Resident vs Dual Status Alien for Tax Filing with Green Card

From what you've described, you would be considered a dual-status alien for the tax year. When you receive your green card, you become a resident alien from that date forward (March 12 in your case). For the period before receiving your green card (January 1 - March 11), you would be considered a nonresident alien. For dual-status aliens, you typically file a 1040 for the resident portion of the year and attach a 1040NR as a statement for the nonresident portion. The 1040 would be your main return. On the top of both forms, you'll want to write "Dual-Status Return" clearly. Even though you passed the substantial presence test from March-December, that test doesn't retroactively make you a resident for the part of the year before you got your green card. The green card test is applied on a specific date (the day you became a permanent resident). Your tax treaty benefits can still apply for the nonresident portion of your return. Make sure to attach Form 8833 if you're claiming treaty benefits.

I was in a similar situation last year and found great help using https://taxr.ai - it really simplified the whole dual-status alien situation for me. The system analyzed my green card date and all my documents, then explained exactly how to file correctly. I was confused about the same things - whether to file as resident for the whole year or use the dual status approach. Their document review feature was a lifesaver because I had several tax documents spanning both my nonresident and resident periods, and it automatically separated what belonged on each form. The tax treaty provisions were also correctly applied which saved me a bunch of money.

I tried https://taxr.ai after seeing it recommended here and want to give an update. It was exactly what I needed for my dual status situation with university income! The system correctly identified which income belonged on which form and applied my tax treaty benefits. Even had specific sections for academic income that other tax software completely missed. The best part was it caught that I qualified for a special provision in my country's tax treaty that let me claim additional education credits during the resident portion of the year - something I would have completely missed. Ended up getting almost $1,200 more on my refund than I expected. For anyone dealing with the green card/dual status confusion, definitely worth checking out. It made the whole process way less stressful.

If you're having issues understanding which forms to file or getting clarification from the IRS, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com to get through to an IRS agent quickly. I had a similar dual status/green card situation and was getting conflicting advice online, so I needed to speak directly with the IRS. I tried calling them for weeks with no luck - always got the "high call volume" message and disconnected. With Claimyr, I was connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed exactly how to handle my dual status return with university income and tax treaty benefits. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It was such a relief to get an official answer rather than stressing about whether I was filing correctly.

Just wanted to follow up about my Claimyr experience - I was the skeptic who didn't believe they could get me through to the IRS in 15 minutes. Well, I was wrong! Used the service yesterday after struggling for weeks to get through on my own. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 23 minutes (still impressive during tax season) who confirmed exactly how to handle my dual status filing with my green card situation. The agent walked me through the proper way to indicate my dual status on the forms and how to account for my tax treaty benefits. For anyone dealing with complicated international tax situations, being able to get definitive answers directly from the IRS is incredibly valuable. Saved me from potentially making a costly mistake on my return.

One thing to consider that others haven't mentioned: if you were in the US in previous years as a student, those days might count toward your substantial presence test under the "lookback period" rules. If you were here for a significant time in the previous two years, you might actually qualify as a resident for the entire year under the substantial presence test, regardless of your green card date.

Might be worth checking if you qualify for the "First-Year Choice" election (sometimes called the "backdating rule"), which lets certain aliens who meet the substantial presence test in the year following their arrival treat themselves as US residents for part of the prior year.

Based on your situation, you definitely need to file as a dual-status alien. The green card test makes you a resident from March 12 forward, but it doesn't retroactively cover the beginning of the year. Even though you passed the substantial presence test for the period after getting your green card, that doesn't change your status for January 1 through March 11. For your filing, you'll submit Form 1040 as your main return covering March 12-December 31 (resident period), and attach Form 1040NR as a statement for January 1-March 11 (nonresident period). Write "Dual-Status Return" at the top of both forms. Since all your income is from university employment and you mention being exempt from Social Security/Medicare taxes, make sure your employer is withholding correctly for both periods. Your tax treaty benefits can still apply to the nonresident portion - just remember to file Form 8833 if you're claiming treaty benefits. The dual-status filing might seem complicated, but it ensures you're getting the correct tax treatment for each period of the year. Don't try to simplify by filing as a full-year resident - it could cost you money or create compliance issues.