I live in Thailand, and I have a US Series I Treasury bond (a paper bond) I want to redeem.  In the US, I would present it in person at my bank and sign it in front of a bank officer.  Worldwide, I can also mail the bond with a completed Form 1522 to the Treasury Dept, and they will deposit the money in my US bank.  However:

 

The form has a section that must be filled out and signed in front of a witness, who must give their name & Title and their "financial institution."  I'm wondering if the US Embassy is acceptable.  Or should I go to some Thai bank for this?  Since I have to mail the bond, I want to be 100% sure I do it right.  No reply from the Treasury Dept.

 

Thanks, John

I found the form and read the instructions but it did was not of much help. (https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav1522.pdf)

I suggest you contact the embassy to get your question answered. The best way is by email. Address is on this page. https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/

I am certain a Thai bank could not do it.

I’ll take a stab and say the embassy is not a “financial institution” and recommend a global financial institution which the treasury should consider reputable like Citibank Central World Branch between Siam and Chit Lom on the sky train. Maybe call Citi first. I’d bet one could fudge the form as the treasury just retains it to cover themselves and have no way or interest verifying the counter signature. Not that I suggest you fudge it, just saying.

Here's a 2008 post on someone did it using TreasuryDirect.  But the $30 charge at the Embassy for a signature is now $50.

 

And here is how the U.S. Embassy in Australia website says how to do it....I can't find a similar page on the U.S. Embassy in Thailand website.

https://au.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/financial-resources/

 

Any U.S. embassy or consulate will provide this service.

 

And it's free!

 

(Ignorant of their own rules, they wanted to charge me when I had this done. If you have the same problem, just tell them to consult 7 FAM 885.)

1 hour ago, taxout said:

Any U.S. embassy or consulate will provide this service.

 

And it's free!

 

(Ignorant of their own rules, they wanted to charge me when I had this done. If you have the same problem, just tell them to consult 7 FAM 885.)

 

Good info.   Snapshot form 7 FAM 885 below.   And then 7 FAM 528 which talks in detail of savings bond repeats no fee...snapshot also below.

https://fam.state.gov/fam/07fam/07fam0880.html

https://fam.state.gov/fam/07fam/07fam0520.html#M528

 

 

 

Paper eh?   I have a US Treasury Direct account as I used to have some I bonds, bought and sold a few T Bills here and there.  I haven't used it in years as I found better investments.  I thought I recalled that all paper bonds, notes, bills, etc have been put in their electronic database and you can access them online. You open an account, enter the information and it pulls up the Note/Bond that you bought?

Ouch.  Reading the other posts, there are a lot of steps.  But it looks like the one firm thing is they only put the money/redemption in a treasury direct account, so that has to be step one.

Is it possible to sell that bond to someone else rather than redeem?

 

Den

23 hours ago, denby45 said:

Is it possible to sell that bond to someone else rather than redeem?

 

Den

No.  With a few exceptions, like death, proper inheritance and beneficiary, etc. 

How to Sell Savings Bonds Before They Have Matured

https://finance.zacks.com/sell-savings-bonds-before-matured-5922.html   (go to this link for more info...partial quote below0

 

Quote

 

U.S. savings bonds are nontransferable securities, so you can’t sell them on the market the way you sell negotiable bonds. However, you can redeem both Series EE and Series I savings bonds before they mature. In practice, this amounts to selling the bonds back to the government for their full value, plus accumulated interest.

Terms and Conditions

Every savings bond is registered to a specific owner or co-owners. Only a bond’s registered owner can sell it back to the Bureau of the Public Debt, which is the agency that issues savings bonds. The only exception is someone who inherits savings bonds. You can’t redeem a savings bond for one year after you purchase it, except in cases of economic hardship. When you cash in savings bonds less than five years after purchase, you forfeit three months interest as a penalty. After the five-year mark, you can redeem the bonds anytime without any restriction or penalty.