Child Credit or Not???

[llindsay 21]

Hi, my wife has been here in usa for 1 1l/2 years so this is her first full year in the usa but her son age 7 got here in June 2015. Now he doesn't have a SSN cause SSA said he doesnt get one until he gets of age to work. So how do i file for a credit or do i get a child credit for him since he has no SSN? My wife and I will be filing soon so we want to know our options. Do i have to apply for a ITIN for the child? Any help would be great...

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Hi, my wife has been here in usa for 1 1l/2 years so this is her first full year in the usa but her son age 7 got here in June 2015. Now he doesn't have a SSN cause SSA said he doesnt get one until he gets of age to work. So how do i file for a credit or do i get a child credit for him since he has no SSN? My wife and I will be filing soon so we want to know our options. Do i have to apply for a ITIN for the child? Any help would be great...

Bullspit. My daughter has one and she's 6 months old.

[PK and PK 13]

Hi, my wife has been here in usa for 1 1l/2 years so this is her first full year in the usa but her son age 7 got here in June 2015. Now he doesn't have a SSN cause SSA said he doesnt get one until he gets of age to work. So how do i file for a credit or do i get a child credit for him since he has no SSN? My wife and I will be filing soon so we want to know our options. Do i have to apply for a ITIN for the child? Any help would be great...

You should be able to get your child an SSN. There are other reasons he will need it before he is old enough to work including, health insurance, savings accounts and taxes. So go back and insist.

[Amhara 460]

Well, hurry up and get your step-son's SSN! If he has his green card, then he should be considered a qualifying child for the CTC (child tax credit) since he lived with you for more than half the year.

However, the identifying number (SSN/ITIN) requirements are:

Taxpayer identification number needed by due date of return. If you didn't have a social security number (an SSN) or ITIN by the due date of your 2015 return (including exensions), you can't claim the child tax credit or the additional child tax credit on either your original or an amended 2015 return, even if you later get an SSN (or ITIN). Also, neither credit is allowed on either your original or an amended 2015 return with respect to a child who didn't have an SSN, ATIN, or ITIN by the due date of your return (including extensions), even if that child later gets one of those numbers.

Your step-son doesn't qualify for an ITIN if he's eligible for an SSN. (The SSA workers are not known for their extensive knowledge of immigration-related SSN issues.) There is nothing that says a child can only get an SSN at working age - babies are issued SSN for goodness sake!

I suggest returning to the SSA office and presenting your son's identifying documents and say he's required to have an SSN to receive government services/benefits/coverage.

(https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10023.pdf)

(https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10096.pdf)

[Georgia16 2,858]

I think they just meant that K-2 don't get their SSN before they have their EAD (They get it even though they don't work) which you apply for while AOS.

That what i have seen other do with K-2

[llindsay 21]

I think they just meant that K-2 don't get their SSN before they have their EAD (They get it even though they don't work) which you apply for while AOS.

That what i have seen other do with K-2

He did come as a K-2 and we went to the SSA and they said SSN is not needed for school which is true cause he is now in school. I guess i will have to call them to find out why he cant get one for sure..

[Georgia16 2,858]

He did come as a K-2 and we went to the SSA and they said SSN is not needed for school which is true cause he is now in school. I guess i will have to call them to find out why he cant get one for sure..

Yeah but has he gotten his EAD card??

[Amhara 460]

He did come as a K-2 and we went to the SSA and they said SSN is not needed for school which is true cause he is now in school. I guess i will have to call them to find out why he cant get one for sure..

Yeah but has he gotten his EAD card??

It doesn't matter if your son gets an EAD/AP card or not. In order for him to be a qualifying child for the child tax credit, he has to be a US Citizen, US National or a US permanent resident (green card holder). He might not be eligible to be claimed as your dependent if he doesn't have his GC, unless you went through the process of legally adopting him (even though that's probably a stretch and may not really count).

[llindsay 21]

Yeah but has he gotten his EAD card??

No he doesnt have a EAD card cause he is 7 years old...i did just get off the phone with SSA and they said they have to have a reason to issue a SSN and taxes isnt one of them but then said i can apply for a TIN number. They also said that if the child has a green card then they can issue a SS# and he hasnt gotten that yet and that takes a while so i guess we need to wait for his green card..

[Georgia16 2,858]

It doesn't matter if your son gets an EAD/AP card or not. In order for him to be a qualifying child for the child tax credit, he has to be a US Citizen, US National or a US permanent resident (green card holder). He might not be eligible to be claimed as your dependent if he doesn't have his GC, unless you went through the process of legally adopting him (even though that's probably a stretch and may not really count).

I not talking about all of that only the SSN number

[llindsay 21]

It doesn't matter if your son gets an EAD/AP card or not. In order for him to be a qualifying child for the child tax credit, he has to be a US Citizen, US National or a US permanent resident (green card holder). He might not be eligible to be claimed as your dependent if he doesn't have his GC, unless you went through the process of legally adopting him (even though that's probably a stretch and may not really count).

It looks like your correct on this one...thanks

[Georgia16 2,858]

No he doesnt have a EAD card cause he is 7 years old...i did just get off the phone with SSA and they said they have to have a reason to issue a SSN and taxes isnt one of them but then said i can apply for a TIN number. They also said that if the child has a green card then they can issue a SS# and he hasnt gotten that yet and that takes a while so i guess we need to wait for his green card..

I know that I'm just saying what I have seen others with K-2' did that to get a SSN number to the K-2

[Amhara 460]

It looks like your correct on this one...thanks

You're welcome, but I wish I wasn't correct on this one. That CTC is pretty beneficial.

I know that I'm just saying what I have seen others with K-2' did that to get a SSN number to the K-2

I don't know about K-2 visa beneficiaries getting SSN, but I know that for us, we applied for SSN after our marriage and were told we couldn't because my husband's 'status has changed'. I didn't want to fight it and I couldn't find anything that specifically said he could get one issued after our marriage. I have since see many, many K-1 beneficiaries get their SSN's issued after their marriage.

SSA is very screwed up about this; your step-son probably can get (or could have gotten within the I-94 dates) his SSN. I wouldn't use taxes as a reason to get his SSN - I'd go with "Sir, I will need an SSN for my son to purchase investments for him and the income needs to be reported under his SSN" since that's specifically mentioned as a reason for an SSN to be issued (which is really a tax reason, but again, SSA is screwy like that...)

Why do they have to be so stringy like that?

[Georgia16 2,858]

You're welcome, but I wish I wasn't correct on this one. That CTC is pretty beneficial.

I don't know about K-2 visa beneficiaries getting SSN, but I know that for us, we applied for SSN after our marriage and were told we couldn't because my husband's 'status has changed'. I didn't want to fight it and I couldn't find anything that specifically said he could get one issued after our marriage. I have since see many, many K-1 beneficiaries get their SSN's issued after their marriage.

SSA is very screwed up about this; your step-son probably can get (or could have gotten within the I-94 dates) his SSN. I wouldn't use taxes as a reason to get his SSN - I'd go with "Sir, I will need an SSN for my son to purchase investments for him and the income needs to be reported under his SSN" since that's specifically mentioned as a reason for an SSN to be issued (which is really a tax reason, but again, SSA is screwy like that...)

Why do they have to be so stringy like that?

't know why your husband couldn't get his SSN maybe they where wrong as long as the I-94 is good they should give out the SSN. I have just seen that's not the case with K-2's and since I have a K-2 I have been reading up on that what I could find in here

[Alaska2012 462]

K2 needs a green card to get a ssn