Filing Form 1040NR in a Dual Status Year

Greetings fellow Members,

I was hoping that some of our resident tax Gurus could answer the following questions.

I'm presently working in the US (PA) on a TN visa. I arrived on March 2009 and began work there immediately. Before that, I was working for a Canadina company for the first 80 or so days of 2009.

In beginning my tax return, I spoke to the IRS at their general phone no. and, while they were generally clueless they did manage to inform me to file a dual-status tax return for 2009. After reading numerous posts on this site among others, I seem to understand how to file 2/3 of the returns(the 1040 and the pro-rated T1 for my time spent in Canada). However, I'm still confused about how to file the 1040NR based on the first portion of 2009 (the time spent in Canada).

From what I've read, I don't need to declare my world (ie Canadian)income on the 1040NR. So based on this info, can someone explain:

1. what should I declare on the 1040NR ,or is it basically a series of 0's?
2. where, if anywhere should I claim foreign tax deductions for taxes paid in Canada?
3.Do I need to file the dreaded form 8833? (my gross income was <100K if that helps any)
4. Where does the tax equalization treaty between Can and US come into play between these 3 returns?
5. Another option suggested on this forum is to file a 1040 for the entire year and claim tax credits for those taxes paid in Canada. If I only stay in the US for 1 year, can I still use this approach?

TIA,
Marcus

I was hoping that some of our resident tax Gurus could answer the following questions.

The correct forum for the "resident tax gurus" is:

http://forums.serbinski.com/