I want to claim my mother-in-law as a dependent. She is a Mexican citizen, but has never been to the U.S. and does not have an ITIN number.
According to Rules for Claiming a Dependent on Your Tax Return - TurboTax Tax Tips & Videos (intuit.com) page, under the "What qualifies someone as a dependent?" section, "The person must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, U.S. resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. " She also falls below the income threshold and I provide more than 1/2 of her financial support. So it seems I should be able to claim her as a dependent.
However, when I applied for an ITIN number for her, I got a letter back saying that she needed to provide one of several original documents "... showing her name and U.S. address."
So I am confused. Does she require an ITIN number before I can claim her as a dependent? And if so, how can I get an ITIN number for her if she does not live in the U.S.?
