Transferring money to the US

[trevis]

I would like to get some advise on transferring money to the US.
My wife is getting Immigrant visa. A bit earlier she sold her house.
We want to use proceeds from the sale for a place to live in the US when we move.
She does not have US bank account.
The amount is considerably big (in hundreds of thousands of USD).
How would we go about this without getting into trouble?
What would be implications of such transfer (tax or otherwise)?
Any advise on this topic would very helpful.

Thanks a lot

 

[PRAHA]

I would very strong advise against that
dollars is losing value by the day so what ever you transfer here is gonna lose value ..so say you have 100 000 dollars today and transfer that money here ..in year its gonna be 90 000 dollars worth
where did you sold your house ??...hope its not in Europe ?!!
to buy a house here its pretty big step .;

you PAY property tax which are very high and on top of it you have to fix it ALL THE TIME SINCE ITS MADE OF WOOD so there is always an issue with it ..rodent,flood,mold ,paint cracks , etc
keeping dollars in the bank is a big nono here ..you don't get interest and lose value all the time

what I'm trying to say you gonna "eat" trough that money very fast and never get that money back (I doubt you gonna have a job in the USA which is gonna pay for another house anywhere )

 

[trevis]

Well, in fact it is pretty favorable to transfer money now because for the same amount of local currency you get more dollars and property price in America is not adjusted for that and remain the same.
Anyways that is not the point, my question is more to logistics, procedures and consequences of this. I'm getting different opinions from the internet and if somebody had any experience in such matters I would love to know.

Thanks

 

[PRAHA]

trevis ..my advice is ..DON'T DO IT !!!.;change money into SWISS FRANCS ..DOLLAR IS LOSING VALUE ...if you changed dollars into francs just last year .;you would made 12% return on that transaction
also forget about buying a house in the US ..that's the suckers game ...you will never recuperate real value of it
you have to inform yourself about how economy works here in the US ..its pretty ****ed up situation ..everyone is sitting tight ..people who are of European descend are digging into their family roots in order to get a second passport from some country in EU or ASIA ...

I had a business for house renovation ,roofing ,plumbing etc seen everything and heard everything about owning a house in USA ..once again ..my advice is walk way (from that idea) ...

 

[littleadv]

Well, in fact it is pretty favorable to transfer money now because for the same amount of local currency you get more dollars and property price in America is not adjusted for that and remain the same.
Anyways that is not the point, my question is more to logistics, procedures and consequences of this. I'm getting different opinions from the internet and if somebody had any experience in such matters I would love to know.

Thanks

Best would be to open a bank account in the US when you get here and then just wire transfer to it. If your local bank can accept wire transfer orders by fax or phone (arrange it ahead of time to have everything signed that has to be signed in person) - it will make thinks very simple. That's what I did (although not such a high amount, but still something I wouldn't carry as cash).

You'll have to fill some anti-money-laundering forms, in which you will declare the source of the money, but if it's legit (like selling a house, for example), it shouldn't bother you much. Since you're not a US resident - there should be no tax implications (in the US, check your local laws). Moving money between your own accounts, even if it is across borders, is not a tax event, you just need to report what's the source to the regulators .

 

[littleadv]

trevis ..my advice is ..DON'T DO IT !!!.;change money into SWISS FRANCS ..DOLLAR IS LOSING VALUE ...if you changed dollars into francs just last year .;you would made 12% return on that transaction
also forget about buying a house in the US ..that's the suckers game ...you will never recuperate real value of it
you have to inform yourself about how economy works here in the US ..its pretty ****ed up situation ..everyone is sitting tight ..people who are of European descend are digging into their family roots in order to get a second passport from some country in EU or ASIA ...

I had a business for house renovation ,roofing ,plumbing etc seen everything and heard everything about owning a house in USA ..once again ..my advice is walk way (from that idea) ...

Dude, chill. Last place Americans want to go to would be EU or Asia, haven't yet met anyone trying to get a European passport (met some from Europe trying to get a US passport though, plenty of those). Anyway, mind your own business, @trevis didn't ask for investment advices.

