ITIN has been a requirement for foreign partners who are subject to reporting and withholding requirements.  And the IRS is just tightening up the validation check for consistency now.

Intuit's previous advice for choosing "Applied For" to circumvent the system was misplaced because that option should really not be chosen unless an application for ITIN was, indeed, in process.

Why would the foreign partner not apply for an ITIN?  Is there no income at all, ECI or FDAP, flowing through from the partnership?