[paguma larvata]

Hi guys!

I applied for my wife's ITIN a month and a half back along with my Federal tax return. I submitted the supporting documentation with it, which was a copy of the biographic page of her passport and U.S H-4 visa that was notarized by U.S Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Now, 2 days back I get a letter from IRS that her ITIN application has been suspended because of insufficient supporting documents. I called the customer service and talked to 3 representatives and all of the three told me that they don't see any thing wrong with my application and that all the supporting documentation are valid :confused: Apparently, they are confused themselves and don't know the reason for the suspension.

I want to know what is the reason for IRS to suspend my ITIN application if all the supporting documents are good. Is a certification of a passport by an employee of a U.S consulate with an official seal of the U.S Embassy/Consulate not sufficient. I am so pissed at these idiots. The paper says that I need to submit the required docs (but, these are the same docs, that I have already sent). Can anyone help me in this regards as I have 45 days to respond. :mad::mad:

[MukatA]

Why did you file for wife's ITIN? What did you check on W7?

If you applied for ITIN as you want to file joint return, then normally you attach W7 with your tax return with the "First Year Choice Statment."

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Did the ITIN persons say they would re-start the validation process, or did they te;ll you that you needed to re-submit the application?

[paroma]

When did you apply for itin

[Five Rings]

If you are in the USA, find a certifying acceptance agent and have them resubmit.

Acceptance Agent Program

[paguma larvata]

Did the ITIN persons say they would re-start the validation process, or did they te;ll you that you needed to re-submit the application?

They don't know themselves what to ask for. All three representatives told me on the phone that they see nothing wrong with the application, along with the supporting documents, yet they don't know why the letter was issued to submit the required documents. I have already submitted the docs so I don't think they are asking for re-submitting the docs. One rep told me to write them a letter and ask them what they need specifically. I am going to do that. At this point I really don't know what they want and why was this letter issued:mad:

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

This happens sometime with the ITIN Processing Unit; I suspect that some of their people need more comprehensive training.

[mack20007]

You said you sent in...

"a copy of the biographic page of her passport and U.S H-4 visa that was notarized by U.S Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan."
Also,. "Is a certification of a passport by an employee of a U.S consulate with an official seal of the U.S Embassy/Consulate not sufficient"

Did you send in "notorized" copy of your passport, versus certified?

From your reading it appears you only sent in a notorized copy of your visa.
You'll need to send a notorized copy of your passport, which could be the problem.

The Visa notorization isn't acceptable either. When a copy of your Visa is sent in it must be certified copy of the issuing agency. If they didn't get you a certified copy, that might be a problem. Or you may be using there terms interchangeably, which may not give us an accurate picture of your problem. Regardless, the Embassy should know what you need and provided the correct documents. You only need to send in a notorized copy of your passport, no other document is necessary. Which I think the Embassy should have known however, and avoided the need to send in any info regarding any visa. So, there's some confusion on this, that needs to be clarified.

They put things in suspense when they think something is needed to finish processing, and await a response. I would be puzzeled if I thought I sent in the right documents also . But once you verify you have the right documents, resubmit them to get a response, and include a letter asking if this is not sufficient, what is.

I'm not sure this issue caused the problem or not. I defer to Atlantataxexpert on this issue.

Goodluck

[Five Rings]

I regret to say that, as of January of this year, there has been a major policy change regarding consular officials notarizing "foreign documents".

The 2009 W-7 instructions clearly state:

You can submit copies of original documents if you do any of the following:

* Have the copies certified by the issuing agency or official custodian of the original record.

* Have the copies notarized by a U.S. notary public legally authorized within his or her local jurisdiction to certify that the document is a true copy of the original. To do this, the notary must see the valid, unaltered original document and verify that the copy
Conforms to the original. Consular offices at U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas may not certify true copies of foreign public documents and will refer applicants to the foreign authority that issued the document.

* Have the copies notarized by a foreign notary. However, foreign notaries are only acceptable as outlined by the Hague Convention.

The Hague Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the Convention. A certification will be issued in the form of an "apostille," which will be attached to the copy of the document. If the document originates in a country that is not party to the Convention, applicants should have the document certified by the foreign authority that issued it.
Note. The apostille must stay attached to the copy of the document when it is sent to the IRS.

Contrast that with the same instructions from the 2007 W-7:

U.S. notaries public are available at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Foreign notaries are acceptable as outlined by the Hague Convention.