Requirements of US Born Citizen to get a green card for spouse?

D

damian5000

New Member
Hi,

I'm currently living in Thailand for 5 years. I don't have any work history or history of paying taxes in the States for many years now. I also have a substantial criminal record from more than 10 years back.

My girlfriend is in the USA on an aupair visa and currently applying for an extension.

I asked this question in Thai expat forum and they said my credentials don't matter as long as I'm a US citizen. But then my girlfriend talked to another Thai friend of hers who recently received her greencard, and she told her they required tax returns and such from the US Citizen.

If it's true, how much of a factor is my lack of proof of work/taxes and criminal history in her receiving her greencard?

Thanks for any help on this. I'm considering returning to the States to marry her and help us stay together, but if my 'situation' makes things impossible, I'd rather not get started on an impossible mission.

Any opinions or help is GREATLY APPRECIATED
 
In order to sponsor your spouse for a green card, you will need to demonstrate that you are able to support her financially and for that you need to show your taxes. As an American you need to file your taxes regardless of where you live. So if you make a living in Thailand that would be enough to show that you have income and assets and have been paying US taxes on them. If that income is not enough, you can get a family member to cosign your affidavit of financial support.

Should I conclude from your question that you have not filed any US returns? In that case, you need to first get yourself clean with the IRS. If not, your application will be rejected. Get yourself an accountant and file all the unfiled returns and pay whatever taxes you owe.

Regarding your criminal history, if you have done what was required of you under the law and have no arrest warrants pending against you, then there is no impact on your ability to get married and sponsor your spouse despite a criminal past.
 
There are kind of two separate issues. As a U.S. citizen you are required to file U.S. taxes no matter where you live. If you make more than the minimum threshold amount, and you do not file U.S. taxes, you are breaking U.S. tax law. You need to get that fixed, regardless of whether or not you are petitioning someone to immigrate.

There is no separate requirement for the purposes of petitioning someone to immigrate. All they want to see is that you followed the law. If you were required to file (due to your income), then you need to show them you did. If you were not required to file (because your income was too low), then you attach an explanation that you were not required to file. In no case are they requiring you to do anything extra.
 
As a US citizen you're supposed to file tax returns to report your worldwide income, unless your income was too low to be required to file (I think under US$9000/year or thereabouts). If you didn't file because your income was below the required threshold, you can attach that explanation with the Affidavit of Support. But if you were required to file, you'll need to file the returns before submitting the Affidavit of Support.
 
del0175 said:
So if you make a living in Thailand that would be enough to show that you have income and assets and have been paying US taxes on them. If that income is not enough, you can get a family member to cosign your affidavit of financial support.
Click to expand...

If the income in Thailand was from a job there, it doesn't matter what the income was; non-US income can't be used to satisfy the Affidavit of Support unless it's passive income (e.g. royalties, dividends, pension) that would continue after moving to the US. However, non-US assets may be used.
 
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