Hi,
My husband arrived in US on J1 April 2010 from India. I was on J2. He worked on J1 from April 2010 to June 2011 and I worked on J2 Dec 2010 to March 2011. For year 2010 we filed taxes separately.
For year 2011 I am working on H1 from July 2011-Dec 2011 and my husband on H1 From November 2011 to Dec 2011.
My question is
1. Shall we file as dual status or resident aliens, given the fact that eventually we would like to apply for green card.
2. Do we need to retun the taxes to IRS for 2010 and 2011 when we were on J visa.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions!
MJ

1. You did not complete SPT in 2011. Now wait till you complete SPT in 2012. Then, you can file joint return as residents.
2. Need more info. What for you got J1? What taxes are you talking about? Your U.S. Tax Return: Substantial Presence Test (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/04/substantial-presence-test.html)