Passport notarization for income tax

[rogerinca]

There has been much great info here of late, regarding the filing of income taxes.

 

My wife will take her passport to the Consulate in GZ later this week to have it notarized, so she can express mail me the notarized copy.

 

Two questions: 1. Do any of you know, does she go to the same Consulate office building where the interviews are conducted for the notary service; or is this service provided at the other office building, where the interviews were [previously] conducted ?? She has to take the bus one hour from Huadu, so I want to save her some running around the city.

 

2. Is it necessary at this time, to also have a copy of her 10 year old daughter¡¯s passport similarly notarized, or is this a moot point on a dependent child, at this point in the process ??

 

Thank you, Roger

[LeeFisher3]

There has been much great info here of late, regarding the filing of income taxes.

 

My wife will take her passport to the Consulate in GZ later this week to have it notarized, so she can express mail me the notarized copy.

 

Two questions: 1. Do any of you know, does she go to the same Consulate office building where the interviews are conducted for the notary service; or is this service provided at the other office building, where the interviews were [previously] conducted ?? She has to take the bus one hour from Huadu, so I want to save her some running around the city.

 

2. Is it necessary at this time, to also have a copy of her 10 year old daughter¡¯s passport similarly notarized, or is this a moot point on a dependent child, at this point in the process ??

 

Thank you, Roger

This is the same building that the interviews are conducted. If possible she should have the W-7 form with her as well since that is the form which requires the copy of the passport. This will be done on the American Services side of the 5th floor.

 

I would suggest she arrive sometime after 9:00am, but not too late. At the entrance to the building will be an AMERICAN officer who hands out the cards for admission for the interviews. When we were there it was a very nice Chinese/American woman(the uniform and patches are different and it is obvious that they are in charge) They should be able to help her get past the Chinese guards on the 4th floor.

 

If she has difficulty getting in she needs to demand that and AMERICAN employee of the consulate come down to grant her admission so she can get her evidence that is required by the US Government.

 

Make her aware that some of the guards at the 4th floor entrance can be extremely abrupt and rude, also they do not always know the rules about these things.

 

Also, it is possible they would charge $30 US to do this.

Edited February 5, 2007 by LeeFisher3 (see edit history)

[rogerinca]

This is the same building that the interviews are conducted. If possible she should have the W-7 form with her as well since that is the form which requires the copy of the passport. This will be done on the American Services side of the 5th floor.

 

I would suggest she arrive sometime after 9:00am, but not too late. At the entrance to the building will be an AMERICAN officer who hands out the cards for admission for the interviews. When we were there it was a very nice Chinese/American woman(the uniform and patches are different and it is obvious that they are in charge) They should be able to help her get past the Chinese guards on the 4th floor.

 

If she has difficulty getting in she needs to demand that and AMERICAN employee of the consulate come down to grant her admission so she can get her evidence that is required by the US Government.

 

Make her aware that some of the guards at the 4th floor entrance can be extremely abrupt and rude, also they do not always know the rules about these things.

 

Also, it is possible they would charge $30 US to do this.

 

Wow, Lee, such detailed/explicit information !!! Thank you so much !!

[rogerinca]

There has been much great info here of late, regarding the filing of income taxes.

 

My wife will take her passport to the Consulate in GZ later this week to have it notarized, so she can express mail me the notarized copy.

 

Two questions: 1. Do any of you know, does she go to the same Consulate office building where the interviews are conducted for the notary service; or is this service provided at the other office building, where the interviews were [previously] conducted ?? She has to take the bus one hour from Huadu, so I want to save her some running around the city.

 

2. Is it necessary at this time, to also have a copy of her 10 year old daughter¡¯s passport similarly notarized, or is this a moot point on a dependent child, at this point in the process ??

 

Thank you, Roger

This is the same building that the interviews are conducted. If possible she should have the W-7 form with her as well since that is the form which requires the copy of the passport. This will be done on the American Services side of the 5th floor.

 

I would suggest she arrive sometime after 9:00am, but not too late. At the entrance to the building will be an AMERICAN officer who hands out the cards for admission for the interviews. When we were there it was a very nice Chinese/American woman(the uniform and patches are different and it is obvious that they are in charge) They should be able to help her get past the Chinese guards on the 4th floor.

 

If she has difficulty getting in she needs to demand that and AMERICAN employee of the consulate come down to grant her admission so she can get her evidence that is required by the US Government.

 

Make her aware that some of the guards at the 4th floor entrance can be extremely abrupt and rude, also they do not always know the rules about these things.

 

Also, it is possible they would charge $30 US to do this.

 

Update on this issue¡­¡­it evolved and ended up, pretty much as Lee said it might !!

I tried to communicate to her as much of the information as I could; however, the human dynamic did come in here, which equals frustration and a waste of her time and effort !!!