 

[PRAHA]

Dude, chill. Last place Americans want to go to would be EU or Asia, haven't yet met anyone trying to get a European passport (met some from Europe trying to get a US passport though, plenty of those). Anyway, mind your own business, @trevis didn't ask for investment advices.

hahah..you don't go out much do you ?!

little lady I don't know who you are but you have no clue what you talking about

check some forums or better call POLISH consulate in NY or CHICAGO ..they have backlog of over 4000 people who are asking for POLISH PASSPORT(2and ,3rd and even 4 th generation US citizens )and thats the backlog for THE LAST YEAR!!
same thing with CZECH ,SLOVAK ,GREEK,LATVIAN etc consulates

over 3 000 000 US citizens live permanently in the world ..about 200 000 of them just in france !!

my wife works as a translator for a lawyers office who does that kind of services for would be citizens of any of the EU countries ..at any given time they have about 100+ "cases" or about 1200-1500 per year !
romanian and bulgarian consulates have expedite service for those cases and they have backlogs going a year or two for people who are claiming to have ancestral connections with those countries

you need to get informed

especially polish people are going back in large numbers ..meet tons of them .;and since I speak their "native "language and know poland ..its easy to figure out why and when they will be leaving ..for someone as ignorant like you it would take ages to figure that one out

as for asian and indian people goind back ..now thats no brainer ..chinese are going back to china in record numbers ..why they would stay here ???..when they can make tons of money back home

@travis ...transfering money to US is the last thing that you should do with your money and buying a house here second worst ..PERIOD

PS in my country there is tons of "americans " of czech descent who came to open various business venture...majority of them don't even speak the language because they are 3rd or even 4th generation of immigrants but they "remembered " they are czech when the economic crisis struck

PSS Thinking about opening my own outsource business for US companies who are looking to outsource services and jobs to CZECH /SLOVAKIA and also "orientation" service for returning immigrants and people looking to obtain EU passports of various countries ..it looks like a gold mine !!

 

[littleadv]

3000 polish embassy backlog, that's your story? Really? Call the US embassy in Warsaw, check the backlog there. BTW: I actually have some Polish people at work, some of them still on H1B. No signs of anyone returning. Oh, and I have some Polish roots myself. You won't be seeing me in their embassy any time soon.

 

[trevis]

Best would be to open a bank account in the US when you get here and then just wire transfer to it. If your local bank can accept wire transfer orders by fax or phone (arrange it ahead of time to have everything signed that has to be signed in person) - it will make thinks very simple. That's what I did (although not such a high amount, but still something I wouldn't carry as cash).

You'll have to fill some anti-money-laundering forms, in which you will declare the source of the money, but if it's legit (like selling a house, for example), it shouldn't bother you much. Since you're not a US resident - there should be no tax implications (in the US, check your local laws). Moving money between your own accounts, even if it is across borders, is not a tax event, you just need to report what's the source to the regulators .

A little correction, I'm a US citizen, my wife is just getting immigrant visa.
So what is that exactly and at which point this form is filed and with whom?
I guess she will have to file those forms, right?

 

[PRAHA]

hahah..your polish roots are probably because one time you ate some polish sausage
as for us embassy in warsaw..well I don't think they have any backlog ..at least that's what they say on their own consulate pages

as I said "orientation" service for returning immigrants and people looking to obtain EU passports of various countries .. looks like a gold mine ..A HUGE GOLD MINE ...!!!..and I'm about to dig into it while you can feel free to create your own fantasies while your eat your "polish roots "..LOL
chill little lady life is short and as you said it yourself " I'm not a tax professional, financial adviser or a lawyer" ..you should also add ..that your are "not AT ALL informed about recent social and economic trends in american society "......

 

[littleadv]

A little correction, I'm a US citizen, my wife is just getting immigrant visa.
So what is that exactly and at which point this form is filed and with whom?
I guess she will have to file those forms, right?

These forms are filed in the country of origin, and might also be required at the destination. If you're a US citizen - why doesn't she transfer the money to your account? I'm assuming you've got one already... Anyway, should be pretty straightforward.

 

[PRAHA]

yes sure transfer the money to your account since you are US citizen ..why bother ..just pay some taxes(17-25% on capital gain and you are golden)..listen to littleadv and you will be bankrupt within a year !!

don't do it ..

 

[littleadv]

yes sure transfer the money to your account since you are US citizen ..why bother ..just pay some taxes(17-25% on capital gain and you are golden)..listen to littleadv and you will be bankrupt within a year !!

don't do it ..

You should stick to your knowledge of Czech Republic, and leave people in the US alone. I'm here for more than 3 years, and still not bankrupt. Quite on the contrary in fact.

 

[trevis]

These forms are filed in the country of origin, and might also be required at the destination. If you're a US citizen - why doesn't she transfer the money to your account? I'm assuming you've got one already... Anyway, should be pretty straightforward.

Thanks for the discussion.
Do you mean the forms that are filed on origin are those filed while for wire transfer?
Yes, she definitely can transfer to my account.
My problem is that I want to understand very clearly the consequences of this.
What questions to expect at what point if any.
Basically the idea is to transfer her proceedings from home sale and savings.
That will help to be prepared.
Unfortunately I do not have access to a tax or financial advisor here and therefore I resort to asking on forums to get ideas how people did similar things, because, I pretty sure, when people move from one country to another they have to transfer money to start the life (since they cannot physically ship houses or flats), but at the same point governments are very picky about different aspects of money.

