ITIN for my wife in F1 visa

[dpalacios1984]

Hello,

I'm a green card holder and recently got married. My wife is currently under a F1 visa status, so she is not eligible for SSN. I need to get an ITIN for her, so I can be able to enroll her into my benefits at work. The next chance I will have to enroll her is in December. My understanding is that I can only apply for the ITIN when submitting my next tax return beginning of next year, Married Filing Jointly, which by that time is to late for me to have the ITIN and enroll her in my benefits.

Is there any other way to get the ITIN for her? 

[DoninGA]

There are three options on how to obtain an ITIN from the IRS using Form W-7, only one of the options is to send the W-7 with a filed US federal tax return.

Go to this IRS website for ITIN application information - https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

[DoninGA]

IRS website for Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Locations - https://www.irs.gov/help/tac-locations-where-in-person-document-verification-is-provided

IRS website for Acceptance Agent Program - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/acceptance-agent-program