Do You Have to Submit Your Passport to Obtain an ITIN

Both my wife and I are overseas. I am a U.S. Citizen. She is in the process of getting the 864 paperwork in order. We have not filed taxes for the last 3 years. We will file joint as married for 2013.
This requires her to get an ITIN. Both of us are concerned about dropping her passport into an envelope and mailing from a foreign country. She might need it in the interim or it could get LOST. Are there any ways around this? Thank you.

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Quoting Toofast4me

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Both my wife and I are overseas. I am a U.S. Citizen. She is in the process of getting the 864 paperwork in order. We have not filed taxes for the last 3 years. We will file joint as married for 2013.
This requires her to get an ITIN. Both of us are concerned about dropping her passport into an envelope and mailing from a foreign country. She might need it in the interim or it could get LOST. Are there any ways around this? Thank you.

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Contact the nearest consulate or embassy and see if they are able to certify a copy of the passport so that you do not have to mail the original. Local IRS offices can certify copies so that originals do not have to be mailed into the ITIN center. Perhaps an embassy/consulate is able to do the same.