An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a United States tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for those who need to file a federal tax return but aren't eligible for a Social Security number.
Our Certified Acceptance Agent can verify your supporting documents, which means you only have to send copies to the IRS and can take the originals with you when you leave.

“A Certifying Acceptance Agent is a person who, pursuant to a written agreement with the IRS, is authorized to assist individuals and other foreign persons who do not qualify for a Social Security Number but who still need a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) . The Certifying Acceptance Agent facilitates the application process by reviewing the necessary documents and forwarding the completed forms to IRS.”
Without the assistance of an Acceptance Agent, the original identification documents (usually a passport) must be mailed to IRS and kept there through the whole processing period.

Under the PATH Act, taxpayers who have not used an ITIN on a tax return in the last 3 years must renew their ITIN before filing a 2017 tax return. The renewal period begins October 1, 2017. 
If taxpayers have an expired ITIN, not renewed before filing a tax return next year, they might face a refund delay and be ineligible for certain tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit, until they renew the ITIN.
Certain ITINs will need to be renewed beginning in 2017. Any ITIN that is not used on a federal tax return for three consecutive tax years, either as the ITIN of an individual who files the return or as the ITIN of a dependent included on a return, will expire on December 31 of the third consecutive tax year of nonuse. For example, if an individual applied for and received an ITIN in 2015 that is used in 2015 on the individual’s 2014 federal income tax return, and the individual does not file or is not claimed as a dependent on a tax return in 2016, 2017, and 2018, the ITIN will expire on Dec. 31, 2018. This rule applies to all ITINs regardless of when the ITIN was issued.