21.8 The Dependent Must Meet a Citizen or Resident Test

To claim a 2012 exemption for a dependent, the dependent must have at some time during 2012 qualified as a:

• Citizen or resident of the United States;
• United States national (one who owes permanent allegiance to the U.S.; principally, a person born in American Samoa or the Northern Mariana Islands who has not become a naturalized American citizen); or
• Resident of Canada or Mexico.

Child born abroad.

A child born in a foreign country, one of whose parents is a nonresident alien and whose other parent is a U.S. citizen, qualifies as a U.S. citizen and thus as a dependent if the other tests are met.

If you are a U.S. citizen or national who has legally adopted a child who is not a U.S. citizen or resident, or the child was lawfully placed with you for adoption, and the child lived with you as a member of your household for the entire year, the child is treated as a U.S. citizen or resident and thus can be claimed as your dependent if the other exemption tests are satisfied.