Passport - UK to US and back

[Angela256z 30]

Is a passport on the prohibited mailing items list for UK? I was hoping to have my husband mail me his passport from the UK to the US so I can file our taxes and then mail it back to him in the UK.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Damian just did that. He is going to an IRS acceptance center to get the passport verified so he doesn't have to mail it off to Austin with the tax return and itin application.

Be sure you report worldwide income, meaning his UK income. H&R Block did Damian's taxes all wrong. Clueless how to do it. Also include the statement electing for him to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. . He can sign it and mail with the passport. Then you sign.

[Angela256z 30]

Thank you. The easy part is my husband has no income in the UK this past year.

Everyone keeps telling me that mailing the passport to me here in the US and me mailing it back to him is wrong. I was planning on going to the acceptance center, having them verify it, then mailing it back to the UK.

[dwheels76 5,468]

Is a passport on the prohibited mailing items list for UK? I was hoping to have my husband mail me his passport from the UK to the US so I can file our taxes and then mail it back to him in the UK.

Yes its very illegal. Think if it fell in the wrong hands. People do it and I know of 3 different people 1 Nigeria, 1 Fraud One Russia tried and all were confiscated at customs and sent back to sender.

You are already at NVC which means you are within like 3 to 4 months of an interview you can't wait for him to get here and get his SS? The ITIN is really not for short timers. But take the chance from UK I am sure you will get through fine.

[h13rma 35]

Yes its very illegal. Think if it fell in the wrong hands. People do it and I know of 3 different people 1 Nigeria, 1 Fraud One Russia tried and all were confiscated at customs and sent back to sender.

You are already at NVC which means you are within like 3 to 4 months of an interview you can't wait for him to get here and get his SS? The ITIN is really not for short timers. But take the chance from UK I am sure you will get through fine.

Nonsense I have to send my passport around the world for visas all the time. Courier is recommended, people have to do it all the time what if you are traveling to a country that doesn't have an embassy in the country you are in.

How do you think your passport gets to you in the first place if you apply for a replacement uk passport while living in the usa? Magic?

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Is a passport on the prohibited mailing items list for UK? I was hoping to have my husband mail me his passport from the UK to the US so I can file our taxes and then mail it back to him in the UK.

Angela

No, it is not prohibited. In the slightest. Obviously make sure your husband sends it via some sort of secure courier service, but it's perfectly fine.

As Nich says, my wife has just done precisely that for the exact same reasons you cite. If your husband has no UK income, then your return will be very straightforward as only your income will be reported. The only difference from any of your past returns will be the fact that you'll have to fill out tax form W-7 (very straightforward) and have your husband sign it along with the 1040. You then simply take the forms and your husband's passport to a Taxpayers Assistance Center (what the IRS like to call their offices) and an IRS officer will verify the passport and return it to you right there and then - it doesn't make the trip to Austin - before forwarding your packet to the intake office in the aforementioned Austin, TX.

Please be aware that not all IRS offices are verification centers. However, the only one in Utah (Salt Lake City) is, so you're fine there. Fwiw, here's a link to a list of IRS offices that do have verification facilities:

http://www.irs.gov/uac/TAC-Locations-Where-In-Person-Document-Verification-is-Provided

And the W-7 form:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf

Also, here's a link to the thread in which I posted my sample cover letter to the IRS stating that both my wife and I wish to be considered as U.S. residents for taxation purposes (it's post #13 on page 2):

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/475736-tax-return/

Good luck.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Damian P

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Nonsense I have to send my passport around the world for visas all the time. Courier is recommended, people have to do it all the time what if you are traveling to a country that doesn't have an embassy in the country you are in.

How do you think your passport gets to you in the first place if you apply for a replacement uk passport while living in the usa? Magic?

To be perfectly fair to dwheels, there are some countries that don't allow it - India and Ukraine are two that spring to mind - but it's fine for a UK passport.

[Angela256z 30]

Thank you

[Big Papa Zone 93]

*Bump*

Right, so I know I have an interested party that's been PMing me about this, but I thought I'd share this experience with all of you in case anyone else is in the same boat (or will be in the future).

As previously mentioned earlier in the thread, the IRS Kansas City office is, as of 31st March, a verification centre (see earlier posts for all the garb on that). I entered the IRS office, was issued a ticket, sat in the waiting room as per norm. One of the IRS officers then called me over, and I explained to him exactly why I was there. I should mention that after my H&R Block tax return experience, and noting the fact that this particular office had only been offering this service for 3 days, I was a little apprehensive as to the officer's knowledge - needn't have worried. He was VERY well versed in the whole procedure, and, it should be noted, was mightily impressed with MY knowledge of the process!

I handed him my wife's passport, the biographic data on which he compared to the info on the W-7 form. He then asked to see my driver's licence. I handed him the completed federal 1040, the 2555, and the letter signed by both my wife and I stating that we wished her to be considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes. Once he had all the documentation, he asked me to take a seat in the waiting room whilst he "finished" the process (LOL @ USCIS style mysterious bollocks!) He said this would take about fifteen minutes.

After he had finished doing whatever it was he was doing, he called me back to the desk and said that everything was fine, subsequently taking the time to advise me as to what would happen next, namely:

Package sent to Austin

ITIN number created and applied to the tax return

Refund deposited into the checking account indicated on the 1040 (within 8-10 weeks)

With regard to the state return, well, you have to wait for the ITIN to be generated before you can file that (it doesn't go to Austin with the federal return) so you simply need to file an extension with the state office (the guy very kindly provided me with all the necessary info there.)

Et voila. Job done. So the advice here is pretty much the same as when dealing with USCIS - educate yourself on the process, come prepared, dot all the 'Is' and cross the 'Ts', and hope you don't get a clueless arsehole!!

Hope this helps someone.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Damian P