Hi

I am working in Charlotte, NC on H1B visa for the past 2 yrs. My wife is here on H4 visa and we have an ITIN for her. I am planning to open a Traditional IRA account and I came to know that the maximum contribution limit is of 5000$ for the tax year -2008.

My questions are -
1) If I open IRA jointly with my wife, will the contribution limit increase to 10,000$?

2) Can my wife contribute to the joint IRA, even though she is on H4 visa and not working? This way our contribution together will be 10,000$ and we will be entitled to a higher tax return.

There is no such thing as a JOINT IRA.

What you will open is a separate spousal IRA for your wife in HER name for up to $5,000.