Hi I was wondering whether I am eligible for stimulus refund or not?

I am married and have F-1 visa.

Thanks.

First, I am not a TaxExpert. But here are my comments:

From my understanding of the stimulus payment (Called recovery rebate in 2009) one has to be a US citizen/permanent resident OR what is called "resident-alien for TAX purposes". Under these conditions you can file the non-NR forms like 1040EZ,1040 etc

If as a student (in F1) you can be considered a "resident alien for TAX purposes", you will be eligible for the recovery rebate.

There are many ways in which a student can be a resident alien. Some of these are:
a) If you cease to be an exempt individual (stayed in the US for 5 years -- here irrespective of the "date" you entered the US, the ENTIRE year is your 1st year)

b) If you are married to a US citizen/Permanent resident OR "resident-alien" AND choose to file as "married-filing-jointly".

Please refer to IRS Pub 519 about Taxing of Non-residents/Aliens.

You should also be aware of specific treaty rules/benefits that you may be enjoying. Most of these benefits will CEASE to be applied IF you file as a resident. And just so you know: You can file as resident there and then "end that choice -- read 519 about how to" - to file as non-resident next year.

Some more things:
You should be aware that as a non-resident, your "interest from US banks and Foregin SOURCE income" are NOT taxable by IRS.

As a resident-alien your WORLDWIDE income is reportable and taxable... unless a treaty with your country specifically allows otherwise.

Finally, the word resident-alien may be confusing. Resident-alien is a IRS-term for tax purposes NOT a US-Immigration term.

US Immigration uses the words "Immigrants and Non-Immigrants" OR "Citizens/Permanent-Residents" or "Aliens". There is no such thing as "resident-alien" for US Immigration.

IRS distinguishes Aliens above as "Resident-aliens and Non-Resident-aliens".

So you can be a Non-Immigrant as well as a "resident-alien".

Also, in future, please give some more inputs:

e.g... are you AND your spouse a Non-Res or Res, how long have you been in the US, etc...

On F1/OPT you are exempt from residency for 5-years. You must file non-resident tax return Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ and Form 8843.

Nonresidents do not get stimulus rebate. You can not file joint return. Normally, you can not claim exemption for your spouse unless it is allowed by tax treaty of your country.

Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Tax Filing Requirements for Non-Residents (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-tax-filing-requirements-for-non.html)

MukatA: I think it depends on the "residency" status of her/his spouse and the "filing status" they choose to file.

Like I said before there is a provision for treating your "non-res spouse" as resident. Refer to Pub 519 page 10 under "NonResident Spouse Treated as a Resident".

So if the spouse is a Resident-alien and they ELECT to file jointly, then BOTH can get a stimulus rebate (since then both are considered resident-aliens), UNLESS one (the resident-alien) has already received such payments before. It is important to note that BOTH of them must have a SSN or ITIN to get such a rebate.

ANYONE with an ITIN is NOT eligible for any stimulus payment.