@method1491 , from your post , should I assume :
(a) you are the person married to the F-1 holder
(b) you yourself are a US person ( citizen/ GreenCard / Resident for tax purposes )
(c) F-1 holder is sponsored for Green Card by you and not by employer
(d) the F-1 holder is still on "exempt" status and therefore a "Non-Resident Alien "
If all of the above are true then F-1 person is still Non-resident alien but indeed can file jointly with you / US person spouse --- need to send a note to the IRS along with return, requesting that you both agree to treat the F-1 person as a resident for the year ( thus exposing whole year world income to US taxes )
Note application for GreenCard by itself does not bestow resident status, neither does the marriage by itself ---- these just bolsters the intent to stay. For tax purposes, there are two tests --- Green Card and Substantial Presence Test. The request to be treated as a resident is voluntary and is granted based on facts and circumstances.
Does this answer your query ? Do you need more help on this ?
pk
