Since you are married, you should include him as your husband in your income tax returns. If he doesn’t have an Individual Tax Identification Number, you can learn how to get one here. The IRS will give him a number to allow you to include him in your income tax return.
If he doesn’t owe back taxes, he probably doesn’t have to file his income taxes for those years, but you really need to discuss this with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Income tax law is complicated and CPA’s are the best to handle those issues.
For your green card process, however, it is an excellent proof of a good faith marriage. You need to show that you have commingled your personal and financial lives once you married. Filing joint Income tax returns goes a long way to meeting this burden. It is just one element of many that will determine the success of your application. You are sponsoring your husband, because you will your income tax returns they must be properly filed. You don’t want to file anything that can undermine your petition. If your income tax returns are fraudulent, whether you intended it or not, it can affect your immigration petition. If you are perceived to have lied once, you can be sure they immigration will believe you did it again.
Here is an example I see too often, Maria is a U.S. citizen she married George a Mexican National. They have three kids, have been together for 15 years, but only got married last year. They have filed their taxes for the last six years under the category Married Filing Jointly. The problem is they were married only last year, the five prior returns were incorrect. If they are included as support of a good faith marriage, it can create unnecessary complications. Maria and George should see a CPA and have their income tax returns amended before including them in their Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) or only include the most recent return which was properly filed.
Before filing a Petition for Alien Relative we have some valuable resources for you
- Do You Qualify for Legal Status? If you aren’t legal in the U.S. you owe it to yourself to find out if you can get legal status. Select the link, answer the questions, and find out for FREE.
- Do You Need an Immigration Attorney? You Might Not I will explain when you need an immigration attorney. Not every needs one. I will also explain the benefits of hiring one in any immigration challenge.
- 7 Critical Questions to ask Before Hiring an Immigration Attorney If you have decided that you need an immigration attorney, how do you make sure you hire a good one? I explain to you the questions you need to ask before you hire your immigration attorney.
- An Immigrant’s Guide to Municipal Court Here I discuss what happens if you get arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement, what you need to know to get out of custody, and what to expect if you are placed in removal hearings. I also explain the municipal court process and how a municipal court matter can result in your being placed into removal proceedings.
If you have questions, we have answers.
You can:
- Call our knowledgeable staff at 888-695-6169;
- Fill out our contact us form on this page; or
- Select our live chat feature to speak to someone right away.
We help immigrants, one petition at a time.
