I'm from Canada, but I spend most summers and christmas holidays in
California under a visa waiver. I want to open a bank account here and
obtain a california driver's license (I was pulled over a given a ticket
for only having an Alberta license, despite repeatedly explaining that
I'm not a resident of California - although I did purchase the car in
California, so its registered there). I have been told I can do these
things with an ITIN. I called the IRS for over 50 minutes and the 4th
representative just read the W-7 form to me.



Does anyone know if I can apply for an ITIN under these circumstances?



Also, as a side note, why would one need an ITIN to file a tax return if
they were not eligible to work (and thus not eligible for a SSN)??



Thanks in advance for your help!


--
Posted via http://britishexpats.com

S B <s_brook.nothere@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca> wrote in message news:<3F343EF3.9F746154@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca>...
First, it's no wonder that you got a ticket, and quite rightly so, because your car registration, if it's in your name, says very clearly that you are a resident of California, even if your DL is an Alberta license. In buying and registering that car in California, you are declaring yourself resident of California, therefore your DL must be from California, for which you will forfeit your Alberta license. An ITIN may not get you a DL. ITINs take MONTHS to get.

That is simply untrue. Car registration is required if the owner of
the vehicle is resident and it is required if the owner of the vehicle
does business in the state and it is espeically required if the car is
garaged there. Years ago I was required to have both NJ and NY plates
on the same vehicle. I did not need a NJ driver license.

The obligation to have a driver license depends on residence. Some
states (Fla.) allow a second license (normally you can only have one
North American license) but mark it "valid only in Florida". If you
don't live in California more than the period specified in the law you
can still drive a California registered vehicle.

As a practical matter you could register the car in a LLC or other
entity. Putting your US property in a LLC has certain tax advantages,
of which the most important is not constituting an element of domicile
(as to which the US law differs from the Canadian) or residence.

And you should plead not guilty to the ticket, and carry around proof
of adcquittal.

TINs should take no time at all. Certain numbers can be obtained
online or by phone by accountants and lawyers. I got one in 10
minutes.

S B <s_brook.nothere@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca> wrote in message news:<3F3D1398.A1ACDE26@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca>...
You said it ... car registration is required if you are resident. Since he bought and registered a car in the state, he declared himself to be resident. Drivers licenses are also required as a result of residence. So because he declared himself resident for the car reg. he clearly needed a CA DL.

Ridiculous. You can't "declare" yourself resident. You are either
resident or you are not. I've bought lots of cars in states where I
wasn't resident, and registered them or not in that state as I chose.
Of course I had benefit of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act,
but even if I hadn't, registering the car would NOT have been a
statement of registration.

And I was a JAG officer trained to deal with this very subject.

Furthermore, it is NOT true that you can only have one license. But
others are SUPPOSED to be endorsed "valid in [Florida] onlyt". Many
states REQUIRE licenses if you stay there longer than X days [30?,
60?, 183?].

Military are, again, exempt.

I carried a Guamanian license for years, and I was only in Guam 11
months.

If a car is used for business in a state (carrying salesman's
samples...) and is not registered there, the driver may be in trouble.
Your mileage may vary on this, To a lot of state, registration is a
TAX, and states guard their tax rights jealously. I have dealt with
many cases of double taxation without relief. Sympathy of a judge is
irrelevant: I've seen the state tax commission appeal if the judge was
"sympathetic" to the point of ignoring the law.

TINs are national now. Last one I got came from Ogden, Utah, prefix
80- . I was calling from NYC.

There is more misinformation on newsgroups than among jailhouse
lawyers.

Oliver wrote: S B <s_brook.nothere@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca> wrote in message news:<3F3D1398.A1ACDE26@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca>... You said it ... car registration is required if you are resident. Since he bought and registered a car in the state, he declared himself to be resident. Drivers licenses are also required as a result of residence. So because he declared himself resident for the car reg. he clearly needed a CA DL. Ridiculous. You can't "declare" yourself resident. You are either resident or you are not. I've bought lots of cars in states where I wasn't resident, and registered them or not in that state as I chose. Of course I had benefit of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act, but even if I hadn't, registering the car would NOT have been a statement of registration. And I was a JAG officer trained to deal with this very subject. Furthermore, it is NOT true that you can only have one license. But others are SUPPOSED to be endorsed "valid in [Florida] onlyt". Many states REQUIRE licenses if you stay there longer than X days [30?, 60?, 183?]. Military are, again, exempt. I carried a Guamanian license for years, and I was only in Guam 11 months. If a car is used for business in a state (carrying salesman's samples...) and is not registered there, the driver may be in trouble. Your mileage may vary on this, To a lot of state, registration is a TAX, and states guard their tax rights jealously. I have dealt with many cases of double taxation without relief. Sympathy of a judge is irrelevant: I've seen the state tax commission appeal if the judge was "sympathetic" to the point of ignoring the law. TINs are national now. Last one I got came from Ogden, Utah, prefix 80- . I was calling from NYC. There is more misinformation on newsgroups than among jailhouse lawyers.

You need to learn the laws.

If the state belongs to the North American Drivers License Compact, they
can only have one license from a participatory state.

Ridiculous ... He's not a resident ... can't be, so he should not be
able to register the car in the USA, but he did. On the basis that he
registered the car, the police have no choice but to charge him with not
having a drivers license. If he gets off on the DL charge then he's
been driving an unregistered car, because it was not legally registered.

ITINs might be national, but applying through some offices are still
ridiculously slow.

S B <s_brook.nothere@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca> wrote in message news:<3F41A0A7.69FAFDFC@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca>... Ridiculous ... He's not a resident ... can't be, so he should not be able to register the car in the USA, but he did. On the basis that he registered the car, the police have no choice but to charge him with not having a drivers license. If he gets off on the DL charge then he's been driving an unregistered car, because it was not legally registered. ITINs might be national, but applying through some offices are still ridiculously slow.

Why shouldn't a non-resident be able to register a car? Should, for
example, foreign students or workers not be able to have cars in the
US? I have even known someone who came as a tourist, bought a cheap
car (<$500), and drove it around the states and sold it before he
left. He must have registered it somehow, getting insurance must have
been the bigger problem.

Eliah Grabbet wrote: S B <s_brook.nothere@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca> wrote in message news:<3F41A0A7.69FAFDFC@not.here.for.spam.att.canada.ca>... Ridiculous ... He's not a resident ... can't be, so he should not be able to register the car in the USA, but he did. On the basis that he registered the car, the police have no choice but to charge him with not having a drivers license. If he gets off on the DL charge then he's been driving an unregistered car, because it was not legally registered. ITINs might be national, but applying through some offices are still ridiculously slow. Why shouldn't a non-resident be able to register a car? Should, for example, foreign students or workers not be able to have cars in the US? I have even known someone who came as a tourist, bought a cheap car (<$500), and drove it around the states and sold it before he left. He must have registered it somehow, getting insurance must have been the bigger problem.

How can you register something when you don't have an address?

Foreign Students and workers do have the ability to be considered
resident albeit temporarily.