I arrived to the US last fall, 10/10/2019 and started working on 11/01/2019 with an H1B visa. For 2019 im considered a non-resident alien. However, given that I will satisfy the Substantial presence test (SPT) in 2020 I could make the first year choice to be considered a resident alien for 2019.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/residency-starting-and-ending-datesmy questions are the following:1/ Is it better to file as non- resident or to opt for the 1st year choice? what are the benefits vs. drawbacks associated with this?
2/ If I make the first year choice (dual status alien), will I be eligible for the economic impact stimulus (salary is below 70K), and for the months I worked in 2019 I earned less than 12K.
3/ If I make the 1st year choice, am I considered a dual satuts alien? do I have to file part of the year (jan-october) as non-resident although I was not in the US
Thank you!
