@chathura-siriwardhana , having refreshed my memory about the US-Sri Lanka Double Taxation Treaty,
(a) you can file jointly with your wife, provided she ( and you ) agree to expose her world income to US taxation.
(b) To achieve this
1. Prepare your MFJ return in TurboTax using a dummy SSN for your wife. Include any income she may have had for the Tax year ( note since Sri Lanka tax year is different from a calendar year, you will have to allocate her appropriately i.e. earned from Jan 1st 2024 through 12/31/2024 for example ).
2. Once all the checks for the federal and the State are done, choose to file by mail.
3. Replace the dummy SSN for your spouse with " N R A ".
4. Now sign and date -- both of you
5. Download from the IRS site form W-7 and its instructions. Complete this form for your spouse, collect all the required documents ( originals and a copy).
6. Use the nearest US consulate or IRS authorized agents (for the purpose ) to certify the copies of the required documents. Your wife has to sign the W-7 application for ITIN.
7. Now add a letter signed / dated by both you and your spouse requesting that you both want her to be treated as resident ( for tax purposes for the tax year 2024 ).
8 Mail all the above documents to the IRS ( use the address for your locality ).
This should result in (A) IRS issuing retroactively valid ITIN for your wife and (B) accepting and processing your return as MFJ. Note that once approved as a Resident for Tax purposes, she is bound by it for all the following years. She can request to be relieved of this only once in her life ( absent any other events like becoming a citizen ).
Does this help ?
Is there more I can do for you ?
pk
