In general, to be a qualifying child for purposes of the child tax credit and additional child tax credit, the child must be a citizen, national, or resident of the United States. Use Part I of Schedule 8812 to document that any child for whom an IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) was entered on Form 1040, line 6c; Form 1040A, line 6c; or Form 1040NR, line 7c; and for whom the box in column 4 of that line was also checked, meets the substantial presence test and is not otherwise treated as a nonresident alien.

To meet the substantial presence test, a child identified with an ITIN generally must be physically present in the United States on at least:

Not all days that your dependent is physically present in the United States count as days of presence for the substantial presence test. See Days of Presence in the United States in Pub. 519.

A child who is present in the United States for less than one-half of 2012 also must not have a closer connection to a foreign country. See Pub. 519 for more information. Also, see the chart, Is Your Dependent (Identified by an ITIN) Considered a Resident of the United States Under the Substantial Presence Test, later.

All taxpayers should use Parts II–IV of Schedule 8812 to figure the additional child tax credit. If any of your dependents is a qualifying child for purposes of the child tax credit (whether identified by an ITIN or not), you may qualify for the additional child tax credit. Before completing Parts II–IV of Schedule 8812, complete the Child Tax Credit Worksheet that applies to you. See the instructions for Form 1040, line 51; Form 1040A, line 33; or Form 1040NR, line 48. If you meet the condition given in the TIP at the end of the Child Tax Credit Worksheet, complete Parts II–IV of this schedule to figure the amount of any additional child tax credit you can claim.