Legal Residence For my parents

[JacksonShi]

My parents are holding B1/2 visa visiting us in US. They are not able to go back to the home country due to Covid and stay in US for the whole 2020. As I support them for the living here, can I file them as dependences?

I think the real question is actually whether B1/2 visa holder can be considered as "Legal Residence".

[DaveF1006 · Accepted solution]

It depends. They can qualify as qualifying relatives but the issue is they do not have a social security number or a ITIN. According to irs.gov, you may not include a dependent that does not have a social security number or ITIN.

If your parents are still living with you, they can apply for an ITIN but won't be able to file your return until an ITIN is issued to your parents. Please read this IRS link for more details including how to apply for an ITIN. Here is another link to view that gives you specific details about how to apply for an ITIN.

[JacksonShi]

Thank you so much for the info! 🙂