How to properly fill W-7 for wife on H-4 visa?

[Anonymous]

I'm on H1-B visa. My wife has H-4 Visa. It's our second year living in the US. In the first year my wife didn't apply for ITIN and I used married filing separately option. Our accountant said it's the best option.

However this year I want to use Turbotax, obtain ITIN for my wife and file jointly. I know I'll need to mail W-7 with my tax return via regular mail.

The questions are:

What boxes shall she check in the first filed in W-7 form?

Does she pick "Dependent of resident", "Spouse of resident" or "Dependent/Spouse of non-resident"?

She is studying remotely/via internet in a regular university located in her home country. Do we need to check "f"?

What else do we need to check in the first field?

I've read "Instructions for Form W-7" but they're not helpful at all.

Thanks!

[bine22 · Accepted solution]

She would choose e, spouse of resident alien.

When did you cone to the US in 2014?

[Anonymous]

We came to the US in September 2014.

[bine22]

did you file form 1040NR for 2014? (I just want to make sure you filed a correct return then)

[Anonymous]

I filed 1040NR-EZ. What makes me a "resident alien" and who is "non-resident alien"? It feels like in different documents those statuses mean different things. And we shouldn't check "dependent", right?

[bine22]

a resident alien is someone who passes the substantial presence test. You would select spouse of a resident alien (a spouse is never a dependent)