What Income tax filing status do I use?

[rmarkwallace 7]

You are either married or single, there is no middle ground. If the wedding took place, but the beneficiary has not gotten a visa yet, you are still married. You have to file either married separate or joint, you cannot file single if you are married. You are married on the date that the wedding took place, not on the date that she got her visa or arrived in the United States.

The beneficiary will need a social security number, even if she has never been to the United States. That can be obtained from the Consulate in her country. She tells them that she is married to an American and needs a social security number so that he can file the return. Social Security will issue one stamped "not valid for employment". You have to report all of her world income. Jointly you can claim her children unless someone else was supporting them. IRS will not accept a tax return without the social security number of the spouse, you used to be able to put "applied for" in the box but you can't any more. After she is authorized to work, you can have the "not valid for employment" removed at the local social security office by showing that she can now legally work in the United States.

This is probably financially your best deal as well, unless the beneficiary has American wages level income. If she can't get a social security number, file married separate (which will result in more taxes) but NOT single, because single makes it look like you are only trying to get her a visa. (People entering into marriages to get someone a visa tend to not commingle finances). You can amend a married separate return to joint later.

I got to file a joint tax return with my first wife, even though we married December 30th. She had no income and had never been to America. I was a teacher and I saved enough tax money to pay for her plane ticket.

If you got it wrong (I am writing this in June) you can amend the tax return to joint up until three years after the due date. This might be good for money even if you are all settled in together.