@gmais28 , based on your response , it seems she is out of status ( please consider consulting with the immigration people on this on getting her a visa to stay legally in the US ), IRS does not care and thus
1. Yes you can file as MFJ
2. for the year 2024 earnings till expiration of the contract would be considered as self-employment -- see the article that I ref'd earlier ---- note FICA implications and that US & Germany are party to totalization agreement.
Please consider PM to me with more details of how she filed 2023 -- just no personally identifying info please.
pk
