@4lcollins ,
"exempt" status here means exempt from counting days present in the USA for substantial presence test. A person on F-1 generally is allowed five calendar years of exempt status. Thus for your spouse on requesting to be treated as a resident for tax purposes for the year , would mean the termination of the exempt status and counting the days present towards SPT. As a resident for tax purposes, world income of the person comes under the purview of the US taxes.
The request to be treated as a resident for tax purposes ( if he/she already has a tax id -- ITIN or SSN ) is a letter requesting such treatment, signed and dated by both you and your spouse. As noted earlier , because this attachment is not supported as part of the normal attachments , you have to print, sign/date your return, attach this letter and then file by mail. This also means that while you get the benefits of MFJ filing, your refund may be delayed because IRS' limited resources to handle mailed returns.
Does this help ? Do you need more help -- will be happy to provide that ?
pk
