Post Green Card Approval

[zenmaster]

My wife and I received our cards 2 months back and now my wife wants to change her last to that of mine. What are the steps? but more importantly what are the things that I need to worry the most during the process. She just received her SSN and we are in the process of going to the IRS to return her tax ID. I know we will have to go to SSN office to change her name again and other places like passport office etc...

Hope fully we don't have to go though a lot of crap after all we just got our GCs.

Druvraj, I wrote a letter to the IRS (ITIN department) stating that wife has received SSN and that all her previous tax records be updated with the SSN in leiu of ITIN. ITIN is now not needed and can be rescinded.
IRS did send an acknowledgement letter stating that tax records were updated with SSN and that ITIN rescinded.
Here is a helpful link : http://www.immihelp.com/immigration/...tting-ssn.html

[druvraj]

Dru - My understanding is that taxID and SSN are not same and one can have both at the same time. So we never bothered to return my wife's tax ID.

Why fix something that's not broken?

Are you sure I was being told that tax ID and SSN cannot exist at the same time. Can you guide me towards the source of your conclusion. We need to change her name for tax purposes in India to avoid double taxation. Our tax attorney in India have read the DTAA (double taxation) rules and recommended is this. Personally I am not for going through the paper work but if I am going to be taxed 2 the pain is worth it. What I wanted to know was the order in which to do things. Like first passport then.... If anybody has any recommendation please share it.

[imdeng]

My impression was that you need to officially ask for the two numbers to be combined - the taxID (ITIN number?) is then destroyed and SSN is assigned as the follower to that number. Otherwise IRS has no way to link your past tax filings with your future ones.

Dru - My understanding is that taxID and SSN are not same and one can have both at the same time. So we never bothered to return my wife's tax ID.

Why fix something that's not broken?

[qesehmk]

I do remember replacing her tax ID with SSN by notifying IRS about it. However what I am saying is that we never bothered to cancel Tax ID with IRS. I thought that was unnecessary. I personally never bothered about it - nor do I think today it is important enough to spend any time on it. So sorry .. I don't have any source to back it up.

Are you sure I was being told that tax ID and SSN cannot exist at the same time. Can you guide me towards the source of your conclusion. We need to change her name for tax purposes in India to avoid double taxation. Our tax attorney in India have read the DTAA (double taxation) rules and recommended is this. Personally I am not for going through the paper work but if I am going to be taxed 2 the pain is worth it. What I wanted to know was the order in which to do things. Like first passport then.... If anybody has any recommendation please share it.

[imdeng]

Why should changing of name have any effect on taxation? If the issue is Marital Status - then as long as you have proof of marriage, the last name being different should not make any difference.

On a personal note - I find the practice of wife surrendering her name to take up the husband's name to be a little unbalanced considering that the husband is not considering any such change.

Are you sure I was being told that tax ID and SSN cannot exist at the same time. Can you guide me towards the source of your conclusion. We need to change her name for tax purposes in India to avoid double taxation. Our tax attorney in India have read the DTAA (double taxation) rules and recommended is this. Personally I am not for going through the paper work but if I am going to be taxed 2 the pain is worth it. What I wanted to know was the order in which to do things. Like first passport then.... If anybody has any recommendation please share it.

[druvraj]

Why should changing of name have any effect on taxation? If the issue is Marital Status - then as long as you have proof of marriage, the last name being different should not make any difference.

On a personal note - I find the practice of wife surrendering her name to take up the husband's name to be a little unbalanced considering that the husband is not considering any such change.

My wife's Family has decent enough property in India. According to the NRI law as designed and written by RBI with name change we can avoid double taxation. Please bear in mind this is a very simplistic explanation. If you need any further information let me know and I can try to share information in the best possible way.

imdeng we are married for 7 years and so far since we had no real reason to change her last name. But now if I am going to save some money especially tax money I would do it just because this is the money our children can use for their future studies or for just about anything. Lastly I have no real passion to run from one govt office to another.

