any mail). What could have happened?

Thanks.
 
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Actually, I brought the summaries and the tax returns and a letter from my accountant, but all I showed were the summaries.

I like to be well prepared, so I brought all my expired passports as well (she didn't ask to look at them).

I also brought a sheet of paper that listed all my trips out of the US since I filed my N-400. When she started going through my trips and even the ones not listed on the N-400, I told her that I had prepared a list and I gave the sheet of paper to her right away. She was quite happy that I did her work for her.

With the notice for an interview, there was an attached sheet of paper that listed the additional documents you had to bring if you fit a certain profile. Actually, strictly speaking, according to that sheet, I didn't need to bring any of the above. But I read a couple of threads on this forum that gave me a sense as to what I might be asked and what I might find useful to bring. To be on the safe side, I called IRS for the summaries (even though these are only required if you've been out of the US for more than six months -- I think that was what the sheet of paper that came with the interview notice said) since I wanted to be prepared for questions that were tax-related. As it turned out, when she asked me some more tax questions and clarified what the question meant, I offered the summaries and she took the summaries and that was it.
 
By the way, obviously I don't know what could have happened had I not brought these documents. I guess my point is that I wanted to be as well prepared as I thought I needed to be. I wanted to be able to offer supporting documents if they were found to be necessary (but not volunteer the information until asked). It all worked out well.

Hope this helps.

Don't let this scare you though. It's really a very straightforward process and that's what everyone will tell you.
 
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