Hi,

I am a citizen of India and working in state of California since December 07 ( as student OPT)

I was a non resident Alien ( F1 Visa ) uptil October 08, then got my H1 Visa valid from Oct 08.

1) Do I file my taxes for 2008 as a resident alien or non resident alien?

2) My employer deducted Social Security & Medicare from my pay for period after October 2008.Do I file for Social Security & Medicare refund for that?

I got married in November 2008 & my wife got here in March 2009.

1) Do I file taxes for 2008 as married or single?

2) Do I claim standard deductions as per the tax treaty with INdia or file itemized deductions?

Thanks!!!