This is related to my friend

He got married in year 2006, He stayed portion of year in California and portion of year in Texas, where as his wife stayed total year in Texas.

When he approached Tax consultant, Tax consultant mentioned to file a Joint return and he need to pay tax for income earned in Texas and wife's income earned in Texas. Alternative he suggested since he got married last year he can file a return as single (2 returns with single status)

Tax consultant raised a point mentioning he need to check with attorney is this filing status going to impact his Green card processing in future.

Please suggest does he need to pay taxes in California for income earned in other states and does filing status impact Green card processing.

Thanks in advance,
Srini

Srini:

Tax consultant does not know what he is talking about.

File as a part-year resident in California and pay taxes only on income earned in California.

Make sure you do NOT use this tax consultant.