Confirming reports passed on by commenters at the Isaac Brock Society, DiploPundit points to a State Department interim rule just placed on public inspection for printing in tomorrow’s Federal Register, which raises the fee for renunciation of U.S. citizenship (but apparently not relinquishment) to US$2,350, more than twenty times the average level in other high-income countries. As they state:
[D]emand for the service has increased dramatically, consuming far more consular officer time and resources, as reflected in the 2012 Overseas Time Survey and increased workload data. Because the Department believes there is no public benefit or other reason for setting this fee below cost, the Department is increasing this fee to reflect the full cost of providing the service. Therefore the increased fee reflects both the increased cost of the provision of service as well as the determination to now charge the full cost.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality”, while the Expatriation Act of 1868 says that renunciation of citizenship is “a natural and inherent right of all people” and that “any declaration, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officers of this government which restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation, is hereby declared inconsistent with the fundamental principles of this government”.
As of press time, the State Department has not yet commented on whether it sees “public benefit” in other human rights such as freedom of election or freedom of marriage, or whether anyone seriously believes that charging people a month’s salary to get a ballot paper or a marriage certificate would not restrict or impair those rights.
Practical effects
Because this fee hike apparently does not apply to relinquishments, ex-Americans who naturalise in most other countries will still be able to obtain a Certificate of Loss of Nationality from the U.S. government for no more than the cost of taking a day off work and driving or flying halfway across the country to the nearest consulate which isn’t backed up for months with renunciation appointments. (“Most other countries” means those which allow dual citizenship, like Canada and France, or those which forbid dual citizenship but allow new citizens to submit proof of loss of their former citizenship after the naturalisation ceremony, like Japan.)
However, Americans seeking to naturalise in countries which require new citizens to give up their former citizenship before the naturalisation ceremony, like Taiwan, or those who have been foreign citizens for decades or all their lives and never exercised any benefits of U.S. citizenship but now need to acquire a formal CLN (for example because their bank will discriminate against them if they don’t have one), will feel the full impact of the new fee hike, and also have to wait for months or even longer than a year for the State Department to give them a CLN before they can get on with their lives.
What changed?
The State Department has always claimed that processing renunciations has a high cost, but four years ago when they first introduced the renunciation fee, they at least pretended to take a very different attitude to the cost:
The CoSS demonstrated that documenting a U.S. citizen’s renunciation of citizenship is extremely costly, requiring American consular officers overseas to spend substantial amounts of time to accept, process, and adjudicate cases. A new fee of $450 will be established to help defray a portion of the total cost to the U.S. Government of documenting the renunciation of citizenship. While the Department decided to set the fee at $450, this fee represents less than 25 percent of the cost to the U.S. Government. The Department has determined that it must recoup at least a portion of its costs of providing this very costly service but set the fee lower than the cost of service in order to lessen the impact on those who need this service and not discourage the utilization of the service, a development the Department feels would be detrimental to national interests. See 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2).
They also note the per-hour cost they use to calculate the new fee:
The Department previously charged a consular time fee of $231 per hour, per employee. This fee is charged when indicated on the Schedule of Fees or when services are performed away from the office or outside regular business hours. The CoSM estimated that the hourly consular time charge is now lower. Accordingly, the Department is lowering this fee to $135 per hour.
This implies that they take about seventeen employee-hours to process each renunciation (assuming that none of the fee goes to other expenses such as travel or printing). Oddly enough, in their 2012 Paperwork Reduction Act filings on Form DS-4079 (which is filled out by both renunciants and relinquishers), the State Department indicated that the cost for processing the form was just $33 per hour. I don’t understand how these two estimates relate to each other.
