Tax document for I-751. Please Help.

[Thompson Afabu]

I'm about to submit my I-751 to remove condition on marriage GC but my wife and I filed joint tax just for the last year. The first year of our marriage the tax guy told us since we got married at almost the middle of the year it's ok not to file joint. I wonder if i need to do an Amendment to the tax document before sending or just send the one we filed joint. Please help.

[rayb]

Did the tax guy tell you okay not to file as "married," or okay not to file as "joint/married?" Legally, if married status on last day of year, which you were, your tax return should have reflected both your names, even if filing "married/separate."

So if your income tax return copy does not reflect your married status for the year in which you married, you are presenting USCIS with a "red flag." This can mean one of two things to a reviewer: 1) You were not together; or 2) you were looking to gain a tax advantage by not reporting your marital status on your tax return.

If your tax return(s) for a later year (than first year of marriage) showed both your names and marital status, that should be sufficient indication that you were meeting the requirements for tax filing by a married couple, and I wouldn't bother with an earlier year amendment.

--Ray B

I'm about to submit my I-751 to remove condition on marriage GC but my wife and I filed joint tax just for the last year. The first year of our marriage the tax guy told us since we got married at almost the middle of the year it's ok not to file joint. I wonder if i need to do an Amendment to the tax document before sending or just send the one we filed joint. Please help.