@user17672869738 ,
(a) As a US person , working / living in the US for more than 30 days, you would not be able to use FEIE for yourself. You would be able to use foreign tax credit ( FTC ) for any income that is taxed by both US and your foreign home country ( assuming that this is not Canada or Mexico -- for which rules are different)
(b) Assuming that your marriage is recognized by the USA and the country where is a national/resident of , you should be able to ( along with an ITIN) treat her as a resident of US ( for tax purposes). Thus her world income would come under the purview of the US taxation. This should also allow her income ( assuming she meets the Physical Presence Test ) to be eligible for FEIE.
(c) Assuming ( b) is satisfied you should be able to use MFJ and standard deduction.
(d) Just out of curiosity, why do you shuttle between the two countries and work only for a short period in the USA --- why not have a foreign tax home ? Because in such a case your foreign sourced income would also be eligible FEIE.
(e) Note that FEIE does not , by itself, reduce/ eliminate the SECA/FICA -- there must be a totalization agreement between the US and that foreign country.
Is there more I can do for you ?