To explain the new fee hike, the State Department point to procedures (such as the pointless and repetitive double in-person appointment system) which are required neither by the Immigration and Nationality Act nor the Foreign Affairs Manual, nor used by any other countries:
For example, consular officers must confirm that the potential renunciant fully understands the consequences of renunciation, including losing the right to reside in the United States without documentation as an alien. Other steps include verifying that the renunciant is a U.S. citizen, conducting a minimum of two intensive interviews with the potential renunciant, and reviewing at least three consular systems before administering the oath of renunciation. The final approval of the loss of nationality must be done by law within the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services in Washington, D.C., after which the case is returned to the consular officer overseas for final delivery of the Certificate of Loss of Nationality to the renunciant. These steps further add to the time and labor that must be involved in the process.
As demonstrated by the experience of other countries, the State Department could greatly lower their costs by simplifying their procedures, but apparently such a common-sense step has not occurred to them.
But look on the bright side! 31 USC § 9701 says that “[e]ach charge shall be … based on … (A) the costs to the Government; (B) the value of the service or thing to the recipient; (C) public policy or interest served; and (D) other relevant facts.” Given how valuable a CLN has become these days, imagine how high a fee they could charge for it if they set the price based on its value.
Timeline for fee hike and comments period
The State Department ends with an excuse for why they can’t be bothered to tell us about the fee hike more than two weeks in advance, while keeping renunciants waiting for dozens of times that long to get the CLNs in the first place:
The Department intends to implement this interim final rule, and initiate collection of the fees set forth herein, effective 15 days after publication of this rule in the Federal Register …. The Department is publishing this rule as an interim final rule, with a 60-day provision for post promulgation comments and with an effective date less than 30 days from the date of publication, based on the “good cause” exceptions set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and 553(d)(3). Delaying implementation of this rule would be contrary to the public interest because the fees in this rule fund consular services that are critical to national security, including screening visa applicants.
You have until 4 October to submit a written comment on this rule. I will update this post with a link to the docket page on Regulations.gov once the fee hike is officially published.
The Forbes story got nearly 250 upvotes on /r/worldnews
http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/2ez82i/us_hikes_fee_to_renounce_citizenship_by_422/
And then the moderators removed it
http://www.reddit.com/r/POLITIC/comments/2eva21/us_hikes_fee_to_renounce_citizenship_by_422/ck4mnsr
@ somewhere.
Thank you for the information. This is what the consulate said to me in one of my correspondences yesterday.
THey said that I would have an appointment and then could leave and return later in the same day in order to pay the $450 fee. So hopefully they are not lying to me. Ohhh I would be some choked if that were to happen. The cynic in me is worried about that, but I am going to keep pressing on with this regardless.
Cheers.
@ krackerjack121
Which did you decide on — Mexico or Bahamas? I hope everything goes well for you, whatever you do. You might just be the last escapee to buy your freedom for $450. I completely understand wanting to put your money into a “vacation” rather than the US Treasury. Good luck!
@Eric Lots of misconception that the tax treaty prevents double taxation when it does for earned income, but not for passive income, retirement accounts – and other wealth that those living in another country for a long time build. Also, apparent obliviousness to the onerous nature of the compliance and potential for bankrupting fines.
USD 2,350 to renounce US citizenship is more proof that expats receive nothing from the US government without paying through their noses to get it.
Any services expats receive from embassies or consulates are paid for at abusively high rates which are far more than what citizens from other countries have to pay.
The bottom line is that the US government systematically abuses its citizens abroad and instead of addressing the problem, decides to mug them one more time on the way out the door.
@ EmBee as of yesterday it will be in the Bahamas but if Tijuana comes through and I am able to get it there that will be the one of choice. It is logistically easier for me to get there then it is to get to Nassau. But I am willing to do either. I want to get this done. And now I have my catalyst to do it.
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Hello all,
Thought I would provide a quick update. It looks like I will be heading to the Bahamas. Unless I hear something back today from the folks at Tijuana. It will be a long journey, but I feel well worth it. I guess at least I am going to the Bahamas to renounce and not SIberia or some other cold place like that.
