IRS London

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office at the Embassy in London will be closed on the 25th August 2010.

More information on the services offered by IRS London is available from the Embassy website.

On Tuesday, August 10, 2010 Georgia will hold general primary runoff elections for various federal, state, and local offices. In order to see what offices may be included in the runoff for your voting jurisdiction, you may access a sample ballot through the Georgia Secretary of State website at: www.sos.georgia.gov/MVP.

Use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). You can use the state write-in ballot you received for the August 10 election if you still have it, or you can use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). Complete and return the FWAB as soon as possible; this is a very compressed election timeline and time is already very short. The form and instructions on completing the FWAB are available at www.fvap.gov.

All States, Three Territories and the District of Columbia will hold General Elections on November 2, 2010. Puerto Rico will not be holding an election this cycle.

Register and Request Your Ballot Now!
All members of the U.S. Uniformed Services, their family members and citizens residing outside the U.S. who have not registered or requested an absentee ballot this year, should do so as soon as possible. To register or request an absentee ballot use the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).

It’s quick and easy. Go to www.fvap.gov and get started! Follow the prompts to register and request an absentee ballot for the November 2, 2010 election. Some States allow submitting the FPCA by email or fax in addition to regular mail. The instructions will tell you how to fax or email the form. FVAP recommends you use these options. If you don’t have access to the internet to fill out the FPCA online, get a copy from your military Unit or Installation Voting Assistance Officer, or from your nearest US Embassy or Consulate.

Send your FPCA to your election office NOW to ensure you have enough time to receive, vote, and return the ballot!

Additional information
For more information, visit FVAP at: www.fvap.gov.

On Saturday, August 28, 2010 West Virginia will hold a special primary election to fill the Senatorial vacancy left by the passing of United States Senator Robert C. Byrd. The United States Senate seat represents all counties in the State of West Virginia.

If your voter registration reflects you have declared a specific party, then you may only vote that specific party ballot. Voters registered with no party affiliation or as “independent” must indicate the party for which you would like to receive a ballot.

Voters registering for the first time in West Virginia will need to provide an original voter registration application by the August 9, 2010 voter registration deadline.

Request Your Ballot

If you do not have one on file, you need to fill out an absentee ballot request as soon as possible. The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) ballot application and instructions are available at www.fvap.gov.

George Cohen, The Man who Owned Broadway

Telling the incredible story of one of the pioneers of modern musical theatre, George M.Cohan Tonight! arrives at The New Players Theatre for a strictly limited four week run. As a performer, producer, composer, director, and writer, Cohan was responsible for penning over 50 shows and 500 songs. This award-winning musical biography is written by Chip Deffaa, a song-writer, jazz historian, and writer for The New York Post for over eighteen years. George.M Cohan Tonight! is one of six shows he has written depicting the life and music of the theatrical legend.

More information is available from the Embassy website, here.

Every year American Citizen Services (ACS) at the Embassy in London deal with thousands of requests for assistance from American citizens here in the UK.

• For the 2009 financial year, ACS handled 34,560 passport applications and registered 4,224 Americans born in the UK. ACS assisted families in 234 cases where an American had died in the UK.

• We also helped 1,102 Americans arrested in the United Kingdom, as well as visiting the 206 American citizens currently in jail in England and Wales. Embassy duty officers handled 335 arrest and detention cases outside business hours.

• Our staff spent a total of 6,358 hours answering 12,715 inquiries by phone and though our public email boxes. Embassy staff assisted in 178 cases involving abducted, abused or neglected American children, as well as dealing with 1,603 requests for assistance in locating missing or endangered Americans.

On July 13, 2010 fees for many Consular Services will change including passports, extra passport pages, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA), notarials and other consular services. Please click here for the new schedule of Consular fees that will be implemented on July 13.

Please note that applications by mail for passport renewals or extra passport pages which are received in our office before July 13, 2010 will be processed under the current fee schedule. Any application received on or after July 13, 2010 will be processed under the new fee schedule.

Please follow this link for a a list of FAQs concerning the new fee schedule.

Our new design is part of a revamp of U.S. Embassy websites worldwide. This design change will provide a sleeker and cleaner look as well as offer enhanced navigation and better visual design.

We’re going from this:

to this!

With our new handy nav bar, visitors can find the information they need, quickly and easily. News and Highlights sections will let our visitors know what’s going on, both at the Embassy and in the world. Visitors can search the website, or use our famous A-Z!

So if you need information or assistance, or just want to come take a look, visit the Embassy website at http://london.usembassy.gov

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day is being celebrated on the America Ground in Hastings, East Sussex coast, on Sunday 4 July. In 1820, a group of citizens on the foreshore declared themselves independent and America’s 24th State, raising the American flag.

On this 4 July, the Stars and Stripes will be raised and there will be a special service at Holy Trinity Church (Anglican), a street market, a hog roast barbecue, a music festival, and other attractions such as majorettes, a marching band and a dog show, all taking place in the Town Centre and along the seafront. There will be also be examples of American works of art, as well as a display of America Ground memorabilia in Holy Trinity Church.

More information is available from their website, here.

Taxpayers – both in the US and abroad- have been the victims of “Vishing” (Voice + phishing) scams during the past 18 months. Individuals acting alone (or possibly in groups) are faxing taxpayers bogus IRS documents. Taxpayers are then completing these documents – which contain their PII – and sending them back to these individuals via fax or via email.

These bogus requests/documents have been delivered in several ways:

* Documents are sent directly to the Taxpayer’s fax machine. Individuals are typically instructed to complete a form (e.g., W8-BEN) and fax the requested information to the number provided;
* Sent as an email with or without an attachment to the Taxpayer;
* Individuals may receive other bogus government documents (e.g., IRS tax receipt) by fax or email; normally as part of an elaborate scam that usually involves lottery winnings or a large number of stock shares;

Regardless of the circumstances or method used, this should be reported by sending an email with all attachments to phishing@irs.gov . NOTE: Documents received via direct fax will need to be scanned and sent as an attachment.

If an individual taxpayer is based in the US and has experienced losses, they should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at FTC Complaint Assistance.

If the taxpayer is NOT a US citizen but has been a victim, they should file a complaint at Econsumer.

For more information visit the IRS Newsroom.