[haquemd]

I have been living and working in the U.S. for over 9 years now. I am a “U.S. Resident” for tax purposes and have been filing form 1040 for years. I got married in October 2009 in my home country Bangladesh. My wife has not applied for her H4 visa yet and she is not coming here to join me before 2010.

Can I file a 1040 - Married Filing Jointly for year 2009 with a form W-7 attached for my wife with the 1040 even if my wife has never been in the U.S. We can get her Bangladesh passport notarized and attach it with the W7 application.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Yes, you can file jointly; your wife's physical location in the matter is irrelevant. She could be on Mars for all the IRS cares, just as long as you can validate her identity with the notarized passport.

Note that you must get an apostille (a certification from the Bangladesh government agency that issued the passport) to attach to the notarized passport photocopy.

Further, under a change of policy implemented last year, neither the U.S. embassy nor U.S. consulate offices in Bangldesh will certify the passport photocopy for your wife.