Would filing taxes married/jointly affect applying for another visa

[asawahs4ever 0]

If someone is married in the US and files as married in the US but they have to go back to their country for two years (they were here on J1-Visa), would that hurt their application to get another Visa to come back to the US?

Also, since the US citizen filed that way once, would they have to file that way from now on even if the wife is in another country?

Sorry for such a strange question, it's just that my cousin is freaking out and can't find anything online and an attorney (immigration) he talked to said this was more of an IRS question not a immigration question. Go figure.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

How you file taxes really is an IRS question. He can file Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately any year he is married and switch back and forth. To file jointly with a non-resident, like her on a visa, they have to complete a statement saying they both elect for her to be treated as a resident for tax purposes. They can continue to file jointly even if she is in another country as long as her income abroad is reported. That doesn't mean it is taxed. And it depends on if her country has a tax treaty with the US. It could actually be a tax advantage to him. Or he could still file married separately and she file nothing if no money earned in the US.

I don't see how it would hurt a visa. Are you thinking being married would not be favorable for getting a tourist visa?Any visa she would apply for would require her to give her marital status so they would know. If she was wanting a spouse visa to live in the US, then a joint tax return is good proof of a bonafide marital relationship for a marriage based visa.