Hi all! Have a question that seems a bit specific for my circumstances, so wanted to ask here.
We're in the process of finalizing our tax return; I'm the USC, currently a student and have no income for the taxable year. My wife came to the US in June on a K-1 and is still waiting on EAD / GC, so she also has no income. As such, we have no tax liability.
I see posts here saying you should almost always MFJ, but in our circumstance, that wouldn't have any effect. Nonetheless, I would think it would be a good idea to MFJ as for the N-400, you apparently need to show 3 years of tax returns. My intuition would be that it would, therefore, be good to start with having a return now, despite her technically not even needing to file.
But I'm confused as to some of the subsequent questions if we do elect MFJ. For example, would she would be considered a 'dual status alien' for IRS purposes? She was here from mid June 2022, so she satisfied the substantial presence test after arrival; but what is this referring to, residence for taxation purposes or immigration purposes? If the latter, then no as we're still waiting on AOS. Moreover, as we're using a software, is there anything we should particularly look out for / be cautious of when filing these? As an example, are there certain questions on the tax form that could have negative immigration consequences (I'm imagining like on a driver's license application, how it asks if you're a citizen)? I'm terrible with these forms, so any guidance would be much appreciated. TIA.