[Hopeful]

I have a question. I know that if you win the lottery and you're successful with your interview, you have 6 months from the time your visa was issued to enter the US. So my question is: If my husband is the winner, can he enter the US first (to activate the greencard), return back home and after several months then we all enter the US together? My question is if the visas of the dependents expire at 6 months as well or NOT if the winner activates his first? (without the dependents with him).

Once the green card is activated, how long do we have to actually make the move to the US? Thanks in advance guys!

[Malamute]

Hopeful, on 23 September 2009 - 07:38 PM, said:

I have a question. I know that if you win the lottery and you're successful with your interview, you have 6 months from the time your visa was issued to enter the US. So my question is: If my husband is the winner, can he enter the US first (to activate the greencard), return back home and after several months then we all enter the US together? My question is if the visas of the dependents expire at 6 months as well or NOT if the winner activates his first? (without the dependents with him).

Once the green card is activated, how long do we have to actually make the move to the US? Thanks in advance guys!

You will ALL have to enter the USA withing the 6 month window. Each person will have a visa in their passport that expires 6 months from the date of issue, so each person must enter the USA for the first time within the validity of the visa.

However, yes you can all enter the USA, all return to SA and then return to the USA. There is not set period within which you HAVE to move to the USA, but in practical terms, it is difficult to sustain your residency if you are gone for more than a few months. Bear in mind:
1) Your Green Card can be revoked at any time if you are deemed to have abandoned your residency in the USA, or moved/returned to another country with the intention of living there.
2) If you are absent from the USA for more than 6 months, the 5 year 'wait' to residency starts again.
3) If you are absent from the USA for more than 1 year, you need a special visa to return. This will only be granted if you can prove that you have not abandoned youre residency.
(You could get a visa to re-enter BEFORE you even leave the USA, but this takes time)

Note that from the moment you land on your visa, you are a permanent resident, and must file a tax return, even if you return to SA and earn an income there and not in the USA. This income must be reported to the IRS.

[Janneman]

Malamute, on 23 September 2009 - 06:06 PM, said:

Note that from the moment you land on your visa, you are a permanent resident, and must file a tax return, even if you return to SA and earn an income there and not in the USA. This income must be reported to the IRS.

Malamute, and how would the IRS handle taxation in such a case?

[Boertjie]

Hopeful, on 24 September 2009 - 01:38 AM, said:

I have a question. I know that if you win the lottery and you're successful with your interview, you have 6 months from the time your visa was issued to enter the US. So my question is: If my husband is the winner, can he enter the US first (to activate the greencard), return back home and after several months then we all enter the US together? My question is if the visas of the dependents expire at 6 months as well or NOT if the winner activates his first? (without the dependents with him).

Once the green card is activated, how long do we have to actually make the move to the US? Thanks in advance guys!

Hi, there
We asked the same question at the Consulate as my wife was the greencard winner, but all have to enter at the same time (first time), whereafter you can always come back, but for the first entry, you all have to enter at the same time.

Regards,
Boertjie

[Malamute]

Janneman, on 24 September 2009 - 02:44 AM, said:

Malamute, and how would the IRS handle taxation in such a case?

Hi Janneman,
See the thread under the DV Lottery entitled TAXES and the Green Card Landing.

Basically, the day you land you become a Permanent Resident, and you have to submit a tax return like any other resident. Even if you just land for a couple of days to validate the card and leave again, you are still now a Permanent Resident. Failure to do so correctly, on time etc can have serious consequences, including the loss of your Green Card, and problems with Naturalisation.

As the USA taxes you on your global income. (e.g. I landed in December, 3 weeks before the end of the tax year, and had to submit a 1040NR form for the period Jan - November, when I was not in the USA, not earning a salary in the USA etc, as well as a 1040 for December, when my income was also not earned in the USA). As this is foreign income (and not earned from a USA based company etc etc.) - there is a bunch of detail around this, you have 2 options to avoid double taxation:

1) Claim an exclusion - maximum amount is $87 600 for this last tax year.
2) Claim a foreign tax credit (i.e. that you have already paid tax on this income in a foreign country). Note that if the tax you paid is less than what you would have been taxed in the USA, you will still pay additional tax.
There is also a whole bunch of documentation about these 2 options, when it is better for you to apply for one or the other etc.

BIG NOTE: This is just basic information - anyone who really needs helps should consult a professional, as getting it wrong could be costly, and I'm NOT even close to being an expert..............I just happened to figure out that I must do a return, contacted the IRS, who confirmed that I indeed I was now obligated to do a return, and they advised me the basics of what I had to do legally. A professional can advise what is best for anyone's personal circumstances.

