The U.S. Embassy has transmitted the
following monthly newsletter via its warden system as a public service to
In this issue:
1. IRS Tax Advisor at Embassy
2. Voting Assistance Workshop on
March 11, 2008
3.
4.
5.
6. Overseas Vote Foundation
7. Increases to
8. Visa Rules for Foreign
Instructors
9. Recent Travel Warnings and
Announcements
10. Embassy Contact Information
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1. IRS TAX ADVISOR AT EMBASSY
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An IRS representative will be at the
U.S. Embassy's American Citizen Services office on
March 17, 18, and 19 to answer your tax questions. Appointments are required. Appointments will be scheduled in ten-minute
increments during the hours below, so please come prepared with concise
questions.
Monday, March 17
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (phone
appointments)
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 18
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (phone appointments)
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 19
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (phone
appointments)
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
You can request an appointment by
email (Seoul_ACS@state.gov) or by fax at (02) 397-4101. In order for us to receive your email, please
put "RESEND IRS" in your email subject line and indicate which hour
you would prefer. Include your email
address, office or home telephone number, and cell phone number.
If you cannot come to the Embassy
for an appointment, the IRS representative may be able to talk with you over
the phone. Please send your telephone
number by fax or email as described above, and specify that you would like a
telephone appointment, as well as your preferred day. All phone appointments will be conducted
between 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
PLEASE NOTE that all appointments
are first-come, first-served.
Tax assistance for people affiliated
with USFK is available on USFK bases.
Contact your legal office for details.
FORMS: We recommend that you obtain your tax forms
online at http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html. Please note that the IRS no longer compiles
the "1040 Overseas Filers Package," so there will be no packages
available at the U.S. Embassy for the 2007 tax year. All forms from the package are available for
download from the IRS website.
FURTHER INFORMATION: For more
information on
Main IRS website: www.irs.gov
IRS tax forms and publications: http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html
U.S. Embassy Seoul tax information
page: http://seoul.usembassy.gov/tax_information.html
Tax guidance for
Tax guidance for persons in the
military: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/military/index.html
Electronic payment website: http://www.eftps.gov/
Refund information: Go to http://www.irs.gov/, click on "Where's my
refund?"
Phone Services:
Individuals 1-800-829-1040
Businesses 1-800-829-4933
Customer Service Phone Number 1-215-516-2000
Refund Inquiries 1-800-829-4477
TeleTax 1-800-829-4477
ITINs after 6 weeks 1-800-829-1040
Exempt Organization Help Desk 1-877-829-5500
Tax Offset Program (TOP) Help Desk 1-800-304-3107
E-Services Help Desk 1-512-416-7750
DUE DATES FOR OVERSEAS FILERS: A tax return delivered by the U.S. mail or a
designated delivery service that is postmarked or dated by the delivery service
on or before the due date is considered to have been filed on or before that
date. You can use certain private
delivery services designated by the IRS to meet the "timely mailing as
timely filing/paying" rule for tax returns and payments. See your Form 1040 or Form 1040A instructions
for a list of designated delivery services.
Revenue Ruling 2002-23, 2002-18 IRB
811 provides that federal tax returns mailed by taxpayers in foreign countries
will be accepted as timely filed if they bear an official postmark dated on or
before midnight of the last date prescribed for filing, including any extension
of time for such filing.
Individuals will be able to use a
single IRS form (Form 4868) to get an automatic six-month extension of time to
file. The due date without extension for
individual income tax returns is April 15.
Taxpayers residing overseas are allowed an automatic extension to June
15 without filing Form 4868. A
tax-filing extension does not extend the tax-payment deadline. Visit the IRS website for more information at
http://www.irs.gov.
STATE TAX RETURNS: For individual state income tax information,
visit http://www.taxadmin.org/. The Embassy does not have state tax forms or
state tax information.
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2. VOTING ASSISTANCE WORKSHOP ON
MARCH 11, 2008
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The Pentagon's Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FVAP) office will be giving a Voting Assistance Workshop
for American citizens living in
• Full
Name
• Citizenship
• Passport
Number
Please note that space is limited,
so we encourage you to RSVP as soon as possible. Additional details will be sent to you by
email after you RSVP.
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3.
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On Saturday, March 8, 2008, there
will be two special primary elections in the state of
• 1st
closed party primary: March 8, 2008
• 2nd
closed party primary: April 5, 2008
• General:
May 3, 2008
The first closed primary on March 8,
2008, will be in the 1st Congressional District of Louisiana to fill the seat
for Representative Jindal, who resigned in order to
become Governor of Louisiana. The 1st
Congressional District includes the parishes of Jefferson (part), Orleans
(part), St. Charles (part), St. Tammany (all), Tanigpahoa
(all), and Washington (all).
