Still working on wife's US immigration paperwork

[MrandMrsSmith]

We were married in California in May 2005, where we now reside. Husband is a US citizen, wife is still working on getting her Greencard (we need to submit our tax return before submitting the immigration paperwork). Wife earned a small amount of Can income in 2005 but no US income. Husband earned a significant salary in US. We share two children who are US citizens and reside in the US with us.

1) Ideally, we would like to file our US tax return jointly although, at this stage, only husband has SSN. Can we file jointly?

2) What do we need to do with regard to Canadian tax?

3) In which country do we pay tax on wife's Canadian income?

Thanks for your assistance

[nelsona]

2. Wife has to file an 'exit return for canada, following the guide for her last province and the "Emigrants" guide for CRA.

1. You can both file jointly, by requesting an ITIN, submitting a W-7 with your joint return.

3. Both . All her Cdn income goes on the 1040 federal return, and she can then claim credit/deduction for any Cdn taxes paid (or exclude the wages from US taxation with form 2555). She can probably exclude the Cdn income on her Cali return.

She nneds to do a lot for her RRSP, and this is adressed at other threads.

Thre really is no reason to wait to file before proceeding with immig claim.