[Superkruz]

Malamute,

Assuming my visa is granted, I am thinking about coming to the USA in December 2010 for a quick holiday and then going home to wrap things up before the final move, and I was wondering what implications it would have on me tax-wise.

I follow your logic about being liable to tax in the USA in the year that you enter the USA (and thus became a LPR). What I am wondering about is how the provisions of an applicable tax treaty affects this, if at all.
I briefly read the USA/Australia tax treaty that would apply to me I (I assume the USA/SA one would be fairly similar) and from Article 4 seems that I would be a resident of Australia only for 2010. Article 15 then says that income in derived in Australia would only be taxable there, and not in the USA, provided that I was not in the USA for more than 183 days.

It seems to me that the tax treaty could take care of the risk of paying top-up tax in the USA on my Australian salary. These treaties are usually quite similar and if the USA/SA one is like the Australian treaty then maybe this could be a solution for SA immigrants too?

I would like to hear your view as you always post very thorough, accurate and reliable answers.

This post has been edited by Superkruz: 15 July 2010 - 04:46 AM

[oscar]

Superkruz, I would assume for the 2010 tax year in the USA you will be fine all you need submit will be a zero tax return. IRS is only really interested in is how much money you make in the USA. Naturally if you receive income in 2011 from other parts of the world you will have to declare it.
But lets wait for Malamute's expert opinion.

[Superkruz]

Hopeful, on 24 September 2009 - 09:38 AM, said:

I have a question. I know that if you win the lottery and you're successful with your interview, you have 6 months from the time your visa was issued to enter the US. So my question is: If my husband is the winner, can he enter the US first (to activate the greencard), return back home and after several months then we all enter the US together? My question is if the visas of the dependents expire at 6 months as well or NOT if the winner activates his first? (without the dependents with him).

Once the green card is activated, how long do we have to actually make the move to the US? Thanks in advance guys!

Here is a post that I found on another forum that adds a bit to the original question by HOPEFUL:
"When I was given our passports and envelopes, the CO clearly said that as the principal applicant, I could enter first, and with my derivatives to follow, or we could enter all together; however, they could not enter before me.
So to answer your question - you can enter first if you are the principal applicant. If your husband won the lottery, then you must travel with him"

This post has been edited by Superkruz: 15 July 2010 - 05:09 AM

[Malamute]

Superkruz, on 15 July 2010 - 05:17 AM, said:

Malamute,

Assuming my visa is granted, I am thinking about coming to the USA in December 2010 for a quick holiday and then going home to wrap things up before the final move, and I was wondering what implications it would have on me tax-wise.

I follow your logic about being liable to tax in the USA in the year that you enter the USA (and thus became a LPR). What I am wondering about is how the provisions of an applicable tax treaty affects this, if at all.
I briefly read the USA/Australia tax treaty that would apply to me I (I assume the USA/SA one would be fairly similar) and from Article 4 seems that I would be a resident of Australia only for 2010. Article 15 then says that income in derived in Australia would only be taxable there, and not in the USA, provided that I was not in the USA for more than 183 days.

It seems to me that the tax treaty could take care of the risk of paying top-up tax in the USA on my Australian salary. These treaties are usually quite similar and if the USA/SA one is like the Australian treaty then maybe this could be a solution for SA immigrants too?

I would like to hear your view as you always post very thorough, accurate and reliable answers.

Hi Superkruz I do try.............but I'm not a tax 'expert'. However, your situation sounds very similar to mine, and finding out what I had to do was a painful process. So I think I can help you with what you legally have to do, but as I know nothing at all about Australian tax law.............you may have to figure that one yourself. Also, USA tax is complicated..........I think a CA or someone is in a better position to advise what is better for your situation so that you get the best tax benefits etc....

Having said that, yes tax treaties do play a part, and fortunately Australia does have a treaty with the US, with the main benefit to you that you will largely avoid any double taxation.

How this will work is that:
1) For 2010, even though you will be on 'holiday', when you land on your GC, you become a PR. So if you go back to Australia soon afterwards, you will have to 15 June 2011 to file your USA taxes if you are still in Australia then (you get an automatic extension on the 15 April deadline for tax returns if you are resident abroad).