For anyone who is interested. I have also been in contact with the embassy at Hermosillo and they said that they could take people today when I chatted with them on Friday and said that they would do there best to get it done in one visit. So if anyone wants to have a quick renouncation and get there before the price increase they may be an option as well.
Hope all is well with everyone and soon I be freer.
Cheers.
Safe journey, Krackerjack … hope all goes smoothly in the Bahamas (nice destination, for sure). I do hope we have some Mexico residing Americans lurking at the site so they can read your information about Hermosillo … while there’s still time to avoid the fee increase.
Does anyone know why there is such a large fee for renunciation but still no fee for applying for a CLN to document relinquishment of US citizenship? (Not that I’m suggesting there should be a fee for the latter! I don’t think there should be a fee for either one)
My guess is that it has something to do with the fact that relinquishment of US citizenship is automatic if a citizen performs an act such as acquiring citizenship in another country with the intent to relinquish US citizenship, while renunciation is considered to be voluntary. Still, in terms of the time it takes for consular personnel to process the CLN applications, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the two cases.
http://genevalunch.com/2014/08/29/us-jacks-cost-renouncing-citizenship/
US jacks up cost of renouncing citizenship’
August 29, 2014 by Ellen Wallace
“Americans, stay home! Save your government some dollars!”
Both IBS and Maple Sandbox links included in the article.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/02/238420/americans-dropping-their-citizenship.html
McClatchy article, has comments capability
@ AnonAnon,
I’ve no clue at all, but I’ve thought it was likely an oversight, my guess being that the congress was not aware of the word “relinquishment.”
Yes, I agree in terms of time for personnel to process, there does not seem to be much difference between the two. Renunciation may take a little more face-time. Relinquishment may take a bit more time analysing the 4079 and/or a bit more fact-checking (the fact checking seems to be what’s on their own computer system and what they ask the person to provide). Factoring in other behind-the-scenes tasks as well in both cases, I still doubt it takes more than around 2 person-hours total from booking appt to issuance of CLN in either case, unless it’s a complicated relinquishment file, but even there, most aren’t.
Didn’t someone say that Congress would have to approve a fee for relinquishers?
It could be argued that if the US charged a fee for relinquishment it would, in effect, be a fee for taking out citizenship in another country, taking a government position in another country, or serving in another country’s armed forces, which would seem to violate a person’s right to do those things with the intent to relinguish US citizenship. In addition, denying such a person a CLN in the absence of paying a fee would seem to be against the interests of the US itself, since it would leave that person in the same position as a person who had performed one of those acts without the intention to relinquish US citizenship.
It does seem to me that, as others have suggested, a person might be able to avoid the high renunciation fee by publicly swearing allegiance to a non-US country or to a monarch such as Queen Elizabeth with the expressed intention of relinquishing US citizenship. A video of such an act along with a document signed by a non-US government official who witnessed the act could serve as evidence in a subsequent application for a CLN. Considering how high the fee for renunciation is to become, this would be worth a try, especially if it were done by a group of people outside a US consulate and witnessed by an MP, MPP, or city councilor.
.
I am so very glad I paid them their $450.00 in blood money last June.
The ‘reasons’ they gave for the increase were laughable. TWO comprehensive interviews?
Not so much. It took all of 10 minutes to do the interview. What a joke.
This is just a cash grab. I am waiting on my forms from Washington so I can finally have some closure on the whole unpleasant mess. Fortunately, I am a broke widow with a small CPP pension, so I don’t think the IRS is going to be doing anything but wasting time and money by ‘reviewing’ my past taxes. I hope it bores them to death.
Did I come across angry? Mostly frustrated I think. Idiots.
if we were to be able to orgainze a mass public pledge of allegiance in vancouver i have a couple of friends that are councilors where i live and i know that they would be more than happy to witness our oaths for us…….
From the Geneva Lunch article:
“A blogger at Canada’s Maple Sandbox writes that it “seems no one thought of another solution. Make the process easy. Allow it to be done via mail like Canada and many other countries do.”
