Iam in L1 visa, My wife and kid came along with me mar-2007 and returned to india on feb 2008.

For the tax return 2007, I submitted 1040 as resident alien and claimed 3 exemption (self, spouse and kid).

I stayed in US until sep 2008 and I am back fom dec 22 2008.

My wife has SSN and my KID has TIN.



Below is an extract from IRS site

You can claim personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents according to the dependency rules for U.S. citizens. You can claim an exemption for your spouse on a Married Filing Separate return if your spouse had no gross income for U.S. tax purposes and was not the dependent of another taxpayer. You can claim this exemption even if your spouse has not been a resident alien for a full tax year or is an alien who has not come to the United States. You can claim an exemption for each person who qualifies as a dependent according to the rules for U.S. citizens. The dependent must be a citizen or national of the United States or be a resident of the United States, Canada, or Mexico for some part of the calendar year in which your tax year begins. Get Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information for more information. Refer also to Aliens--How Many Exemptions Can Be Claimed?

From Above it is clear that my spouse can be claimed for exemption even though she is not in US however My other questions are

For the year 2008, can I claim 3 exemption (self,spouse and kid).

For the year 2009 in W4 can I claim 4 allowance (self, spouse, spouse unemployed and kid).
And for the year 2009 tax return can I claim 3 exemption.

You can file jointly with your wife; her physical location is irrelevant.

Because the child was in the U.S. for at least part of 2008 and was with your wife for the entire year, you can also claim him as a dependent.