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pankaj333 · Sep 27, 2012, 06:09 PM

Hi All,

I filed for my wife's ITIN+Joint Tax refund for 2011 around 1.5 months back and then I got to know that rules have changed and IRS needs either original passport or certified copy from issued agency.

I read a lot for this and sending passport of my wife to IRS for ~60 days is obviously out of question. I have following queries.

1. Can I get my wife's passport copies certified from Consulate General of India, San Francisco? I am in SFO Bay area.

2. If above is YES, can I go with all the require documents for my wife's passport certified copy or she also needs to be there? Also it needs address proof but my leasing agreement is expired 1 month back and still not renewed and there are all the bills on my name. Does PG&E bill on my name will work as her address proof?

3. Just in case if I am not able to send documents on time (by 5th Nov), what will happen to my tax refund?

Please provide

AtlantaTaxExpert · Sep 27, 2012, 07:02 PM

1) Yes, the Indian consulate CAN certify the passport photocopy as a true copy,

2) Call and ask the consulate.

3) You will still get the refund.

pankaj333 · Sep 27, 2012, 10:22 PM

I tried calling consulate so many times but nobody picks up... it goes to some dumb automatic voice and then busy tone and CUT...

It's almost 50 miles from my place, will try to go alone tomorrow and see if it works.

Thanks for the quick response.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Sep 28, 2012, 05:29 AM

When you go to the consulate, mention the problem with the phone. They cannot fix the problem if they do not know about it.

pankaj333 · Oct 1, 2012, 03:21 PM

I have got the new lease agreement copy from the apartment owners, on Consulate Office website it says to provide original copy for address proof, the original copy is with owner and they can't provide me that.
Is agreement copy is enough as original? Because I don't think anybody provides original lease agreement.
Has anybody used lease copy for address proof?

AtlantaTaxExpert · Oct 1, 2012, 03:23 PM

I cannot answer if the IRS will accept a copy; you have to contact the consulate and ASK!

pankaj333 · Oct 1, 2012, 03:42 PM

Thanks for the quick response, the problem is that Consulate Office never picks call or never replies to the "Contact Us" form, I have tried to send query to all of their offices and no response from any one of them.
Since it's 50 miles from one side, I don't want to go without having all the info and waste full working day.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Oct 1, 2012, 05:09 PM

Noted, but I still cannot answer for the consulate.