destone

Is there a consequence to not listing my 2-year-old daughter on a tax return if she became a permanent resident at the age of 18 months? She doesn't have an SSN.

• Daughter born in Dec '19
• Daughter moved to US in Jan '20
• Daughter became permanent resident in Jul '21
• Neither the 2020 or 2021 IRS returns listed her as a dependent (she still doesn't have an SSN), and her own independent filing has not been done either

durham_lad

Not claiming a dependent means you pay more in income taxes otherwise no consequences that I am aware of.

tht

Is she living in the USA still full time?

Do your file MFJ? If not only one person can claim a dependent.

You had said earlier your wife and child left CA:

“

• My wife and my child moved back to England at the very end of '20 ("abandoning" our California home)
• Our US Permanent Residency succeeded in Q2 '21 for all the three of us”

if they did not move back they would not be PR’s or US tax resident anymore.


Divorce solicitor/lawyer with UK-US knowledge

destone

They have not moved back to the US but they also have not surrendered their GCs to the US authorities.

Yes, we filed MFJ for 2020 and 2021 but our daughter was not listed as dependent.

Will there be any consequence if my ex-wife doesn't surrender my daughter's GC to the US authorities? Including IRS tax implication for her?

tht

https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/f...dependent/amp/

But it does not sound like your daughter is a resident anymore, and maybe never was if the green card was received after they left and they have not returned.

Pulaski

No.

If you're not claiming anything in respect of your daughter there is no consequence of her having a green card and it not being used, nor if the physical card isn't returned - lots of people lose them, or leave the US with them and never return, and it's no big deal.

The only thing you might want to consider getting legal advice over, if you're interested in doing so, is whether, and how it might be possible to retain your daughter's permanent residence rights as she was removed from the US involuntarily by her mother.

tht

for some people who have significant assets and have been here longer there can be consequences/reporting/exit tax.

In OP’s case assuming he remains here and Naturalizes to become a USC would his daughter not either become one automatically or be able to apply anyway, so trying to retain an option on LPR may be a waste of money now if it won’t be used.

penguinsix

So my reading of the thread is that she's been out of the USA for over 1 year. Her Green Card is basically considered abandoned by the US authorities, regardless of whether her physical card has been surrendered or not. If she was to return to the US with the green card, it may be seized at the border and she is told she can no longer use it. As Pulaski noted, if she wants to maintain it, you need to get some advice on how to do so (and fast I would say) but generally after a year of not being "in residence," the US authorities consider your permanent "residency" to be abandoned (with a few exceptions).

https://cliniclegal.org/resources/ab...-how-cure-them

Pulaski

This is a myth and is not supported by how things actually work. In practice PR can (potentially - it is best not to voluntarily put yourself in this position) persist after years of absence from the US for a variety of reasons, especially, but not necessarily, if absence was for a permitted purpose, such as education, or family need (caring for a relative), or involuntarily, such as being medically unable to travel, or being a child removed by a parent.
.... This is false. Border Security have neither authority nor jurisdiction to cancel permanent residence and/or confiscate green cards. All that can happen at the port of entry is that the PR holder can be referred to an immigration court for a ruling. This is true even when the PR card (green card) has expired - PR status can persist beyond the life of the card.

destone

Thanks, All, for your feedback.

Am I reading the Bulletin right in that a GCH has no wait-time to sponsor their unmarried under-21 children (F2A category), while a USC does (F1 category); in fact as it stands today, it is eight years (01DEC14 is shown as the Final Action date for F1)?

And so if my daughter does lose her GC status, and I become a USC before she turns 18 (UK legal age), we would probably have to wait till she turns 26 before she is granted an immigrant visa?

tht

There is no GC status, you are an LPR if you are resident here. Having an GC by itself is not a status. Per your previous post it sounds like her AOS happened after she was removed and has not returned.

The UK legal age is not relevant to US immigration. Do you mean the age at which she could decide to move back and her mother could not stop her?

vespucci

I think by "sons and daughters" they mean those over 21, so there's no wait for children under 21 for citizens.