Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi Everyone,

We are 24 days in to the application process, my wife works in the legal field dealing with (pharmacutical) contracts so (with no laful obligation) told her boss we had started the process to go back to the USA and gave him the possible timeline. This way her boss has 6 months(ish) to make sure there is continuity in the contracts.

Well joy of all joys her boss came back to her last week and said the company didn't want to lose her and have offered her a job in one of the US offices (with a promotion). They want us (both) to go over in January to check out the job/company and the town (as it is in NC and neither of us have been there before).

My question is this, if the timelines go as we expect the interview should be in December (giving us 6 months to sell the house) so when we go over in January I will have the visa in my passport, will this cause any hassle - the fact I am only visiting and not staying (this time). I see many questions about visiting before the visa interview but I have never seen one about visiting after a the visa interview and before emigrating?

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi:

You have posed a question which is acutally quite complicated. Assuming you get the immigrant visa in December [and do NOT ever make assumptions on timelines], there is nothing wrong with entering on the immigrant visa and then returning to home country to wind up affairs -- it is done all the time.

As a side issue: there may be US income tax issues with selling your house abroad IF it has appreciated. I do NOT know the in-n-outs of this. But it is something that, perhaps, you should seek professional advice for.

I recommend you get professional advice on all the issues involved here. Yours is not a normal case and internet usegroup answers might be misleading.

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi,

Thanks, I will not be entering on the immigrant visa but as a visitor as it is just a recon mission, this is my point - if I turn up at a POE with an immigrant visa in my passport and no brown envelope or xrays are they going to through a hissy!

We don't pay tax in the US only in the UK (My wife the USC has lived here for 7 yeas) so the any taxes for the house will be paid to the UK government - when we enter the US with this wad of cash from the sale of our house it has nothing to do with the us gov where it came from (as long as the source is legal of course!)

Cheers

Patrick

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Patrick,
Great news on the job front!
Why *not* activate your IV on this entry? Seems to me there'd be no harm, no foul. You would start your clock earlier for Removal of Conditions (if you have it) and Naturalization.

FWIW, there is no stamp in the passport for IV, just the big packet and xray. The visa itself is a sheet of paper attached to the envelope. Of course, it may turn up when they scan your passport upon entry, but I don't know what the implications of entering without activating might be. Again, what's the hesitation to activate the visa on this entry?

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Cheers, you know I hadn't considered activating on that visit because (in my head) it won't be the emmigration but just a vacation. If I did activate the visa it would stop the clock on the six months to move so if there was anything wrong with the sale of the house I would be covered. The problem I have with activating is if I go over for a week and activate and then don't return for 3 or 4 months what will INS say? I have entered the country as a immigrant then buggered off for bunch of time - they might take offence!

I tell you what, it must be the situation because I sweating over stupid things where as before I wouldn't of given a hoot!

I beleive (as I have been married 7 years) there will be no conditions on my visa so thats not important.

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi Patrick

How's Life in Soham these days, slowly getting back to normal I hope.

Just read this post, as far as I am aware, as a USC your wife should have been filing taxes to the IRS for the last 7 years, and any profit from the sale of the house, or any income she has made, must be declared, although the US and UK do have a tax treaty, so she probably will not have to pay any US tax although she must still file returns

Simon

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi Simon,

Soham is starting to get back to normal, the good news is most of the tourist seem to have disappeared now. The missing posters where taken down from shop windows and replaced with poster montages done by school children with pictures of Holly and Jessica with slogans on like "this is how you will be remembered" and "much loved". These have now seemed to have all gone as well. The Police have not gone yet, there are three or four buildings at the school which are still taped off, the police pop round, door to door, every so often with specific questions. Soham feels normal but it will be the same.

Back to the point, thanks for the info, Ellen has filed her tax returns but because she lives, works and does pretty much everything else in the UK she does not have to pay taxes to the US Government. I believe that because we live here and work here any profits from the house are taxed under UK law and are not taxable under US. If we lived in the US and sold a property in the UK and brought the profits over the US then this would be a different story alltogether.

Thanks for your information but I think we have strayed slightly off topic though, this is not about taxes and houses its about entering the US for a vacation/business trip after the IV has been granted and not activating it. Will it cause problems, will it cause problems activating it then leaving the country for a bunch of months?

Cheers

Patrick

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Patrick wrote:
    > Originally posted by meauxna:
    > >
    > > Patrick,
    > > Great news on the job front!
    > > Why *not* activate your IV on this entry? Seems to me there'd be no
    > > harm, no foul. You would start your clock earlier for Removal of
    > > Conditions (if you have it) and Naturalization.
    > >
    > > FWIW, there is no stamp in the passport for IV, just the big packet
    > > and xray. The visa itself is a sheet of paper attached to the
    > > envelope. Of course, it may turn up when they scan your passport upon
    > > entry, but I don't know what the implications of entering without
    > > activating might be. Again, what's the hesitation to activate the visa
    > > on this entry?
    > Cheers, you know I hadn't considered activating on that visit because
    > (in my head) it won't be the emmigration but just a vacation. If I did
    > activate the visa it would stop the clock on the six months to move so
    > if there was anything wrong with the sale of the house I would be
    > covered. The problem I have with activating is if I go over for a week
    > and activate and then don't return for 3 or 4 months what will INS say?
    > I have entered the country as a immigrant then buggered off for bunch of
    > time - they might take offence!

