By DEBORAH KONG

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Ernesto Cuellar filed his taxes this year not just to

report what he made from his $9-an-hour job as a house painter, but also, he

hopes, to speed his path to becoming a legal resident of the United States.

Cuellar submitted his federal return using an increasingly popular tax

number issued by the Internal Revenue Service to people who can't get Social

Security numbers. Many, like Cuellar, are undocumented immigrants, causing

concern among critics of U.S. immigration policy.

``By paying taxes, the government will be able to see that immigrants are

contributing to the economy,'' said Cuellar, 35, who came from Mexico almost

five years ago and now lives in San Francisco. ``That record will hopefully

help me in the future, as proof that I've been complying and filing'' taxes.

The IRS has issued more than 6.8 million of the individual taxpayer

identification numbers since 1996. Last year, it gave out almost 1.5

million, about 58 percent more than in 2000.

The government doesn't track how many undocumented immigrants have been

issued the nine-digit numbers, and officials note that not everyone who

seeks one is undocumented. Some are foreign students or researchers who are

in the country under temporary, legal visas. By law, the agency is barred

from routinely sharing data on taxpayers with federal immigration officials.

At the Midwest Tax Clinic in Chicago, director Salvador Gonzalez said about

150 people have come in and applied for the numbers in the last two years.

Another 1,000 have applied at churches and community centers where the

clinic reaches out to local residents.

``A lot of people, they want to become bona fide taxpayers,'' Gonzalez said.

The tax numbers also are being used for purposes beyond their original

intent, to help people open bank accounts and get driver's licenses in some

states.

That's put the IRS numbers in the middle of a debate over what to do about

the estimated 9 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Advocates say allowing them to get financial services and drive legally

makes communities safer for everyone. But critics argue the tax number just

makes it easier for illegal immigrants, who shouldn't be in the United

States in the first place, to meld into society.

Marti Dinerstein, president of the New York-based public policy firm

Immigration Matters, said the numbers should be used for tax purposes only.

``I really don't think it is a smart thing for local and state governments

to make it easier for illegal immigrants to reside and work and therefore

stay in the United States,'' Dinerstein said. ``It shows a total disrespect

for the laws of the United States.''

About 366,000 returns were filed using individual taxpayer identification

numbers in 2001, according to IRS data from that year, the most recent

information available. People with the tax numbers reported wages of almost

$7 billion and paid almost $305 million in taxes, according to the IRS.

Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank and Washington Mutual already accept the numbers

from people who want to open bank accounts.

``You've got undocumented workers here. Let's face it, they're going to be

here and they take the jobs that no one else wants,'' said Chi Chi Wu, staff

attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. ``If they're going to be here,

we'd rather have them in bank accounts than carrying around a lot of cash

and being targeted for robbery and theft.''

Wu hopes the IRS number will be used in the future to help make more

financial services, such as mortgages or other loans, available to

undocumented immigrants.

Utah, Rhode Island and North Carolina are among the states that accept the

tax number from people applying for driver's licenses, and New Mexico

recently passed a law to accept it starting this summer. Similar proposals

are being considered in California and Illinois.

The number's popularity indicates how the nation's immigration policies have

failed, said Michele Waslin, senior immigration policy analyst at the

National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.

``Really, what banks and state and local governments have had to do is come

up with creative solutions dealing with people who are living in the

community,'' she said.