2013 taxes filing status

[akaufman 0]

I was married in August 2013, I'm an American and my husband is British, he still lives overseas and I live in the US. We filed our I-130 in October for him to be able to come to the US as a conditional perminant resident, but haven't gotten any response yet (that timeline I'm told is normal, so I'm not too concerned about it). I'm now trying to file my 2013 taxes and I'm not sure what filing status to use. I was told by a lawyer that it would be much better for our green card application to use the filing status 'married filing jointly', but when I try to use that on the online turbo tax form it requires SSNs for both of us. Since my husband isn't a citizen or resident or anything yet he of course doesn't have one. Does anyone know of a way to file jointly if you don't both have a SSN and you don't live together?

Edited February 3, 2014 by akaufman

[Teddy B 17,251]

Sounds like your husband needs an ITIN number so you can file.

TIN

An ITIN, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, is a tax processing number only available for certain nonresident and resident aliens, their spouses, and dependents who cannot get a Social Security Number (SSN). It is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number "9", formatted like an SSN (NNN-NN-NNNN).

To obtain an ITIN, you must complete IRS Form W-7, IRS Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (PDF) . The Form W-7 requires documentation substantiating foreign/alien status and true identity for each individual. You may either mail the documentation, along with the Form W-7, to the address shown in the Form W-7 Instructions, present it at IRS walk-in offices, or process your application through an Acceptance Agent authorized by the IRS. Form W-7(SP), Solicitud de Número de Identificación Personal del Contribuyente del Servicio de Impuestos Internos (PDF) is available for use by Spanish speakers.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

You can also file married filing separately, and then amend your return once he has his SSN to file jointly. In that case, you don't need a ITIN. You can simply write "NRA" on the space where the SSN/ITIN should go.

You were only married 4 months in 2013, I don't know why this would help with filing your I-130. We didn't bother with getting an ITIN and filed married-separately. Not an issue.

[akaufman 0]

Thank you for all the advice!