I am a resident alien, and my husband is a PhD student (F1 visa) with NRA status. Can I file as married filing jointly?

[wudan880121]

 As my question, I am a resident alien, and my husband is a PhD student (F1 visa) with NRA status. Whether my husband could be treated as the resident alien status if I file as married filing jointly? If so, how can we enter his 1042-S form and whether he still need to fill the 8843 form ?

[LinaJ2018]

Just a small correction. Since you claim him as a resident by making the election, he does NOT need to file the Form 8843. Sorry for the confusion.

[LinaJ2018 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can still file jointly if you make an election to claim him as a resident. You would just need to add a statement to your Form 1040.  See here Nonresident to resident

To enter information from Form 1042-S, it depends on the code in box 1 which you would enter into the program accordingly.  For example, if it's wages or related, you would enter under Wages. If it is an interest income, you would enter as if you receive a 1099 INT etc. To see the list of the code, click here 1042scode and go to page 3. 

If you claim him as a resident, he does not need to file a Form 8843. 

Hope this helps.

[Edited 2/2/2019 10:06AM]