ITIN while waiting on visa?

[RO_AH 1,659]

I did not have time to read through all of the responses, but here's my story:

 

Yes it is most advantageous to file married and jointly especially if you are the sole supporter and your wife has no income. I filed an extension and I am sending off taxes along with W-7 tomorrow. You can claim the wife but not the children unless they are yours and you have filed a CRBA  . If the children are her's I believe you will need to wait until they are LPR's. It tells you in the W-7 instructions.

 

Calling accountants is worthless as I have tried (even IRS certified acceptance centers). They are mostly clueless when it comes to this stuff. I found out all I did from research.

From W7 Instructions

Spouse of U.S. citizen/resident alien. This category includes: A resident or nonresident alien spouse who isn’t filing a U.S. federal tax return (including a joint return) and who isn’t eligible to get an SSN but who, as a spouse, is claimed as an exemption; and A resident or nonresident alien spouse who isn’t eligible to get an SSN but who’s electing to file a U.S. federal tax return jointly with a spouse who is a U.S. citizen or resident alien. For more information about this category, see Pubs. 501 and 519.

Spouses of U.S. military personnel can submit original documents, certified copies or notarized copies of identification documents. A copy of the service member’s U.S. military ID will be required or the applicant must be applying from an overseas APO/FPO address. A copy of the service member’s U.S. military ID is required to be included with the application if the documents are notarized. If you’re applying for an ITIN under this category, you must provide the full name and SSN or ITIN of the U.S. citizen/resident alien. Enter the information in the space provided.

PUB 519

Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident

If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. This includes situations in which one spouse is a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year, but a resident alien at the end of the year, and the other spouse is a nonresident alien at the end of the year If you make this choice, you and your spouse are treated for income tax purposes as residents for your entire tax year. Neither you nor your spouse can claim under any tax treaty not to be a U.S. resident. You are both taxed on worldwide income. You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice, but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years.

How To Make the Choice

Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information. A declaration that one spouse was a non-resident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of your tax year, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year. The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by RO_AH

[RO_AH 1,659]

As for getting the wife's passport I had her meet up with my friend who was there to see his fiance and lives close by her. When he returned home he mailed it to me. I would not attempt sending it from the Philippines. I also sent her a PDF of everything required so that she could print them, sign them and send it back to me with the passport.

Edited May 29, 2018 by RO_AH