Yes, you can file a married filing jointly tax return and claim your children as dependents. They are US citizens and lived with a parent all year.
To determine if your wife is a resident for US tax purposes, please use the substantial presence test below to see if she qualifies. If the total US days for the last 3 years equal 183 or more, then she is a tax resident.
You will be considered a United States resident
for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for the calendar
year. To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States
(U.S.) on at least:
- 31 days during the current year (2018), and
- 183 days during the
3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately
before that, counting:
- All the days you
were present in the current year (2018), and
- 1/3 of the days you
were present in the first year before the current year (2017), and
- 1/6 of the days you
were present in the second year before the current year (2016).
If she is a nonresident, you both can make an election to file a married filing jointly tax return. Please see Publication 519, page 9, Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident.
