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    julienne's Avatar
    julienne Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Mar 18, 2007, 05:55 PM
    Filing status H1 visa for 5 months
    Hi guys! I would like to ask if under what status will my husband file his tax. His information:

    He was in US --B1/B2 visa ---January 21,2006-May 8,2006
    --H1b Visa ---- June 25, 2006- Nov 19, 2006 (147 days)
    -- J1 visa ----- Dec 28, 2006 up to present

    He was in the Philippines in between dates. We got married last June 13, 2006 but didn't join him until this January 25, 2007 only under j2 visa.

    Somebody told us that he should file as a dual status alien and we should file jointly. Is this correct? How come he is being considered as a resident alien? And are we filing jointly even though I wasn't in the US with him last year?

    Hope you can enlighten us about this. We are really confused.

    Thank you very much!

    julienne
    taxsearcher's Avatar
    taxsearcher Posts: 222, Reputation: 8
    Full Member
    		  
    #2

    Mar 18, 2007, 09:12 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by julienne
    Hi guys! I would like to ask if under what status will my husband file his tax. His information:

    He was in US --B1/B2 visa ---January 21,2006-May 8,2006
    --H1b Visa ---- June 25, 2006- Nov 19, 2006 (147 days)
    -- J1 visa ----- Dec 28, 2006 up to present

    He was in the Philippines in between dates. We got married last June 13, 2006 but didn't join him til this Januray 25, 2007 only under j2 visa.

    Somebody told us that he should file as a dual status alien and we should file jointly. is this correct? How come he is being considered as a resident alien? and are we filing jointly even though I wasn't in the US with him last year?

    Hope you can enlighten us about this. We are really confused.

    Thank you very much!

    julienne

    Are you a US citizen? Seems like you would be best to make the election and file jointly.
    julienne's Avatar
    julienne Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #3

    Mar 19, 2007, 09:32 AM
    Hi taxsearcher! We are not US citizens. My husband now is on J1 visa and I am on a J2 visa. Thank you!
    AtlantaTaxExpert's Avatar
    AtlantaTaxExpert Posts: 21,836, Reputation: 846
    Senior Tax Expert
    		  
    #4

    Mar 21, 2007, 11:41 AM
    INHO, you need to file as a non-resident alien, because you have NOT met the Substantial Presence Test in 2006 and you did not end the year as a resident alien.
    julienne's Avatar
    julienne Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #5

    Mar 23, 2007, 01:38 PM
    Hi AtlantaTaxExpert!

    We consulted a private firm and they filed our tax as dual citizen status. The reason they gave us was because my husband was here last year as H1 and J1(last 4days of december). We weren't able to ask why they considered my husband as resident alien when he was on H1 visa. We assumed that it's because he passed the substantial presence test. He was here 147 days last year as H1 and more than 33 days of this year, so it's more than 183 days. Is my understanding correct? And also, they filed his tax as married filing separately. I applied for TIN already.

    Are we on the correct process in filing our tax? Which is more beneficial, filing as non resident alien or as dual citizen status? Is it filing jointly or separately?

    Thank you very much!
    AtlantaTaxExpert's Avatar
    AtlantaTaxExpert Posts: 21,836, Reputation: 846
    Senior Tax Expert
    		  
    #6

    Mar 27, 2007, 09:31 PM
    Julienne:

    You can only count one-third of the previous year's days towards the Substantial Presence Test.
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