Claiming my niece who is a nonresident alien

[Lolelo1]

My niece arrived on a student visa last yr (july 21) to live with me and she is a nonresident alien with an SS# that allows her to work inside the college. She didn’t get her SS# until today so I did not add her as a dependent on my taxes.

She is a Colombian national.

Can I ammend my 2024 taxes to add her as a dependent? If not, can I claim her in 2025?

[Bsch4477 · Accepted solution]

You can’t claim her for 2024 because she was a non resident alien. You can claim her for 2025 as a resident alien if she qualifies as outlined in the rules for a dependent on page 28 of Pub 17. 
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

[pk]

@Lolelo1 , having gone through this whole thread and generally agreeing with the excellent/complete answers by my colleague @Bsch4477 ,  I would just like to draw attention to :

(a) absent any other facts / circumstances, the foreign student on F-1  ( please confirm ) would generally be on "exempt" status  for five calendar years  starting with the  year of entry.  Thus this student , entering in 2024 would be exempt ( from counting days present towards Substantial Presence Test ) till 12/31/2028.  During this period, and absent any status change, the student would be NRA.

(b) Note that 2024 NRA status referred to in the responses from my colleague is based on passing SPT in 2025 and is correct if the student was ineligible  ( / not granted )  for  "Exempt" status -- which depends on  visa issued  and/or other / prior entries.  So please tell more on which visa the student entered with  and any entries ( and for how long ) during the prior two years ( i.e. 2022 and 2023 ).

I will circle back once you respond to the questions above--please.