I am on L1B and come US in July 2010 along with my wife. While filling 2010 return, I am just wondering if I can file return as residential alian with "married fill jointly"?? I am confused because I have stay last 5 month of 2010 in US there was no past US visit.

I am just confused whether I can file returna as residential alian or I have to file as non residential alian?

I guess I can save more if I file return as residential alian as it count standard deduction of 11,400 $ for me and my wife. Please advice!!

Yes, you CAN file jointly with your wife, but you must wait until early May 2011 to file, AND you must claim ALL world-wide income for 2010 (to include any income you and your wife earned in your home country) on the return.

You can avoid double taxation by filing Form 1116 to claim the Foreign Tax Credit.

If you need professional tax help with this, email me at [email protected].