Hi,

I am a H1B visa holder and my wife is H4 visa holder. My wife has ITIN and we usually file our tax return jointly. Due to family reasons, my wife had to stay out of USA for the whole 2011. She does not pass the substantial presence test. Under the circumstances, can we still file our taxes as "married filing jointly"? I need to find out how her failure to "substantial presence test" affect our situation. Any help will be grealy appreciated.

Thanks,
Santanu

Your wife does NOT have to be here to file jointly with you, so substantial presence is NOT an issue.

She DOES have to sign the return, however.