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Best Visa for both of us, my wife (Filipino naturalized US citizen)

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tsprings1

We are retiring to the Philippines next year (2014) and were wondering if my wife should get a brown card (Dual Citizenship) and how it will affect our filing of income taxes. Will she have to report her earnings in the Philippines what she is receiving from her retirement income in the US also?  This will affect which way we become permanent residents? Love to hear from any Americans who have moved and which way they gained permanent residence status and which Visa they applied for? Thanks for all your help! Terry

melrosefrancis

Ask some Filipino in the US for assistance or maybe seek a Fil-Am Lawyer for legal assistance... Because they know more than just an ordinary citizens.

tsprings1

Thanks for the advise. My wife has since gotten her dual citizenship and I will be getting my permant residency status when I get there. I am told it needs to be renewed the first year then good for 10 years after that. We are close to the move. Hope to by July. Were working on our packing and the house plans. Were getting excited and ready for our new life in a new country. We spent the Christmas holidays in our resort renting a condo there to really feel the experience. It was Great. Thanks again.

FilAmericanMom

I'm a Philippine-born naturalized American citizen.  My husband is a natural-born American.  I reclaimed my Filipino citizenship via dual citizenship so I can own real estate without being subjected to restrictions that apply to non-Filipinos.  My husband applied at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco in 2008 for a "non-quota immigrant visa".  Upon arrival here, he applied for an alien card.  The card is valid for 5 years. Unless you committed a crime in this country, the visa can easily be renewed without any problems.  Just remember you have to pay an annual fee of less than PhP400 every year before the end of February at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.

My advise to you is apply for the visa there in the US rather than here.  I've heard it's more difficult and would probably need a lot more paperwork here compared to there in the US. (And maybe even cheaper.) Go to your nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate and ask around what is the best visa / documentation for you and your wife.

My husband and I both earn income here.  He's employed in a multinational and I own a small business.  We do pay Philippine taxes, but not US taxes.  You need to pay US taxes if your combined income from the Philippines is US$90k or more.  I don't know though if you need to pay Philippine taxes for income from the US. Try asking a consulate official.

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