[SamH188]

Hi,
I am currently working in USA with H1B . My son was born in India during 2/2012 . He got his H4 visa subsequently and came to USA first week of 11/2012. Can I claim him as a dependent for tax purposes?

Do I need to apply for his ITIN number if I would like to claim him as a dependent for next year (2013) tax return ?

I would really appreciate if anyone can clarify. Thanks in advance.

Sam

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Yes, you can claim him as a dependent since he spent some time in 2012 inside te border of the United States.

You will need to apply for Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs) for your wife and child by submitting Form W-7, and that process has undergone some radical procedural changes this past year.  Instead of the simple notarization process, the IRS now requires that your home country certify the photocopy of your passport as a true copy.  This is due to rampant fraud in the ITIN submission process.  The notaries simply cannot tell the difference between a fake passport and the genuine passport.

This certification can be done by the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C. or at one of the consulates in San Francisco, Chicago, Houston or New York.  Assuming you do NOT want to drive there, you need to call the nearest consulate and arrange to have this process done via the mail.  The process, done via mail, can take up to three months to complete.

The alternative is to mail in the actual passports themselves, something most of my clients are reluctant to do.