Better to File Separately for our situation

[K & V 33]

My wife arrived in the US last November as a LPR, but did not work in the US in 2015 (She has her SSN and GC). Originally I was thinking of MFJ but am now thinking it's better to file MFS since I most likely will not get a refund for 2015. What are everyone's thought? Might filing separately cause some issues when it comes time for Removing Conditions on Residency in 2017?

[Kastrs 723]

Calculate your taxes MFJ and MFS and then pick whichever is better for you

As long as you have enough other evidence to support your marriage, then if you do file MFS it will not impact your RoC

[Pitaya 2,577]

You can choose married filing jointly as your filing status if you are considered married and both you and your spouse agree to file a joint return. On a joint return, you and your spouse report your combined income and deduct your combined allowable expenses. You can file a joint return even if one of you had no income or deductions.

If you and your spouse decide to file a joint return, your tax may be lower than your combined tax for the other filing statuses. Also, your standard deduction (if you do not itemize deductions) may be higher, and you may qualify for tax benefits that do not apply to other filing statuses.

REF: http://taxmap.ntis.gov/taxmap/pub17/p17-012.htm

[MariaR323 199]

Almost always it's more beneficial to use the MFJ filing status, however, you might have other circumstances whereby choosing MFS is best for you. Do the calculation both ways, MFS and MFJ and that way you can see real numbers and make an informed decision.

As to impact on ROC, the MFS could be explained as to the reasoning behind it if it's questioned. In which case, you'll probably just want to make sure you have more bona fide marriage evidence and support.