Hi All,

I am from India. I live in New York state. Was in the US with no income, on a B1 visa from June 2008 to Feb 2009. Went back to India, had no income while there too, came back to the US on a H1B in June 2009. Have been here for 206 days in 2009.

Wife is earning income in India, has never held an US visa, so is an NRA.

1. Am I dual-status or resident alien.. I did stay here for 206 days in 2009, so I guess I am RA, but want to make sure about that.

2. Can I opt to file as MFJ.

3. In that case I think I need to apply for ITIN for my wife by sending an application to the IRS using the W7 form. What else do I need to attach as proof of her income abroad. And is there still time to do all this..

4. What if any are the advantages of filing as MFJ..

Many thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me out. I am thoroughly confused after spending lots of time trying to make sense of the info on the IRS website.

Thanks again.

P.S: In case I can file MFJ, where can I get my wife's passport copy notarized.. Can I ask her to mail her original passport to me from India.. Is it legal to do so? I know that I can get it done at US embassy, but my wife has exams and cannot go to nearest US consulate.

Is there any way to ask for extension of dates so I can sort all this out..

Please help me.. still confused, and no guidance from anyone.

Thanks

These r the exact dates, in case someone wants to help. I stayed in the US on these dates on a B1 Visa. I was not working and had no income during these periods.

8/17/2007 - 8/26/2007

6/20/2008 - 9/17/2008

10/2/2008 - 2/3/2009. During my stay in India from 2/3/09 to 6/10/09 I was not working.

From 6/10/2009 to now I have continuously resided in the US on a H1B visa.

1. You are resident for 2009 so you must file resident tax return. You have completed substantial presence test of 183 days. Even days of B1 count for SPT. Your U.S. Tax Return: Substantial Presence Test (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/04/substantial-presence-test.html)
2.Yes.
3. Attach W-7 with your joint tax return.
4. Normally it is better to file joint return. You must both declare your worldwide income for 2009. If you paid taxes in the foreign country, you will claim credit for taxes paid in the foreign country by filing Form 1116 or can file form 2555 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Citizen or Resident with Foreign Income (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-citizen-or-resident-with-foreign.html)