I was wondering whether I might ask you to advise me on how to submit form W-7 (Application for ITIN) alongside the required supporting documentation.
My situation is as follows:
I am a nonresident alien and currently in the US on a J1-Student visa. I receive a non-service fellowship and I am a German citizen, which makes me exempt from income tax in accordance with tax treaty article 20 (3). I believe this exemption applies to both federal and state taxes (?).
So far, I have prepared my federal tax returns, i.e. everything 1040-NR-EZ related.
As I do not have an ITIN, I ended up completing form W-7 and was asked to obtain a certified copy of the picture page of my passport. Due to COVID-19, however, it would seem that my embassy does not respond to my requests for certification. Do you have any advice on how I should go about this dilemma? Is an uncertified copy going to be sufficient?
I also understood that it is fine to file my 1040-NR-EZ without ITIN and form W-7 enclosed. But it would seem to me that I cannot start preparing my state taxes without an ITIN. Processing times, however, are ballparked at 14-20 weeks. As a consequence, I won't be able to make the July 15th deadline for filing my state taxes. Is that going to be problematic? I am living in the state of New York.
Thank you so very much, best wishes, and stay safe.