The Obama administration did in fact think about making the renunciation “process easy.” They thought about how they can make the process NOT easy. That is why it was made so complicated (two meetings, oath etc) to begin with.
The truth is that the US desperately wants to keep its slaves on the plantation. The purpose behind the increased renunciation fee is exactly for that.
@anonanon and mettle….fam says
For an oath or affirmation to be potentially expatriating, it must be meaningful. A meaningful oath is one that is required by a foreign state. Such an oath reflects a transfer of allegiance to a foreign state and/or the abandonment of allegiance to the United States. Gillars v. United States, 182 F.2d 962 (DC 1950). An oath or affirmation will be found to be meaningful only if all four of the following criteria are met:
(1) The oath or affirmation is made to an official of a foreign state authorized to receive the oath or affirmation;
(2) The authorized foreign official in fact does receive the oath or affirmation;
(3) The oath or affirmation is made in a manner that is consistent with the foreign state’s law; and
(4) The making and receipt of the oath or affirmation alters the affiant’s legal status with respect to the foreign state.
My sister just sent me this youtube video – its quite good
This latest abuse makes me think that its time for the victims of all this to stop being victims. The US government doesn’t obey its own laws; why should we?
I believe folks should consider expatriating themselves. How? By appearing in front of a lawyer or a notary, swearing a renunciation oath (or a statement of the relevent facts and intent if its a prior or current relinquishment), signing the papers, and getting the whole business notarized.
Then send a certified copy (along with your US passport if you have one) plus copies of any other documents that might be relevent to State Dept. in DC. Include a cover letter requesting your CLN and return of your cancelled passport by return mail. The cover letter should explain the unreasonable wait times, the travel distance to the nearest Consulate, and the outrageous fee. (Some US stamps in there for return mail would be a nice touch!) There you go, signed, sealed, and delivered. Your originals are kept in a safe place, of course. Take some of the money you saved and contribute to ADCS.
If they started getting thousands of such requests, maybe it might make some waves. Copies of the documents (with personal info deleted) to local Canadian media might generate a few more waves. Copies of all the originals might just satisfy our local banks as the stupidity of the whole sorry mess continues to gain media attention in Canada.
As far as tax compliance and 8854 goes, forget about it. No one cares. Why should we pay exit tax on stuff that was never in the US in the first place? Playing by their rules will never bring finality. Only massive civil disobedience will ever move the needle. The day I became a Canadian, I emailed the Vancouver Consulate, told them I expatriated myself, and requested a CLN. They responded with all the usual rigamarole, of course. Well, screw them. I’m no longer a US citizen and they can’t make me be one. I kept a record of all the correspondence. They never once argued that I didn’t lose my US citizenship that day. I never got a CLN, but the facts speak for themselves.
I guess what I’m saying is its time to get off the merry-go-round. No more Mister Nice Guy! This is a game that cannot be won; it will go on forever. They keep on moving the goalposts.
maz57, I think you are quite correct per relinquishment especially if you don’t plan to travel down there anymore (though I bet you could but the drama of the crossing could be YouTube worthy).
I am going to inform the consulate just prior to my taking the Canadian Oath and have my actions noted and witnessed at the ceremony, hopefully by the citizenship judge and then take the papers to a lawyer to be notarized and PDF the copy to the consulate after.
I have not made up my mind if I will follow up and go to the consulate. I may engage in an email exchange to see what they say should I decide to insist that there is no legal grounds for insisting on a meeting or for the CLN itself, or I may chose to play the game. I like your civil disobedience idea.
It should go further though with Canadians saddled with the dual thing via a parent simply coming up with their own renunciation form (model it after the Canadian one) and filling it in and mailing them all the same week to the US State Department. Notarized, of course.
@ maz57
I heart your spirit. 🙂 The evil Kissinger gave Schubert a CLN almost 40 years ago when he mailed his passport and his DIY statement of renunciation to the State Dept. It should still be just that easy.