Can I claim my wife in my Federal and State taxes; even though she lives in Central America.?

Question

She is waiting for her visa in Central America so she can come to The United States to live with me. We got married in August of 2006 and I have been sending her money to support her and my unborn baby. Will this affect her visa process? I went to H&R, but they do not know anything there.

Answer 1

Please ignore the answere from Shibboleth. He's completely wrong.

First, a marriage recognized in the country where it was solemnized is recognized in the US. Therefore your only options are Married Filing Separately or Married Filing Jointly.

To file a joint return your wife must have a SSN or ITIN. She must also agree to have her world-wide income taxed by the US. You need to attach a joint statement to your joint return, signed by both of you, attesting to this fact.

If your wife doesn't have either a SSN or ITIN she can apply for an ITIN by attaching Form W-7 to your return along with the required proof of ID. Send that return to the Austin, TX Service Center.

If your wife does not agree to have her world wide income taxed by the US at present (it will be once she's legally admitted to the US) then you must file Married Filing Separately. You might be able to claim her as a dependent IF she had zero gross income and is not the dependent of another taxpayer. This is an exception to the normal rule that a spouse is never a dependent. See IRS Pub 501, page 9, at the top of the center column.

Answer 2

Where is she living? If she is a citizen of Mexico (or Canada) then yes. You would need to get an ITIN from the IRS for her first. Also, if she is not a citizen of Mexico, but spent at least 182 days in the US over the past three years and at least 31 days in the US in 2006 she is considered an resident alien for tax purposes. Again, you would need to apply for an ITIN for her prior to filing. Otherwise, unfortunately not.

Answer 3

If you were married in Central America, your marriage is not recognized here, and you can't file a "married joint" or "married seperate" return.

You have to file single.

If your wife were a resident of Canada or Mexico, and if you were supporting her, you could file "single" or "head of household" and claim her as a dependent.

(H & R Block is a great place to have your taxes done. If you found someone who didn't know about this, I'm surprised. But this is isn't really a tax question, it's an immigration question. Most countries only recognize marriages that take place within their own borders. I had to marry twice--once in Manila and once in San Diego about 5 weeks later.)

Answer 4

only if she paid taxes in the USA