HikerMark

I have been very impressed with processing times.
 
I submitted my passport application day after the oath ceremony on August 17th at the local city office.
Passport received today August 31st. So two weeks!!! 🙂
 
I paid the $60 for the expedited processing and $17.56 for 2 day delivery.

I was also impressed with the speed of the citizenship process. Applied on July 5th and approved and oath ceremony on August 16th.

Passport Application submitted 8/17/2021
Passport Received  8/31/2021

In this situation it is married filing separate unless the couple elect for the non-resident spouse to be treated as a US resident for the whole tax year. That means reporting all of their income on the US tax return for the whole year. They may qualify for the foreign earned income exemption on that income but it still needs to be reported. Any non earned income such as investment income will not be exempt and will be subject to US tax with credit for any foreign tax paid on that income.
If you do not make the election then it will be married filing separate with the US spouse being unable to take the standard deduction because the non-resident spouse cannot. That leaves the US spouse only being able to itemize deductions and also may lose tax credits because of the married filing status.
They only way to work out which is the best option in your circumstances is to crunch the numbers both ways. If necessary get professional tax advice as it can get complicated. This will also apply to the year in which the non US spouse arrives in the US.

To add to Nich-Nick's comments remember that "account" also includes any defined contribution pension plans that you may still hold in the UK. For example personal pension plans, old style FSAVCs etc. Employer provided defined benefit pension plans do not need to be reported.

Just a friendly reminder that those of us with more than $10,000 in foreign bank accounts, mutual funds or certain pension funds and other funds need to file form TD F 90-22.1 with the US Treasury by June 30, 2011 in respect of 2010.
Earlier in the year clearer guidance was issued on who needs to file and the form was revised so make sure you use the latest version of the form.
The IRS has been getting pretty tough on those who do not file the FBAR and have been charging substantial penalties even for those with relatively low balances.
Full information on the FBAR and the form can be found at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=148849,00.html.