KarenJ, thanks for your response above. But you seem to be focusing on and linking to an article that talks about PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS, and not whether a NRA spouse can be declared as a DEPENDENT under certain circumstances. I know the EXEMPTION provisions were eliminated starting with the 2018 tax year. But it's not at all clear that that somehow ruled out the DEPENDENT status.
And, I can specifically point you to a TurboTax article updated for the 2018 tax year where it seems to say a NRA spouse CAN be declared as a dependent under the circumstances I listed in my original question.
Here's the link to that article:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/claiming-a-non-citizen-spouse-and-children-on-your-taxes...
And here's the pertinent portion regarding my question:
Treat your spouse as a nonresident alien for tax purposes. If you choose
this option, you cannot file a joint tax return. You must file with a
status of "married filing separately." If your spouse has no income from
U.S. sources and cannot be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's tax
return, your will likely be eligible to claim your spouse as a dependent
on your return.
So, can you please reconcile your answer above with the information provided in the TT article for 2018 TY that I quoted above -- not about personal exemption, but about dependent status for an NRA spouse.
