my wife accidentally filed separate return instead of jointly

[catchris]

I need to amend our taxes to MFJ from MFS, my wife submitted her return last night as MFS. I haven't submitted mine yet. Do I now have to submit mine as MFS then wait till after we receive our refunds to amend to MFJ? 

[VolvoGirl]

No you don't have to file as MFS now.  You can wait until her separate return is done processing and then amend hers to Joint.   Has her return been Accepted yet?  Maybe it will reject and you can fix it before filing again.  

But if her return is accepted you may have a long wait for it to be done and you get the first refund before you can amend.  Sorry.

[catchris]

Well I wont find out until later today if hers was accepted. But assuming it was and I do have to wait for her refund, I believe it will take a couple of weeks- right? I should be able to get it amended before April 18th. 

Thank you for your help.