Hello,
I have been an alien resident in the US on H1b visa since past 3 years. I recently got engaged to be married. My fiancé is in India and has never been in the US. The wedding is slated for next May (2008). I am visiting India right now. I am considering getting lawfully married to her (getting a marriage certificate from the govt) right now if that can give me any sort of tax benefits for the 2007 filing year. We are not sure yet what my fiance's status will be when she gets here mid next year (it could be L1, H1b or h4).

Please advice if getting the marriage certificate NOW will help me in terms of my current year taxes. If yes, should I file jointly or should I cliam her as my dependent, even though she lives in India?

Thank you very much!

There is a DEFINITE tax advantage for getting married NOW.

If you ae married on or before 31 December 2007, you can file jointly with your wife on your 2007 tax return. That will add your wife's exemption as your joint filer AND DOUBLE your standard deduction.

The only downside is that your wife will have to claim her India-based income on yor tax return.

If she has no income, then there is NO downside.

If she does have income, you can ofset the additional tax by claiming the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) for the income taxes she paid to India on that income.