[lakshmisankar]

I am an indian came to USA on L2 three weeks ago, and not working, and my husband is on L1 he is working, we have two kids in india, my husband has SSN, he came here 4 months back, I joined him in October, to get full benefits of tax pay should I apply for SSN OR ITIN? What is the future benefits?

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

You can file jointly with your husband and you both CHOSE to be treated as resident aliens. This will allow you to claim the $11,100 joint standard deduction plus two $3,600 personal exemption (for yourself and your husband).

You will need to submit Form W-7 to apply for an ITINs for yourself. A notarized photocopy of your passport needs to be stapled to the W-7.

You CANNOT claim the children as dependents unless they are physically located within the USA for at least part of 2009.

The downside is that:

• you must WAIT to meet the Substantial Presence Test before you can file, which means you must wait until sometime in May 2010.

• you must declare ALL 2009 world-wide income, but you can at least partially offset any double taxation by claiming a Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116).

Even with the downside, this is probably the best way for you to file.