Can I elect to file a joint return with my nonresident spouse?

Yes. If you're a U.S. resident or citizen married to a nonresident alien, you can make a special election under tax code section 6013(g) to treat your spouse as a U.S. resident for the whole year, letting you file married filing jointly. The benefits are real: the larger $30,000 standard deduction for 2025 and access to brackets and credits that married-filing-separately filers lose. The trade-off is that your spouse's worldwide income then becomes subject to U.S. tax, though the Foreign Tax Credit can offset foreign taxes already paid. You attach a signed statement making the election, and your spouse needs an ITIN or SSN. The choice stays in effect until revoked, and once revoked you can't elect again with the same spouse. Run the numbers both ways—joint election versus filing separately—because the foreign-income exposure sometimes outweighs the deduction.