 

My wife took the two buses from her outlaying district to travel to the Consulate in downtown Guangzhou, one hour or more each way. The Chinese worker at the 4th floor of the Consulate would not [listen] to what she tried to tell him was the reason she needed the US Consulate Notarization of her Chinese passport and she was sent away. She said he was not a guard, but was ¡°an office worker¡±. He obviously confused her request, for those of the notary requirements, which would be needed for purposes to obtain a K series visa. He apparently had no understanding of the concept of notarization for the American husband¡¯s US tax purposes. He repeatedly told her that she must go to the Chinese Notary Office in downtown Guangzhou to have her Chinese passport notarized; which we had previously done for the requirements of the visa process, but which is not applicable here, or acceptable for the IRS. My wife is an educated/articulate woman, but it appears the employee was dismissive of her attempts to explain these issues to him.

 

She does not have a computer at home. So I will enter a concise text message in her cell phone, explaining what she needs, so she can show it to some (hopefully) kind soul at the Consulate, who maybe will understand the request. She will return to the Consulate again tomorrow, and make another attempt, for what you would think, should be a very routine and simple request/transaction.

 

Note: the Consulate will be closed the entire week of the 19th, and will reopen on the 26th.

[rogerinca]

I forgot to add: She did also show him our marriage book/certificate, which she had with her, and which has my photo and passport number etc. But he still would not let her go to the 5th floor.

[LeeFisher3]

The people in charge outside the consulate are usually Chinese-American's, she needs to let them know she needs forms notarized for the IRS.

 

If possible have her learn 2 things, IRS and W7 and see the Chinese-American in charge of the line outside the Consulate.

 

If she has a printed W-7 form it would really help much. The other consulates and Embassy in Beijing make it much easier, but they don't have the volume of people seeking admission that they do in GZ.

[rogerinca]

The people in charge outside the consulate are usually Chinese-American's, she needs to let them know she needs forms notarized for the IRS.

 

If possible have her learn 2 things, IRS and W7 and see the Chinese-American in charge of the line outside the Consulate.

 

If she has a printed W-7 form it would really help much. The other consulates and Embassy in Beijing make it much easier, but they don't have the volume of people seeking admission that they do in GZ.

 

OK !! Thank you again !!! Situation all resolved. She found a Chinese woman at the Consulate who understood ¡®IRS¡¯ and ¡®W-7¡¯ !! Treated her well !!! No more problems !!! What a great resource this forum is !!!!!!!

[SirLancelot]

OK !! Thank you again !!! Situation all resolved. She found a Chinese woman at the Consulate who understood ¡®IRS¡¯ and ¡®W-7¡¯ !! Treated her well !!! No more problems !!! What a great resource this forum is !!!!!!!

 

Roger, that really sucks your wife had to waste a trip initially. I empathize with your frustrations and hers and I'd be equally pissed if I were in the situation. But I also do have some empathy for the guards there. I'm sure so many people try to get access to the US Consulate when they have no business doing so; I'm sure the guards have become quite jaded and end up weeding out people who should have access to the Consulate. They are in the wrong of course, but I can understand why they may act the way they do.

 

I'm glad to hear it ultimately worked out for her.

 

I hope you're at least getting a return from the IRS after all that effort.

[LeeFisher3]

OK !! Thank you again !!! Situation all resolved. She found a Chinese woman at the Consulate who understood ¡®IRS¡¯ and ¡®W-7¡¯ !! Treated her well !!! No more problems !!! What a great resource this forum is !!!!!!!

 

Roger, that really sucks your wife had to waste a trip initially. I empathize with your frustrations and hers and I'd be equally pissed if I were in the situation. But I also do have some empathy for the guards there. I'm sure so many people try to get access to the US Consulate when they have no business doing so; I'm sure the guards have become quite jaded and end up weeding out people who should have access to the Consulate. They are in the wrong of course, but I can understand why they may act the way they do.

 

I'm glad to hear it ultimately worked out for her.

 

I hope you're at least getting a return from the IRS after all that effort.

I agree about the guards, but the need to access a US Consulate for official reasons should not be left to a foreign national. They should be supervised by a knowledgeable US Citizen and not left to act independently.

 

There have been cases where a US Citizen has been turned away and not only in Guangzhou.

[SirLancelot]

I agree about the guards, but the need to access a US Consulate for official reasons should not be left to a foreign national. They should be supervised by a knowledgeable US Citizen and not left to act independently.

 

I wouldn't disagree with this suggestion. I wonder if the US government hires foreign guards because of cheap labor or because the foreign government mandates/requires the hiring of their nationals as guards around diplomatic posts.

Edited February 23, 2007 by SirLancelot (see edit history)

[LeeFisher3]

I agree about the guards, but the need to access a US Consulate for official reasons should not be left to a foreign national. They should be supervised by a knowledgeable US Citizen and not left to act independently.

