US - My 1040X Amended Return from 2021 still not processed - Will this affect my 2022 tax filing?

The good news is that you can still file your 2022 tax return even with a pending amended return from a previous year. The IRS processes current year returns separately from amendments. Here's what I suggest: File your 2022 return normally based on what you originally filed for 2021, not what your amendment would change it to. The reason is that until the IRS processes your amendment, your "official" tax situation is still what was on your original return. Once your amendment is eventually processed, if there are any impacts that would affect your 2022 return, you can file an amendment for 2022 at that time. That said, I would also recommend calling the IRS about your pending 2021 amendment. The normal processing time for amendments used to be 16 weeks, but with COVID backlogs they've been taking much longer. However, 2+ years is excessive even with the delays, and your amendment may be stuck somewhere in the system.

I had a similar issue with my amended return and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which really helped me figure out what was going on. I was stuck in limbo for a long time with my amendment, and their system analyzed my documents and gave me a clear explanation of what was happening with my specific case. They have this feature where they can check if your amendment has any technical issues that might be causing the delay - turns out mine had a simple error on one form that was holding everything up. The tool even created a customized letter I could send to the IRS that referenced the specific regulations for my situation.

I was skeptical about trying another service after dealing with so much IRS frustration, but I finally gave taxr.ai a shot out of desperation. I'm honestly surprised at how helpful it was! The system flagged that my F-1 student tax amendment likely needed special processing due to treaty benefits, which was causing the delay. They showed me exactly what to include in my follow-up communication with the IRS, and specifically told me to request routing to the "International Individual Compliance Unit" instead of general amendments. Within a month of sending their recommended follow-up letter, I finally got movement on my case after it had been sitting for almost 2 years. Wish I'd known about this earlier instead of just checking the "Where's My Amended Return" tool every few days hoping for an update.

If you're tired of waiting and need to speak to an actual human at the IRS, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with an amendment that seemed to be sitting in limbo forever, and I was going crazy trying to get through on the IRS phone lines. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent who was able to look up my amendment status and tell me exactly what was happening. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent I spoke with gave me a specific timeframe for when my amendment would be processed and explained that there was a special review happening due to my international student status.

I was totally wrong about Claimyr being a scam. After waiting 18 months for my amendment to be processed and getting nowhere, I decided I had nothing to lose and tried it. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 2 hours (which is WAY faster than my previous attempts). The agent I spoke with was actually super helpful - she could see that my amended return was stuck in a special processing unit for international students and hadn't been assigned to a reviewer yet. She escalated my case since it had been over a year, and gave me a direct number to call back if I didn't see movement within 30 days. Two weeks later, my "Where's My Amended Return" status finally updated, and I received my refund a month after that. Sometimes you really do need to talk to a human to get things unstuck!

Something to consider is how your amended 2021 return might affect your 2022 filing beyond just the processing wait. If your amendment involves changes to items that carry forward (like education credits, loss carryforwards, or foreign tax credits), you should make sure your 2022 return accurately reflects what WILL be on your amended 2021 return once it's processed. You might want to include a statement with your 2022 return explaining that you have an amendment pending for 2021 and how you're handling any carryover items on your 2022 return. This creates a paper trail showing your good-faith effort to file correctly despite the processing delay.

Has anyone been able to get their amended returns processed faster by visiting an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in person? I've heard mixed things about whether this actually helps or if they just tell you to keep waiting.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation as an international student! Filed incorrectly in 2020 using TurboTax before my 5-year waiting period was up, sent in my 1040X amendment in April 2021, and it's still showing "received" status with no progress. What I've learned from calling the IRS multiple times is that international student amendments often get routed to specialized processing units that have much longer backlogs. The agents I spoke with said these cases require manual review because of treaty benefits and residency status changes, which is why they take so much longer than regular amendments. For your 2022 filing, definitely go ahead and file normally based on your original 2021 return (not the amended version). I did this for my 2021 and 2022 returns while my 2020 amendment was still pending, and it didn't cause any issues. The IRS processes each year separately, so the pending amendment won't block your current year filing. One tip that actually worked for me: when you call the IRS, specifically ask to speak with someone in the "International Individual Processing Unit" rather than general customer service. They're much more knowledgeable about F-1 student tax issues and can give you better information about your case status.