I apologize if this question has been asked and answered before - but I was unable to find it in the forums.

I am a foreign citizen on an H1B living in Texas. Since I have been here in the US long enough, I am a resident for tax purposes, and have filed as such for the past few years.

My wife and I were married earlier this year, and she still goes to school full-time in NY as an F-1 student, and is a full-time resident in NY. She will also be a tax resident for year 2008.

For the federal tax return, we intend to file our taxes as 'Married Filing Jointly' as this would be beneficial to us.

What I am unclear about is with regard to filing in NY. My wife has an income from assistantships in NY - but no income in Texas. I have no income in NY.
For filing the state tax return in NY for my wife, do we have to file jointly since we will be filing jointly for federal taxes? Texas does not have state income taxes, hence no state tax returns.

If it helps, we will only be claiming standard deductions, not itemized, for 2008.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Also, we have no children or dependents.

If you file joint federal return, normally you must file joint state return. On the NY return, you are non-resident so non of your income is taxable in NY.