Planning ahead for marriage with a Chinese woman

[marrylaopo 0]

Greetings Everyone.

I am planning to marry my Chinese sweetheart this June.

I will travel to China and marry her there ... after 3 years of dating!

I plan to fill out the paperwork for a CR1 immediately after marriage.

There are many complete and helpful guides on this topic here at VJ.

I am mindful of the tax consequences of getting married.

However, I am having problems determining the optimal strategy.

One thing that seems clear, for 2011, I would have to file either "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately".

If I file "married filing separately", it seems relatively straightforward ... just declare my income and exemptions as normal ... I don't need to coordinate anything with her (unless if she has some US income before the end of 2011).

How does one decide if it is permissible to file "married filing jointly"?

For example, my future laopo is not particularly well off, making somewhere around $3600USD a year in China ... just straight salary.

She has no financial presence in the USA (i.e. no bank account, no stocks, no real estate, etc).

Also, for "married filing jointly", she will likely arrive sometime in early 2012 (June marriage, 9 months? for CR1 visa).

So she likely won't be physically present in the USA until after the 2011 tax year.

Myself I am in the 28% federal tax bracket.

Is there any other advice someone could give me, especially on how to make a good decision in the "married filing jointly" vs "married filing separately" issue?

Random thoughts:

I'm guessing I should apply for a TIN as soon as we marry?

Is there some way to start a joint bank account here in the USA after marriage? Is it a good idea to do so?

Should I add her as spouse on my medical plan at work? Or wait until she arrives in the USA?

Thanks for any insight!

[^_^ 5,021]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/294258-instructions-for-filing-taxes-with-spouse-outside-of-the-country/

[marrylaopo 0]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/294258-instructions-for-filing-taxes-with-spouse-outside-of-the-country/

Thank you kindly!

The above spells out the steps well!

I'm hoping for some additional insight.

For example, does one claim the foreign spouse's income ... or is that exempted somehow? (perhaps if she files taxes in her home country?)

Also, what are the requirements in terms of support to be able to file jointly ... do I need to send her a specific percentage each month ... pay for her healthcare ... might there be a financial/legal point where it does not make sense/is prohibited to file jointly?

I'd like to understand the rules on how to qualify (as well as the mechanics).

Thanks again!