spouse has no itin

[Wendy]

I have a client (actually the son of a long time client) who got married this year to someone who does not qualify for a ss# and does not have an itin. She has resided in this country all year, so is not a non-resident, and is going through the process to get a green card. I told him he should paper file with W7 application, but he wants to know if he can file MFS without an ITIN. Is this possible? Thanks.

[ILLMAS]

I would say to apply for an ITIN and file MFJ, if the spouse is petitioning for her for immigration purpose it is a NO NO to do anything that is not MFJ, if she lived in another country besides Mexico and Canada then MFS and using a special code instead of SSN.

MAS

[Ray in Ohio]

at first glance I thought the title said: "Spouse has no int"

I was gonna say that sounds more like a personal problem than a tax problem if your spouse has no interest in you.