Economic Stimulus Rebate

I have a question regarding the upcoming Economic Stimulus Rebate that the US will be sending out, namely I am wondering if anyone knows if I would be receiving it.

The quick description of eligible people is that you have to file 2007 taxes using a 1040 (NOT a 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, etc). Upon further investigation I found that one of the requirements to get the rebate is that you cannot be a 'Non Resident Alien'.

My situation is as follows, I currently work in Buffalo New York on an L1B visa and live in Ontario, commuting to work daily. I am a Canadian citizen, however my wife is dual (Canadian/US), and she also lives with me and works in Canada. For filing our US taxes we use form 1040, and file jointly with her as the primary and me as the spouse since she is the US citizen. This is the way our chartered accountant figured would result in the best tax situation.

From my observations, I would satisfy the filing of a 1040 requirement. The other in depth description of not being a 'non-resident alien' is a little cloudy however since although I am technically a 'non-resident alien', my wife is a 'non-resident citizen', who is also the primary person on our joint US tax return.

Does anyone have any experience with this situation?

Also as a side note, I have read that if at some point during 2008 you satisfy the requirements you might be able to claim for the rebate on your 2008 tax year income taxes. As of this July my wife and I will be moving over to NY state permanently, so I would imagine that would definitely qualify us, correct?

Thanks.

I'm guessing that because you are not residents at all, then you're not eligible for the rebate.

Check on the IRS website obviously. Legally the answer is almost certainly "no", but I'm not sure how they'd know if you file a 1040. Depends whether at the service centre they red flag foreign addresses. I guess you'll find out if you receive a cheque or not.

PT I've been googling the question for over an hour and stumbled in here. I have found no clear exclusion for the situation. Until we do, I think you two qualify for the full $1,200.00 (with standard requirements met.) I need to know this answer as well, so if you find the definitive citation, please let us know. -Dan