Individual Tax - Whether F-1 student can be treated as Qualified Child

[binfeiwa]

If parents meet resident alien but their children are foreign students' status, can they treat their children as dependent? What I understand is to meet qualified child or dependent, the child or dependent needs to be US citizen, green card holder or resident alien. However, as a foreign student status (F-1), you have to wait 5 years before starting to calculate substantial presence test. Hence, until their children change citizen status or meet substantial presence test, their parents are not able to claim them as dependent on their tax return. 

[Terry53029]

Do the children live with parents?  (Being in school counts as living with) 

[TaxGuyBill]

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@binfeiwa wrote:

What I understand is to meet qualified child or dependent, the child or dependent needs to be US citizen, green card holder or resident alien. However, as a foreign student status (F-1), you have to wait 5 years before starting to calculate substantial presence test. Hence, until their children change citizen status or meet substantial presence test, their parents are not able to claim them as dependent on their tax return. 

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Correct.  Well, almost.  I think Citizens and Residents of Mexico and Canada also qualify.

[binfeiwa]

The child is not a Citizens and Residents of Mexico and Canada. I understand the law. It is just the logic. Why you cannot claim your child if he or she has F-1 Visa?

[binfeiwa]

One child is living with parents, and another one is studying in a boarding school. Both are not a citizen of Mexico and Canada. They are holding F-1 students' visa. 

[sjrcpa]

The 2 tenets of tax law:

1. It doesn't have to make sense.

2. It doesn't have to be fair.