ITIN and Tution & Fee Deduction
Hi
I am student on F1 visa. I qualify as a resident for federal tax purposes (I have spent 6 years in US on the F1 visa). I got married last year and I need to apply for an ITIN number for my wife. I have two questions :
1) I understand that I need to fill in W-7 and send it with 1040 and other related federal tax return forms with appropriate notarized documents as mentioned in W-7. I read that the ITIN is issued 4 to 6 weeks after the documents are received. My question is : If I take the documents requisite to apply for an ITIN directly to a local IRS office, can I be issued an ITIN instantly ? Will the process be any quicker (than 4 weeks) if I take the documents to a local IRS office rather than sending them to Texas ?
2) My Graduate Assistantship pays my tution fees. But in my graduate school, I need to pay a fee called "Mandatory Fee" that is not covered by my assistantship. This fee is levied every semester. I have paid about $620 towards "Mandatory Fee" last year. Can I write off $620 under the "Tution and Fee Deduction" section of Form 1040 ? I will send them Form 8917 if I can deduct the mandatory fee that I have been paying.
Please let me know.
Thanks.