@pk, thanks very much for your reply.
Your advice is well taken:
1. My NRA-wife and I will continue to file Married Filing Jointly. The notion of including a note might be a bit troublesome, as we like to utilize TurboTax and e-file (especially given that we're halfway around the world). Do you know whether TurboTax can handle this (be triggered to prompt for an ad-hoc note, and include it in an e-filing)?
2. We will also ignore Form 8854, as per your explanation.
3. I'm not sure what you meant by, "Fifth --- following he joint filing you would probably also make her coming back and re-establishing GC in the future ( i am guessing here )". My best guess is that you're assuming that we would return to US and reattempt her GC. That she would've never lost/abandoned her GC would have been great, but it seemed like it was singularly preventing her from having a clear path to visit the US (as it had been longer than 2 years since she had last visited). If there were a way that she could recuperate it or jump on some fast-track path toward a new one, while still remaining overseas, we'd likely attempt it. But, short of that, we likely won't, at least for now.
4. I hadn't mentioned that I work for the UN. US-citizens working for the UN *overseas* need not pay FICA taxes on those (foreign) earnings. In fact, the UN has a specialized tax-department for, exclusively, Americans. Although it doesn't offer tax-advice, it clearly states that US citizens working overseas are exempt from Self-employment taxes on UN-wages. So, I believe this issue to be non-applicable, but please notify me if it appears that I've misunderstood your characterization of this issue (Social Security / Medicare / FICA taxes).
With the exception of the follow-up question I asked in #1, I believe your most recent response covers my queries. Many thanks, once again.