The second closed primary on March
8, 2008, will be in the 6th Congressional District of Louisiana to fill the
seat for Representative Baker, which is currently vacant. The 6th Congressional District includes the
parishes of Ascension (part), East Baton Rouge (all), East Feliciana (all),
Iberville (part), Livingston (all), Pointe Coupee (part), St. Helena (all),
West Baton Rouge (all), and West Feliciana (all).
To determine if your legal residence
is in the 1st or 6th Congressional District, please go to the Federal Voting
Assistance Program (FVAP) website, where you can click on "Communicating
with Your Elected Officials" then "Who is my Representative?"
All members of the U.S. Uniformed
Services, their family members and citizens residing outside the U.S. who are
Louisiana residents from the 1st and 6th Districts should request a ballot for
this special primary election by completing and submitting a Federal Post Card
Application (FPCA), SF-76, as soon as possible, if you have not done so already
in calendar year 2008. The online
version of the FPCA is available from the FVAP website. Specific instructions for
The Parish Registrar of Voters must
receive requests for absentee ballots not later than Friday, March 7,
2008.
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4.
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On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, there
will be a special election in the 7th Congressional District of Indiana to fill
the seat of Representative Julia M. Carson.
The Marion County Board of Voter
Registration must receive requests for absentee ballots not later than Monday,
March 3, 2008.
When returned, your ballot will be
counted if it arrives at the appropriate board of elections not later than
noon, March 11, 2008, for military voters in the
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5.
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(1) Start by contacting your Embassy
or military unit Voting Assistance Officer for help in absentee registration
and voting. The Embassy's Voting
Assistance officer is available at VoteSeoul@state.gov.
(2) Visit the Federal Voting
Assistance Program’s website at www.fvap.gov for
information on the absentee registration and voting process.
(3) Ensure that you have applied for
your absentee ballot using the hard copy or on-line versions of the Federal
Post Card Application (FPCA) form.
(4) Make
sure your local election official has your current mailing address.
(5) Sign and date all election
materials.
(6) Fulfill
your state’s witness/notary requirements (if required).
(7) Ensure
that your ballot or FPCA is postmarked.
(8) Register to vote and request
your ballot in a timely manner - not later than September 2008.
(9) VOTE - mail your ballot not
later than October 15th of the election year.
(10) Use the Federal Write In Absentee Ballot if you are overseas and your State
absentee ballot does not arrive in time to be mailed back by your state’s
deadline.
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6. OVERSEAS VOTE FOUNDATION
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The Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF)
helps overseas and military voters participate in federal elections by
providing public access to innovative voter registration tools and
services. If you are an overseas or
military voter, OVF’s goal is to make it easy for you
to get your ballot and vote. Overseas
American citizens vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee
Voting Act (UOCAVA) and can all register to vote from abroad using OVF's services.
OVF is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit, nonpartisan public charity incorporated in
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7. INCREASES TO
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As of February 1, 2008, the U.S.
Government increased fees for certain
Effective February 1, 2008, passport
applicants who are
Please refer to the Department of
State’s website at www.travel.state.gov for
complete information on all new requirements, including downloadable revised
forms that must be used as of February 1.
Also please see the U.S. Embassy's website at www.asktheconsul.org for complete
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8. VISA RULES FOR FOREIGN
INSTRUCTORS
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The Korean Ministry of Justice
announced that as of December 15, 2007, foreigners will have to submit medical
and criminal background checks when applying for a visa to become a foreign
language teacher in
As we understand the new
requirements, E-2 visa applicants who are
As we receive updated information on
the Korean visa requirements, we will post it on our website. The U.S. Embassy website will also continue
to be the best source of information about the services that we are able to
provide under
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9. RECENT TRAVEL WARNINGS AND TRAVEL
ALERTS
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The U.S. Department of State has
recently issued travel warnings or public announcements for the following
countries and regions:
Timor-Leste 02/15/2008
For additional information about
these travel warnings and alerts, click on this link:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html
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10. EMBASSY CONTACT INFORMATION
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American Citizen Services
32, Sejongno,
Jongno-gu
- or -
American Citizen Services
Unit #15550
Tel: 02-397-4114
Fax: 02-397-4101
DSN: 721-4114
English: http://www.asktheconsul.org/
Korean: http://www.usavisas.org/
E-mail: seoul_acs@state.gov