 

I wouldn't disagree with this suggestion. I wonder if the US government hires foreign guards because of cheap labor or because the foreign government mandates/requires the hiring of their nationals as guards around diplomatic posts.

Most of our Embassies around the world are guarded by the US Marines, where a consulate does not hold the same diplomatic status.

 

It has little to do with cost and everything to do with the negotiated agreement between the two countries.

[rogerinca]

Here is an update to the on-going drama of the documents needed for my ¡®06 Tax Year filing..¡­LOL

 

With the holiday period over, my sweet Lao po returned to the Consulate to get her PRC Passport notarized by a US Notary. However, the playing-field/story changed once again. She was now told that she must go to the old facility at Shamian Island, to have a Consulate notarization done; moreover, she was directed to first go to the China Official Notary in Guangzhou to have her passport notarized there, before going to Shamian, for a US Notarization. Amazing !!!!!!

 

When assessing all of the costs of both notaries in China, plus her time and trouble, I told her not to proceed any further in that regard.

 

I directed her to the closest Fed-Ex office in Guangzhou, and had her express mail her passport to me. She marked ¡°document¡± on the envelope and put a minimal value of 8 RMB (China customs does not accept ¡®0¡¯ for value). Believe it or not the Fed-Ex charge for 2nd day priority/express mail to me in California, was less than $28.00 - RMB 215, far less than the total of all the notary charges and transportation running around GZ would have been !!! She gave me a tracking number and I watched it leave GZ yesterday morning and travel to Anchorage, to Oakland, to Sacramento, and then on the truck this a.m. to me.

 

Less than 48 hours later, I now have her passport in my warm hand. I will go to my local notary at my bank this afternoon, have it notarized for ten-bucks, and ready to give to my tax guy tomorrow.

 

I most likely will hang on to her PP and just return it to her when I visit again in late April or early May, rather than spend the money to Fed Ex it back to her. She laughed and told me she wouldn¡¯t need it; she wasn¡¯t going anywhere [soon] !! LOL

 

Last, and WOW !! I am very impressed with the great and efficient service provided by Fed Ex between here and China !!!!

[Randy W]

Here is an update to the on-going drama of the documents needed for my ¡®06 Tax Year filing..¡­LOL

 

I directed her to the closest Fed-Ex office in Guangzhou, and had her express mail her passport to me. She marked ¡°document¡± on the envelope and put a minimal value of 8 RMB (China customs does not accept ¡®0¡¯ for value). Believe it or not the Fed-Ex charge for 2nd day priority/express mail to me in California, was less than $28.00 - RMB 215, far less than the total of all the notary charges and transportation running around GZ would have been !!! She gave me a tracking number and I watched it leave GZ yesterday morning and travel to Anchorage, to Oakland, to Sacramento, and then on the truck this a.m. to me.

 

Less than 48 hours later, I now have her passport in my warm hand. I will go to my local notary at my bank this afternoon, have it notarized for ten-bucks, and ready to give to my tax guy tomorrow.

 

I most likely will hang on to her PP and just return it to her when I visit again in late April or early May, rather than spend the money to Fed Ex it back to her. She laughed and told me she wouldn¡¯t need it; she wasn¡¯t going anywhere [soon] !! LOL

 

Last, and WOW !! I am very impressed with the great and efficient service provided by Fed Ex between here and China !!!!

 

 

Very resourceful! Good job!

[SirLancelot]

However, the playing-field/story changed once again. She was now told that she must go to the old facility at Shamian Island, to have a Consulate notarization done; moreover, she was directed to first go to the China Official Notary in Guangzhou to have her passport notarized there, before going to Shamian, for a US Notarization. Amazing !!!!!!

 

 

How infuriating! They just love to make us and our SOs run through hoops.

 

 

Less than 48 hours later, I now have her passport in my warm hand. I will go to my local notary at my bank this afternoon, have it notarized for ten-bucks, and ready to give to my tax guy tomorrow.

 

I'm not familiar with this process so I'd like to ask how is it that you can notarize her passport? Whenever I've notarized anything in the US, I've had to be there in person in front of the notary and they checked my ID and had me swear an oath in front of the notary.

[Randy W]

Less than 48 hours later, I now have her passport in my warm hand. I will go to my local notary at my bank this afternoon, have it notarized for ten-bucks, and ready to give to my tax guy tomorrow.

 

I'm not familiar with this process so I'd like to ask how is it that you can notarize her passport? Whenever I've notarized anything in the US, I've had to be there in person in front of the notary and they checked my ID and had me swear an oath in front of the notary.

 

 

I think that's exactly what he's doing - there shouldn't be a problem because its his wife's passport. The notary is signing that it's a true and correct copy of the passport, not that his wife was there.

Edited March 2, 2007 by Randy W (see edit history)