Consulate Report Directory (Brockers Describe their Consulate Meetings) and CLN Delivery Time Chart Part 2
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Wonder what really happens at the consulates? Find out in the Isaac Brock Society’s Consulate Report Directory, currently 279 pages of first-hand accounts of renunciation/relinquishment appointments, arranged by consulate location, along with further information and links to the required Dept of State forms and the Dept of State manuals used by the consulates in processing CLN applications, with an appendix containing a timeline chart (booking-meeting-CLN) as reported by consulate location.
The Directory is updated as consulate visit stories are posted on the website.
You can post here or elsewhere on the site (we’ll keep an eye out for them). Some comments may be excerpted or condensed slightly in the consulate reports. The original posts and comments remain on their threads are not edited.
Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences…and keep ’em coming! It’s a new experience for everyone and your information is really helpful.
To change or delete your report in the Directory, you can post the change as a comment on this thread or e-mail Pacifica@isaacbrocksociety.ca
Click here for the Consulate Report Directory
Notes:
Consulates are listed alphabetically by country and the Directory’s table of contents links to each section (they don’t look like links, but they are.)
This thread is a continuation of Consulate Report Directory Part 1, which contains earlier discussion on this topic, 929 comments from its inception in March 2012 through February 2013.
To Book an Appointment and/or Request Information from your Local Consulate:
This post by Eric, Almost No US Citizenship Renunciation Appointments Left During 2016 in Dublin, contains a chart of links to the consulates’ website pages on renunciation/relinquishment, for info on booking appointments and/or requesting information at your location. (The title highlights Dublin, but the charts, article and discussion cover consulates around the world.)
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Has anyone commented on what happens to people who became duals after 2008 and want to renouce or relinquish before they have filed 5 years of taxes? It seems that some lawyers are suggesting entering the streamlined program filing back 3 years and waiting 2 more years to relinquish. What happens though if you find out you don’t qualify for the streamlined program?
@downtherabbithole
I think that sounds like rubbish. First of all, if one is already dual, how would they actually relinquish 2 yrs after the fact (I think it is a bit different as compared to those who understood they would lose US citizenship by becoming CDN years ago). The streamlined program is not straightforward – have you seen the 20 questions? I don’t think it is necessarily a “safe” thing to do.
I don’t know anything about your financial situation but if you are a minnow and can do a quiet disclosure (like so many have), why not just file how ever many earlier years to fill in the difference? Example, one becomes dual in 2010. You file 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and renounce this year. Does this make sense?
My sibling and I are actually doing just that. We entered the streamlined program before Christmas, and we’ve now each received a small tax refund. Soon we’ll be filling for a fourth year, and we might then backfile top have 5 years and be able to renounce. I don’t know how different it would have been had we simply backfiled.
I renounced at Halifax today. Very straightforward and easy.
Earlier this year I had emailed the consulate and was told when I am ready to fill out the forms they attached (4079, 4080, and another minor form) and fax or email it back with my US and Canadian documents and passports, and they would call me to arrange an appoitment. On Sunday, March 10, I emailed them in, using the versions of the 4079 and 4080 that I had been mailed a couple years ago when i first inquired The next day I received an email saying my documents were not the most recent ones. The 4079 had been updated, and they needed the newer form completed. I could see very little change, but I redid the document and sent it in. The next day I got a phone call, asking if ,since I live in halifax, I would like an appointment for March 18. She also said she had to ask me (so as to avoid having to have a second appointment) whether i understood the implications of what i was doing and understood I would subsequently have to cross the border on my Canadian passport. I told her i understood and had thought about it a lot and was sure about my decision.
I arrived at the Consulate 15 min ahead of my appointment. There was a BIG sign outside the door stating that if you had any of a list of things you would be denied entry to the office. The list included not only the usual things (guns, explosives, knives, cell phones, computers) but also automatic car door openers. You ring a buzzer and a receptionist comes out to talk to you. I said I hadn’t realized about the car door openers and I had forgotten to take my tablet out of my handbag. But she let me in and said she had to put my bag through the scanner (like at the airport) and look inside. Then she said she had to hold the electronics for me behind her desk, which was fine with me. Later on, she appears to have done the same thing with a cigarette lighter that another person brought in.
