Hi,

I am on H1-B in US for last 2 years and my girlfriend is visiting me. She has visited me in January 2007 (for 3 weeks) and went back to her home country. Now, she has been staying with me since July 1, 2007.We are planning to get married in December in US.

Questions

1. If she goes for a fresh H4 visa, for which she has to travel back to her home country and most likely she will return on H4 visa in 2008, can I file her as a dependent with her Tourist Visa status and what are the requirements?
2. If we go for change of status from B1 to H4 in December (I will just have a receipt and her visa will still come in 2008), can I still file a joint tax return or as a dependent?

I would like to know which option can give the best returns to us.

Thanks
Shiv

1) f you are married on or before 31 December 2007, the IRS considers you married for ALL of 2007.

2) You can then file jointly provided she agrees and claims ALL of her world-wide income on the 2007 tax return.

Filing jointly is probably the best option, as it DOUBLES your standard deduction from $5,300 to $10,600.