The INS won't say anything. "Activating" the visa will not only stop the
6 month clock it will render it completely invalid (it will no longer
matter).

My wife and I did just this. Her visa was approved and we could not
leave the UK at the time. We flew to the US just days before the 6
months was up and "activated" her visa. She received the "I-551" stamp
in her passport. We visited family and left 4 days later. We stayed in
the UK another 3 months.

On arrival in the US she was asked how long she had been out of the US.
She answered "3 months" and we were on our way.

Activate your visa on your first trip to the US whether you plan to
stay permanently then or not. As long as you do not stay away more than
a year there should be no problems. Once you do this you are a US
permanent resident. The stamp you will receive in your passport is the
equivalent of a greencard. You could even visit the nearest SSA office
and apply for a social security number (this is one of the things we did
on our short visit and it took less than 30 minutes).

You would have to activate it within 6 months anyway so why not do it
now? (have I said that often enough in this post? :-)

LD

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Thanks LD I think between all the replies I got enough advice to know what to to. I will activate the IV on the visit and apply for SSN and by the time I come over perminatly I will have a SSN and a green card and then (hopefully) will have less probs opening bank accounts and stuff.

Cheers everyone

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi Patrick,
Great news about the job.(I wish I was having the same success.
See my private email and I'll send you a longer one tomorrow

Redneck Rog

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Patrick wrote:
    > Thanks, I will not be entering on the immigrant visa but as a visitor as
    > it is just a recon mission, this is my point - if I turn up at a POE
    > with an immigrant visa in my passport and no brown envelope or xrays are
    > they going to through a hissy!

After the visa has been approved, I don't know if they will let you in.
My wife had her B1 canceled when she had her interview.

    > We don't pay tax in the US only in the UK (My wife the USC has lived
    > here for 7 yeas) so the any taxes for the house will be paid to the UK
    > government - when we enter the US with this wad of cash from the sale of
    > our house it has nothing to do with the us gov where it came from (as
    > long as the source is legal of course!

Well, the USC wife is subject to filing income tax returns if she worked
in the UK.
If you are bring money into the US of $10000 or more, it has to be
reported.
Not taxed, but reported to customs. Additionally, if it is deposited
into a bank has to
report it.

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi:

On the tax issue, you are making some assumptions that may not be warranted. I am not a tax lawyer, but from what I know, if your wife has an ownership interest in the house, the profits just MIGHT be subject to US income tax! US citizens are subject to US income tax on ALL income. From what I understand, there is a exemption that can be claimed for "earned" income, ie salary earned abraod. PLEASE consult with a professional on this one.

I'm puzzled why you would even think of separating the immigrant visa from the brown envelope and taking it with you in your passport on the reconnisance mission. Don't separate the visa from the envelope -- let INS do that.

For God's sake, get some professional advice -- you are playing with fire.

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

Hi Patrick,
The only reason I am writing this is for others that may read it and are in a similar position.
I can't help on the tax situation.

There seems to be all sorts of confusion going on here, perhaps in the wording of the postings.
It's quite simple, go through the same process that we have all gone through, get your visa which is stapled to the Mysterious Brown Envelope, and then arrive at the POE exactly the same as if you would have done under normal circumstances.
Once you have gone through Immigration and they stamp your passport with the I-551 (which is the same as the green card and has the same "power") then you are free to come and go to the UK provided you are not out of the US for more than 12 months.
The INS are quite aware of the fact that new PR's still have unfinished business in the UK that they may have to return to
deal with.
If you do have any queries regarind the IRS and "the wifes" tax situation, there is an IRS "branch" at the US Embassy who are used to dealing with this sort of enquiry.
With regard to the sale of your property, the fact that your wife has been living in the UK for 7 years, under UK law entitles her to 50% of the sale process.
However, and I'm not sure of the exact figure, but most property sales are exempt from property tax and therefore the sale of your property and the amount you transfer to the US is of no concern to the UK Inland Revenue or the IRS.
One slight difference to this is that any amount of $10,000 that you transfer has to be declared to US Customs (due to
money laundering fears)
However your bank should be able to sort that out for you, mine did.

Roger

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

I don't understand the issue.
If you have the visa, why would you not use it.

What advantage do you see in not using it to enter?
After all, you are free to enter and leave at will.
There is no need for advance parole.

Re: Visits after I-130 aproval
 

What LD said :)
Seems like you've got it sorted. Funny how we can get so one-track-minded, isn't it? I've certainly been guilty of the same thing.

Now, just wish me luck in *my* green card interview for Greece. Finally got it set for next week after waiting since March. From the phone call I got, I think the only person on my entire island who doesn't speak at least *some* English is ..... the woman who schedules Immigration interviews for .... d'oh, foreigners!