Spouse with no SSN and Health Insurance for part of 2018

[Krono19]

So my spouse for the start of 2018 tax year was adjusting her immigration status to gain lawful permanent residency (we started filing for adjustment in 2017). At this time, she did not have an SSN, was not allowed to work, nor could be put on my health insurance because it asks for an SSN. The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare states that all lawfully present people in the US have to have health insurance or get the penalty. When I try some of the calculations it says that she gets a penalty, but she was not allowed to work or do anything because of a lack of SSN. When she did (about half the year later) she got authorized to work with an SSN for working, got a job and got health insurance immediately. What should I put for whether or not she has health insurance or not? Why does the penalty apply to transitional people into the United States when they are not allowed to work or can even be identified with an SSN?

[NCperson]

when you indicated in Turbo Tax that your wife didn't have coverage for part of the year, did a window pop up discussing checkboxes for exemptions?  does your wife's status early in the year covered by any of the following? 

one of the check boxes is 'not a legal US resident' which is further defined under 'learn more' as: 

What counts as a legal U.S. resident
Anyone on your taxes who is not a legal U.S. resident may qualify to have the IRS penalty for going without health insurance in 2018 waived. This includes anyone who does not have one of the following immigration statuses.

- Lawful permanent resident (LPR/Green Card holder)
- Lawful temporary resident
- Asylee
- Refugee
- Cuban/Haitian entrant
- Paroled into the U.S.
- Conditional entrant granted before 1980
- Battered spouse, child or parent
- Victim of trafficking and his or her Spouse, child, sibling or parent
- Granted withholding of deportation or withholding of removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention Against Torture (CAT)
- Individual with non-immigrant status (includes worker visas, student visas, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau)
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
- Administrative order staying removal issued by the Department of Homeland Security
- Member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe or American Indian born in Canada
- Resident of American Samoa
- Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)
- Deferred Action Status

What if I've applied for a different immigration status?
If you have applied for any of the following immigration statuses, you qualify as a legal U.S. resident and have to pay the IRS penalty for going without health insurance in 2018:
- Temporary protected status with employment authorization
- Special immigrant juvenile status
- Victim of trafficking visa
- Adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status
- Asylum (only if you've been granted employment authorization or are under the age of 14 and have had an application pending for at least 180 days)
- Withholding of deportation, or withholding of removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention Against Torture (CAT)

What if I have employment authorization?
If any of the following statuses apply to you and you have employment authorization, you count as a legal U.S. resident and have to pay the IRS penalty for going without health insurance in 2018:
- Registry applicants
- Order of supervision
- Applicant for cancellation of removal or suspension of deportation
- Applicant for legalization under IRCA
- Legalization under the LIFE Act

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) doesn't count toward being a legal U.S. resident.

[Krono19]

I did see those options under Learn More. This is where I am confused - perhaps by the language. So for half the year when she did have all of the proper documentation (SSN EAD and health insurance) she was considered a legal resident and I did mark she had insurance at those times. One of those choices under Learn More was this with which you helped quote 

Anyone on your taxes who is not a legal U.S. resident may qualify to have the IRS penalty for going without health insurance in 2018 waived. This includes anyone who does not have one of the following immigration statuses.

- Lawful permanent resident (LPR/Green Card holder) 

So I would assume that based on that language since she DOES have SSN LPR and all the other documentation including health insurance - she would be subject to the penalty although no penalty given because she had health insurance.

What if I've applied for a different immigration status?
If you have applied for any of the following immigration statuses, you qualify as a legal U.S. resident and have to pay the IRS penalty for going without health insurance in 2018:
- Adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status
In this highlighted portion - it states that while adjusting to LPR aka "Green Card" status she also qualifies as legal US resident

Is that right? How does adjusting your immigration status from X-status (in her case a visitor visa) to LPR status count as a Legal Resident when it's entirely possible that she was not allowed to acquire work or authorization to work with even a work-only SSN?

[NCperson]

it probably is language - 

go back and read through the status' and consider her status and documentation for the first part of the year only (when she didn't have insurance)

if she did not have any of those status' in the first part of the year, she is eligible for the waiver.  

does that get you where you need to be?

[Krono19]

Almost - Okay - So I went back Under Learn More. I'm sorry, but I am not understanding fully which situation pertains to her

I am looking at her through the lens of the FIRST part of the year when she didn't have insurance.

Under the first list - she is NOT an LPR/Green Card Holder - so therefore she IS eligible for the waiver right?

My confusion or second guessing applies to the next list under

"What if I've applied for a different immigration status?"

Under this list - "adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status

The conclusion states "If you have applied for any of the follow immigration statuses, you qualify as a legal US Resident and HAVE to pay the IRS penalty for going without health insurance in 2018."  - so therefore she ISN'T eligible for the waiver because we were in the process of getting her status adjusted from non-resident alien - to permanent resident - however she had no income during that time as well

Which one applies to my spouse?