You will do a 1040NR for 01 Jan 2010 to the date in December you land. You must state your Aussie income from 01 Jan to the date you land in December, but you will not be taxed on this as a non-resident, and who has not earned this income in the USA. At the top of that form, you write 'Dual Return'
2) For 2010 for the period in December after you land until 31 December, you work out your income for that period, and complete a normal 1040, and at the top of that form, you indicate 'Dual Return'. You can then either elect to go for the foreign income exclusion, or claim an exemption under the tax treaty.
For the foreign income exclustion - you complete form 2555 or 2555-EZ (as long as the amount you earned as a PR in December in Australia was not more than the limit - which was USD91 400 for 2009). If you choose to take the exclusion, that decision remains in effect for the subsequent years that you are earning foreign income, until you revoke it.
What this really means is that whatever you earned outside of the USA will not be factored in to IRS calculations

The alternative is to claim the Foreign Tax Credit - which means that you report your income for the December period. IRS tax will be calculated on those earnings, as if they were in the USA. However, you also submit Form 1116 - foreign tax credit - where you indicate what tax you have already paid to a treaty country - i.e. Australia, and you should receive tax credit on that. This is really where the tax treaty is important.
e.g. you earned the equivalent of USD 1000 for December. The IRS says you owe $100 tax on that. You show that you have paid $90 tax already in Australia. You get a tax credit for the amount you have already paid the treaty country, and then only have to pay $10 to the IRS.

This is a MINEFIELD. Fairly simple for normal income tax, but when it comes to pensions etc, can be very complex. But this, in a nutshell, is what you will have to do legally.

If you return in 2011 and actually start earning USD in the USA in 2011, you will still only do 1 1040 return - as you will be a resident for all of it, and the 'wisdom' of choosing the foreign tax credit OR the exclusion on foreign income may change................

I needed a stiff drink(s) when I was trying to work this all out the first time around............I've just looked through all my notes for this post.....I think I need another! This is enough to fry your brain. Folks like Utah deal with this all day..........Hats off !

[Superkruz]

Seems like I can save myself a lot of headache if I just go after 31 December

[Hagar]

Superkruz, on 15 July 2010 - 09:24 PM, said:

Seems like I can save myself a lot of headache if I just go after 31 December

Save yourself an even bigger headache and stay where you are, unless you personally want to experience the fall of a once great civilization. At this point, Australia has a lot more to offer.

[Superkruz]

Hagar, on 31 July 2010 - 01:46 AM, said:

Save yourself an even bigger headache and stay where you are, unless you personally want to experience the fall of a once great civilization. At this point, Australia has a lot more to offer.

Hagar, this is a surprising comment .... why do you say this?

[Hagar]

Because frankly, the US is bankrupt, polities en ekonomies. And the party has not even started yet, the system is still being propped up and kept going by all kinds of backroom deals, "stimulus funding(organized theft)" and finagling, but it is just a matter of time. May take 10 years, my guess is 2, and it may happen next week. Why would you leave Australia if you have a secure job there?

[Superkruz]

Hagar

They say, "when the US economy sneeze, the rest of the world gets a cold" so I guess if things go pear-shaped in the US one day it will hit other economies, including Australia (with its relatively small economy) very hard and then no job will be safe - including mine. What I am saying is that having a job is not going to influence my decision of what to do or where to go.

I also feel that it is a good opportunity (getting a GC) to experience life in the US as I always see in on TV and would like to experience it for myself.

I love life here in Australia and can always return if I want to one day, but for now I think I should take the plunge and experience the US while it is still standing - where is my bloody GC!! I wish the 2nd Notification letter would come.... my number is current for September and if I dont get he letter its is all over red rover as September is the last month of processing for DV2010.

Are you considering to go back to SA or perhaps somewhere else, due to the reasons you've given?

This post has been edited by Superkruz: 03 August 2010 - 09:52 PM

[Malamute]

Bravo Superkruz

Like you, I was living outside of SA when I won my GC. I was living in England, - and loving it. I had a great job with good prospects, good friends etc. Yet, like you, I was prepard (at the very lowest point of the recession in mid 2009) to move to the USA, not because it was a 'sure thing' and for a better job, pay etc, but because of the adventure of experiencing it and doing it.

It was not the smartest thing to do financially - from being employed at a great GBP salary to being unemployed in the USA (at least for the first few months), but I came anyway because it was what I wanted to do. I didn't expect to walk into an easy life, and neither, I think, do you.

I think you have a great mindset to come and make a success of your experience here. It sounds like you already made this transition once successfully, and I am sure you will do so again. I hope your 2nd letter arrives soon!

Enjoy the adventure