I'm helping my mother-in-law file her tax return this year. She is a US resident and has a green card, but her husband lives in a different country. How does she file?

[amla98]

Her husband has applied for a green card, but he doesn't live in the states. He came for a week on a tourist/vistiors visa to visit over christmas, but other than that he didn't live with her at all.

[LoganathanB]

If the husband of your mother-in-law does not have either a Social Security Number or Individual Tax Identification Number, your mother-in-law can paper file her tax return as married filing separately and put NRA in the SSN box against her spouse's name.

If the husband of your mother-in-law has either a Social Security Number or Individual Tax Identification Number, then they can elect to file a married joint return treating the husband of your mother-in-law as a resident.

Click on the link for more information

Non-resident spouse

[amla98]

Thank you for your response! He doesn't have a social, so I guess she'll have to do the first option. I just wasn't sure if NRA was the right term, I wasn't sure if her husband is considered an alien since he doesn't actually live or reside in the united states.

[LoganathanB]

Yes that is the term used for tax purposes, Non-Resident Alien.

A nonresident alien is a person who is not a U.S. citizen and does not pass the green card or substantial presence tests used to determine tax status. 

Substantial presence test