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To view the Consulate General of the United States Hong Kong and Macau, please visit http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/ 

U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau

NEW TOPICS
Stephen M. Young Appointed as New Consul General for Hong Kong and Macau
Passport by Mail Service Coming Soon!
Tax Corner
Re-register to Vote – Don’t Lose the Opportunity to Exercise Your Basic Right!
Upcoming Macau Day: April 28

CONTINUING TOPICS OF INTEREST
Department of State Travel Safety Notices and Updates
Upcoming Closures

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STEPHEN M. YOUNG APPOINTED AS NEW CONSUL GENERAL FOR HONG KONG
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Ambassador Stephen M. Young will assume his responsibilities as Consul General of the United States of America in Hong Kong beginning in March 2010. As Consul General, he will be responsible for the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Region. Please see the Consulate website for more information: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/index.html.
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PASSPORT BY MAIL SERVICE COMING SOON!
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Beginning mid-March, Hong Kong and Macau residents will be able to renew their adult passports and add pages by mailing the application to the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong. This new service will save you time since you will no longer need to physically come into the Consulate to apply. Details on this service will be coming soon and will be posted on our website: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs_passports.html.
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TAX CORNER
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1) Tax information workshops and one-on-one appointments will be held at the Consulate by an IRS representative on March 16 and 17. Please note that the workshops are designed to help with general questions on preparing and filing tax returns. They are not intended or designed for professional income tax practitioners. Workshops will be the same on both days so you do not need to plan to attend both. One-on-one appointments will be scheduled for 15 minutes each. You may request more than one 15 minute slot if you feel you will need more time with the IRS representative; we will confirm whether we can accommodate your request or not based on space availability. Reserve your spot today by emailing This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Tuesday, March 16:
One on one meeting appointments available from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m (16 slots total)
Workshop held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 17:
One on one meeting appointments available from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (16 slots total)
Workshop held from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

2) Federal income tax forms will no longer be provided by the Consulate. All federal tax forms may be downloaded online at: http://www.irs.gov. State tax forms are available on: http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/link/forms.html.

3) Did you know that the IRS has developed several tools to help you this tax season? The brochure 4732, Federal Tax Information for U.S. Taxpayers Living Abroad is available at: .http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4732.pdf. In addition, a “one stop shop” tax page dedicated to helping the overseas taxpayer can be found at: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=97324,00.html. Finally, for routine tax return and preparation questions, you may call the International Taxpayer Help Line in Philadelphia at (215) 516-2000.

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RE-REGISTER TO VOTE – DON’T LOSE YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO EXERCISE YOUR BASIC RIGHT!
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Another federal election year is about to begin. Make sure you take part! Per new regulations, states are no longer required to mail you a ballot for upcoming elections, even if you voted in the last one. The State Department now recommends that all American overseas voters re-register each year. If you have not yet re-registered this year, you may not get a ballot and you may NOT be able to vote. Register at: www.overseasvotefoundation.org or www.fvap.gov.
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UPCOMING MACAU DAY: APRIL 28
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Americans citizens residing in Macau – mark your calendars for the next ACS Macau Day! On Wednesday, April 28, our staff will travel to Macau to provide limited consular services such as notarials, passport processing, birth registration and adding visa pages.

Please refer to our website for fee information for each service: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs.html. Please note that we will only be able to accept credit cards as payment – no cash transactions will be permitted. Customers may pay using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club or Discover card. Customers must present their card at the time of payment and the person whose name is listed on the card must be present to sign the payment slip. All charges will be in U.S. dollars.

Provided that your passport is in good condition, the American Citizens Services unit will also process requests for additional passport pages. In order to have additional pages inserted in your passport in Macau, you must complete and sign the application form (DS-4085) in full. Scan and email or fax the form to our office no later than Friday, April 23. The form is available at http://travel.state.gov/passport/forms/ds4085/ds4085_2662.html. In addition, please send a copy of the biographic page of your passport (the page with your photo) with the application. Our email address is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and our fax number is (852) 2845-4845. Bring the completed application form with your passport to Macau Day, where the additional pages will be added. If we are unable to provide this service to you in Macau, we will notify you in advance of Macau Day and ask you to come in person to the Consulate General in Hong Kong instead.

Services will be available from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music, located at Rua de Santa Clara, No. 19, 2/F, adjacent to City Hall and near Catholic Social Services. Individuals who are physically challenged and/or require special arrangements to access this location may call (852) 2841-2211, 2841-2323 or 2841-2225 in advance to facilitate access.

To enable us to best assist you in Macau:
- Please check our website (http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs.html) for information on what specific identification, forms and supporting documents are required for each service. Download the appropriate forms and bring them with you.
- Please present your U.S. passport for all services.
- Please bring the original and one photocopy of each piece of identification and/or supporting document (such as passports, birth certificates, marriage and divorce certificates, Macau ID cards, etc.).

If you need a service not listed above, please contact us in advance at (852) 2841-2211, 2841-2225, or 2841-2323. We may be able to bring with us what you need for that service. We look forward to seeing you there!

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TRAVEL SAFETY NOTICES AND UPDATES
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The Department of State issued a Warden Message concerning indiscriminate corrosive fluid attacks in Hong Kong. The attacks have taken place in the busy outdoor shopping areas of Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei. For details, please visit the following website: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs_wm2010011501.html.

The Department of State issued a Travel Alert for Malaysia, regarding travel to the eastern Sabah region: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1164.html.

The Department of State issued a Travel Alert for the Philippines, regarding travel to the southern Philippine islands of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4634.html. In addition, the Department also previously released a Travel Warning urging travelers to this region to exercise caution: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2190.html.

The Department of State issued several Travel Alerts for India as follows:
- Changes to visa regulations (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4620.html)
- Civil unrest in Andhra Pradesh (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4614.html)
- Ongoing security concerns (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4624.html)

As you make your travel plans, don’t forget to check www.travel.state.gov for the most current safety and security information. The website also hosts several travel warnings for countries in South and Central Asia including Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.

You may also visit the Consular Affairs twitter page at http://twitter.com/TravelGov.

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UPCOMING CLOSURES
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There are no closures in the month of March. For the month of April, the entire U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau, including the ACS section, will be closed all day in observance of:

Friday, April 2: Good Friday
Monday, April 5, Easter Monday
Tuesday, April 6: The day following Ching Ming Festival

For the most up to date information about the U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau’s business hours, please see the following website: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/hours_holidays.html.
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This newsletter is published by the American Citizens Services Unit, U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau. Tel: 2841-2211, 2841-2323, 2841-2225; fax: 2845-4845; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ; website: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov. All services are by online appointment only. The return address listed above does not accept replies directly from this message.