Thanks a lot for taking tie answering the my questions.

 

[PRAHA]

keep the money in the country where the sale occurred (in domicile bank with some sort of interest) ...and ONLY WHEN YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE WHAT YOU WANT TO BUY use the cashiers check to buy property in the US or simple wire transfer monies to a PROPERTY OWNER IN THE USA....BUT AGAIN I HAVE TO VERY STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST BOTH SUCH THINGS (buying property or transferring large sums of money to US AT THIS TIME!!

 

[PRAHA]

You should stick to your knowledge of Czech Republic, and leave people in the US alone. I'm here for more than 3 years, and still not bankrupt. Quite on the contrary in fact.

uh uh ...getting angry ..well at least I'm not offering moronic advices ..and hiding behind stupid disclaimers ..how did you survive in the US is a small wonder !
that advice of transferring money from the sales in another country to US domicile bank account held by US citizen liable for capital gain taxes is MASTERSTROKE of idiocity ..I mean what do you have against poor "trevis"..WHY DO YOU HATE HIM SO MUCH?

 

[trevis]

uh uh ...getting angry ..well at least I'm not offering moronic advices ..and hiding behind stupid disclaimers ..how did you survive in the US is a small wonder !
that advice of transferring money from the sales in another country to US domicile bank account held by US citizen liable for capital gain taxes is MASTERSTROKE of idiocity ..I mean what do you have against poor "trevis"..WHY DO YOU HATE HIM SO MUCH?

Actually, it was not my house, it was my wife's and at the time of sale she was not liable for US tax, she is not liable even now, so far. So I was hoping that no tax liability should pop up out of the transfer.

Thanks

 

[littleadv]

Actually, it was not my house, it was my wife's and at the time of sale she was not liable for US tax, she is not liable even now, so far. So I was hoping that no tax liability should pop up out of the transfer.

Thanks

Actually you might want to get an advice from a professional on that, even though it's not yours - if it's your wife's it might be considered "common", and then it's your liability as well. But that's entirely unrelated to the transfer of money, the tax liability of the US citizens is world-wide, even if you're in Czech Republic. There may be treaties and such, it may also depend on the usage of the house prior to the sale, etc etc. May not be as simple as you think.

Thanks for the discussion.
Do you mean the forms that are filed on origin are those filed while for wire transfer?
Yes, she definitely can transfer to my account.
My problem is that I want to understand very clearly the consequences of this.
What questions to expect at what point if any.
Basically the idea is to transfer her proceedings from home sale and savings.
That will help to be prepared.

The forms filed at the origin are the forms required by the country your wife is sending the money from. They may or may not include the information required by the US, and if they don't - you'll have to fill the forms required by the US Department of Treasury in order to receive the money. These forms are part of the anti-money laundering laws, and they are basically for you to explain where's the money coming from and that it is legit.

Unfortunately I do not have access to a tax or financial advisor here and therefore I resort to asking on forums to get ideas how people did similar things, because, I pretty sure, when people move from one country to another they have to transfer money to start the life (since they cannot physically ship houses or flats), but at the same point governments are very picky about different aspects of money.

Thanks a lot for taking tie answering the my questions.

You're talking about transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you don't have $200 for a professional consultation? You may lose much more than that if you make a mistake just because of not knowing something stupid. If this is a money that is partly yours (because you're married to the woman), and you're a US citizen - there may be tax issues involved, so do get a professional advice. People that move to the US are usually not yet US citizens, and thus are not liable for gains. This is not the case for you, and as I said - the tax event is the sale, not the transfer. If the house has already been sold by your wife - you may already have tax liability that you need to handle.

 

[trevis]

You're talking about transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you don't have $200 for a professional consultation? You may lose much more than that if you make a mistake just because of not knowing something stupid. If this is a money that is partly yours (because you're married to the woman), and you're a US citizen - there may be tax issues involved, so do get a professional advice. People that move to the US are usually not yet US citizens, and thus are not liable for gains. This is not the case for you, and as I said - the tax event is the sale, not the transfer. If the house has already been sold by your wife - you may already have tax liability that you need to handle.

Thanks for replies.
It is not a question of 200$, those professionals are just not available here.
Anyways, I'll try to find one.

Thanks

 

[trevis]

The forms filed at the origin are the forms required by the country your wife is sending the money from. They may or may not include the information required by the US, and if they don't - you'll have to fill the forms required by the US Department of Treasury in order to receive the money. These forms are part of the anti-money laundering laws, and they are basically for you to explain where's the money coming from and that it is legit.

Can you give forms names/numbers?

Also let me put it this way:
forget about house, selling happened sometime back and by this time it is just money in the bank, lets call it "savings". Does this angle of view changes anything.
Thanks