Q thanks for letting me know that TaxID does not need to be canceled just linked. Did you take an appointment with a local IRS?

[TeddyKoochu]

Guys just my own individual first hand experience on this. Yes once an individual gets SSN that is the one to be used for TAX purposes the Tax id should be surrendered.

My dear wife called the IRS hotline, the process is that you write a covering letter mentioning that you now have a SSN following is required a) Original ITIN b) Copy of SSN and c) Copy of spouse SSN (On H4 you cannot file returns individually) to link previous returns.

You can either send this over to the IRS office in Austin or visit your nearest IRS office where they take away the original ITIN for cancellation and give a copy for your records along with a copy of your SSN.

Now one more interesting thing is do it early before the tax season else the electronic filing gets rejected, the records merge is all manual. Typically most online filing matches the jointly filed return by SSN to the previous year’s adjusted gross income or your password which is also associated with the ITIN, if there is no record it gets rejected and then you have to file a paper return.

Also have your spouse’s share the SSN with banks and financial institutions wherever they have accounts / cards; they report this information to the credit bureau’s who merge the records automatically.

[imdeng]

Dhruv - my apologies - I was not referring to your specific case - I was talking about the practice in general. I should have been clearer.

You should do all you can to save tax money. The law is stupid of course - if it can be moved around with just by a change of last name.

My wife's Family has decent enough property in India. According to the NRI law as designed and written by RBI with name change we can avoid double taxation. Please bear in mind this is a very simplistic explanation. If you need any further information let me know and I can try to share information in the best possible way.

imdeng we are married for 7 years and so far since we had no real reason to change her last name. But now if I am going to save some money especially tax money I would do it just because this is the money our children can use for their future studies or for just about anything. Lastly I have no real passion to run from one govt office to another.

Q thanks for letting me know that TaxID does not need to be canceled just linked. Did you take an appointment with a local IRS?

[druvraj]

Dhruv - my apologies - I was not referring to your specific case - I was talking about the practice in general. I should have been clearer.

You should do all you can to save tax money. The law is stupid of course - if it can be moved around with just by a change of last name.

Imdeng no need for apologies. I guess we were having a argument in the right spirit. So long as we are having that We all will benefit.

[druvraj]

Thanks Teddy I will do it asap. We applied for her SSN before Govt shutdown and when we went back they said immigration office have not updated their servers yet with your data. Hence we cannot issue you a number. We need to verify your LPR status. Fortunately I got my SSN with work authorization removed but not hers. One more trip to SSN office beacons before I head to IRS.

[ESPERANDOGC]

Guys...
Unsure if I had to start a new Thread; instead using this discussion - apologize for the inconvenience.

I have a situation; I received my GC last month; and now I am planning onto move from work Location US State X to work Location US State Y "within the SAME COMPANY".

In this regard when I approached my HR - she is advising me not to move for the next 6 months, but my Attorney confirmed that by filing AR-11 I should be good - upon move.

As per my knowledge there is no such restriction to re-locate within the same company; except to the fact that changing/switching companies in the first 6months of GC is not recommended.

Can anyone please Advice?

[imdeng]

I see no reason to be concerned. Post-GC moving within the same company, presumably for the same job - just a location change should not be an issue at all.

Guys...
Unsure if I had to start a new Thread; instead using this discussion - apologize for the inconvenience.

I have a situation; I received my GC last month; and now I am planning onto move from work Location US State X to work Location US State Y "within the SAME COMPANY".

In this regard when I approached my HR - she is advising me not to move for the next 6 months, but my Attorney confirmed that by filing AR-11 I should be good - upon move.

As per my knowledge there is no such restriction to re-locate within the same company; except to the fact that changing/switching companies in the first 6months of GC is not recommended.

Can anyone please Advice?

[everydayout]

Guys,

After GC, do I still need to preserve all the old l1/h1 related docs. Can I shred them?

[qesehmk]

Personally I like to keep everything .. just in case there is any future inquiry. Just in case you shred them - you can always retrieve documents issued by USCIS from USCIS under FOIA with a fees.

