As to your 2nd question; "would I qualify as independent instead?"
Simple answer: Yes, most likely.
For full rules, see https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...
How can you be your parent's dependent, if your parent doesn't even have a SS #? If your parent isn't filing a return, you can't be his dependent.
