I was on L1 visa work permit in US, Foreign National from Jan 2006 - Mar 2006 and Jun 2006 - Sep 2006. My wife and my kid stayed with me for the entire period. She was on L2 visa.

I have received my W2, and would like to know few things related to tax return

1) Was my wife eligible to apply for SSN as we did not apply for one?
2) Can I file the tax return as "Married Filing Jointly"? My wife does not have SSN as well as ITIN at the moment
3) Does it require being physically present in order to apply for ITIN/SSN? As we are not in US and can only operate through email or postal service

Please suggest the status under which I can file my tax returns.

Also suggest how much difference in tax (approximate figure) will be there if I have to file as single. My approximate gross pay for the ~7 months period is ~$38k

Thanks in advance.

Ashish

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Originally Posted by agarg

I was on L1 visa work permit in US, Foreign National from Jan 2006 - Mar 2006 and Jun 2006 - Sep 2006. My wife and my kid stayed with me for the entire period. She was on L2 visa.

I have received my W2, and would like to know few things related to tax return

1) Was my wife eligible to apply for SSN as we did not apply for one?
2) Can I file the tax return as "Married Filing Jointly"? My wife does not have SSN as well as ITIN at the moment
3) Does it require being physically present in order to apply for ITIN/SSN? As we are not in US and can only operate through email or postal service

Please suggest the status under which I can file my tax returns.

Also suggest how much difference in tax (approximate figure) will be there if I have to file as single. My approximate gross pay for the ~7 months period is ~$38k

Thanks in advance.

Ashish

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You are going to have to count those days very carefully because you are right around the 183 day mark. If you meet the Substantial Presence Test then you are going to have to file a dual status return, most likely. If you don't meet it, then you can file a 1040NR.

Agreed!