[bbspeterlee]

Hi,

Basic Info:

1. My citizenship is P.R.China;

2. My mother's citizenship is P.R.China;

3. I'm now working under H1B status in the US;

4. Due to my mother's serious illness, I've been paying her Medical and Dental expenses for the last several years. It's a big amount of my income;

Questions:

1. Can I claim her as my relative dependent (Relationship: Son-Mother), so that I could have more itemized deduction from Schedule A (1040 Form)?
I saw something disappointed, however, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
Page 11 - Citizen and Resident Test:
"You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or ..."

2. Are there any other ways to make more deductions, because I really paid a lot of money for my mother's medical and dental expenses. I also paid a lot for my parents' food and daily expenses.

Thanks.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Sorry, but you cannot claim her as a dependent unless she is HERE in the United States, and she must meet the Substantial Presence Test to get an ITIN, which is also required to claim her as a dependent.