Guys,

After GC, do I still need to preserve all the old l1/h1 related docs. Can I shred them?

[Kanmani]

Personally I like to keep everything .. just in case there is any future inquiry. Just in case you shred them - you can always retrieve documents issued by USCIS from USCIS under FOIA with a fees.

Q, There is no fees for FOIA requests. Do you know how long the USCIS keep our files active ?

[qesehmk]

Kanmani - I think they keep it forever.

As per Fees - actually there is fees. For each FOIA request any govt agency estimates effort and if the effort is less than 25 dollars then they don't charge you. If it is more then they tell you how much it will cost and then if you agree then they will complete the request. But since most requests involving retrieval of a single record are simple, it doesn't cost anything for most people.

Q, There is no fees for FOIA requests. Do you know how long the USCIS keep our files active ?

[Kanmani]

Kanmani - I think they keep it forever.

As per Fees - actually there is fees. For each FOIA request any govt agency estimates effort and if the effort is less than 25 dollars then they don't charge you. If it is more then they tell you how much it will cost and then if you agree then they will complete the request. But since most requests involving retrieval of a single record are simple, it doesn't cost anything for most people.

Thank you for the information Q.

[ChampU]

My GreenCard was approved on 10/08/2013. I received the card in mail on 10/15.

Yesterday, I received another card. Everything else (A#, Name, DoB, Resident since (10/08) date etc) is the same except for the card expiry dates.

Which one of the two cards should I keep?Any ideas what my next steps should be? Should I contact USCIS?

I have already used the GC issued in October to renew my DL.

[gc0907]

Wow two times Diwali in a year....
I don't see a reason to worry since the approval date is same but you can contact USCIS to get clarification.

My GreenCard was approved on 10/08/2013. I received the card in mail on 10/15.

Yesterday, I received another card. Everything else (A#, Name, DoB, Resident since (10/08) date etc) is the same except for the card expiry dates.

Which one of the two cards should I keep?Any ideas what my next steps should be? Should I contact USCIS?

I have already used the GC issued in October to renew my DL.

[ramaka02]

Hi Folks:
Since things/laws might have changed since the thread was started, could someone please summarize what needs to be done post GC approval? Also, sorry if it has been answered before, but I have been with my employer since 2008, do I still have to stick with him for 1 more year post GC approval or am I free to switch employers anytime now without hampering my chances of citizenship in the future?

Thank you!

[ramaka02]

Thanks Sports!

[PD2008AUG25]

I think these are the things I would do:

1. Get it stamped in the passport so you are free to travel as you wish.
2. Fill in a new I9 with the employer informing the change of status.
3. Possibly get the social security card changed if it says something like "work with DHS approval".
4. renew drivers license as applicable.

Also, if you have filed I485 180 days or more in the past, my take is that there is no risk to seek greener pastures.

I thought #1 is only needed if you haven't received your Card and need to travel. Can someone chime in?

[Kanmani]

I may be wrong, but I thought that getting it stamped on the passport has the advantage that you don't need to carry 2 things with you (passport and GC). Anyone?

Sportsfan,

Are you referring to the I-551 immigrant visa stamp on the passport? If so, it serves as temporary until the PR card is issued, I am not sure why do we need one in the passport. Moreover I don't think we could get I, once the GC card is already in hand.

I am again not sure, but they may stamp one, in an emergency travel situation, if the physical card is lost and having short of time to replace one.

[venkat]

You are 100% right Kanmani... i-551 is for temporary purposes only where delay is expected in receiving physical cards and travel is anticipated while waiting for cards to arrive.

Sportsfan,

Are you referring to the I-551 immigrant visa stamp on the passport? If so, it serves as temporary until the PR card is issued, I am not sure why do we need one in the passport. Moreover I don't think we could get I, once the GC card is already in hand.

I am again not sure, but they may stamp one, in an emergency travel situation, if the physical card is lost and having short of time to replace one.