I'm working in US for the past 3 years and I got married on OCT 19 in India. My wife came here on March in H4 Visa. Please help me in filing tax for H1 visa jointly with my wife.

You can file jointly with your wife and you both CHOOSE to be treated as resident aliens. This will allow you to claim the $11,600 joint standard deduction plus two $3,700 personal exemptions (for yourself and your wife).

To apply for an ITIN, you need to complete Form W-7 for your wife. You need to make a photocopy of her passport, then get the photocopy notarized. This can be done at your local bank in most states in the U.S.

She WILL have to sign a statement that she CHOOSES to be treated as a resident alien for all of 2011.

The only downside is that you must declare ALL 2011 world-wide income (wife's home country income, if applicable). There is an offset available by either claiming the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) or to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555).

Even with the downside, this is probably the best way for you to file.

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