I was asked to sit in a chair where I waited until i was called to the “cashier” window. I passes her my documents and sat again for a while. Then I was called up to pay my $450 and then i sat for a while again. Then i was called into a little partial cubicle where a friendly young man (presumably the consul) gave me my receipt and passed me the renunciation document to sign I had to read it all aloud to him and sign it. He asked several times if I had any questions. He said he expected the CLN would be sent to me in 2-3 months, although it might be longer. Last year, he said, it was taking almost a year but they were getting faster.
That was it. I was in and out of there in a little over an hour, but most of time I was just waiting. Having.
Congratulations, Canuck Doc!
Thanks very much for your detailed report. I’ll add it to the directory this evening or tomorrow. Halifax sounds very sensible and organised and nice to deal with. Glad it went well. Enjoy!
Thanks, CanuckDoc, for our ninth Halifax report. Glad it was an easy process for you and only one appointment. Sincere congratulations and thanks, too, for your recent submission to the House Ways and Means Committee on Tax Reform. It goes without saying, but will anyway — you are a valuable contributor for this site and the concerns it represents. (I’ve just updated the Halifax portion of the Relinquish and Renounce database with your information.)
@ CanuckDoc
Well I just knew Halifax would be pretty easy going for you but still you must be relieved to have that behind you. Since I haven’t flown since the saner 90s I have never had to deal with that type of security. Yuck! It would rattle me but then we suckers with long expired green cards (mine is gone now) cannot renounce obviously so there’s no need for us to enter a US consulate. Renunciation is a privilege given only to actual US citizens. Sometimes, in my feistier moments, I’ve felt it might feel good to give them a piece of my mind, denounce my assigned US personhood, if you will. Then again, I could manage a denunciation on paper but in person? Not likely. Anyway congratulations to you!
CanuckDoc. Congrats on your submission to the Congress’s tax committee hearings. Very well said. Would you consider posting a copy?
@canuckDoc,
Congratulations,
I wonder if the Halifax consulate could give lessons to the Vancouver Consulate!!
@ CanuckDoc, Great News!! Congratulations
@CanuckDoc,
I echo all the congratulations as well as the fact that your submission was excellent!
America is supposed to be the land of the free. Below I wonder what they want to know about my wife who is totally Canadian.
From: Vancouver, ACS Department [vancouveracs@state.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 3:20 PM
To: Ritland, Kermit
Subject: Your loss of nationality case at the US Consulate
Mr. Ritland,
Thank you for submitting your documentation for your loss of nationality case. We have reviewed your file and you are ready to proceed with your final interview at the U.S. Consulate. Your final appointment is Friday, September 6, 2013 @ 12 noon.
On the day of your appointment, please bring the following original documents with you:
· U.S. passport issued 2007
· Canadian passport (VALID)
· Canadian Certificate of Citizenship with the date you acquired Canadian citizenship, if available.
· U.S. birth certificate filed within one year and showing parentage, if available.
· Civil marriage certificate (not marriage license but actual certificate filed with local authorities) or other evidence of name change from Beavin to Bavelas. If you are not sure if the marriage certificate you have is sufficient, please feel free to scan and email a copy in response to this email.
· Please purchase and bring a pre-paid, self-addressed Canada Post Xpresspost Envelope (241mm x 318mm in size). If the certificate of loss of nationality is to be sent to a British Columbia address, you should purchase a “Regional” envelope. For other locations, please consult with Canada Post.
Please plan to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment time to clear security. Mobile phones, liquids, food, electronic devices, large bags, oils, aerosols, pump sprays, lotions, powders of any kind, and many other items are not allowed in the Consulate. There are no storage facilities and you will not be allowed to enter if you are carrying these items. For a full list of prohibited items, please see: http://canada.usembassy.gov/visas/consulates/security-procedures.html.
Please respond to this email to request your appointment or for any questions you might have.
Regards,
American Citizen Services Unit
We have a confirmed appointment at the Calgary consulate for April 17 at 10 am. They have sent no instructions. We booked it on-line in early March. It is for relinquishment but we did not tell them that. Is it necessary to e-mail them to advise the purpose of the appointment and get further instructions. We want to do this in one visit. Thanks
@Joe Zinga,
I believe it has been posted on this site by others that the Calgary consulate does things differently. You need to email them directly, rather than booking it through the online appointment calendar. I think that Lagoon had to rebook his appointment. They then know the purpose of the appointment; inform you what you need to bring and can then do it all in the one appointment.
@Joe Zinga
I would definitely inform the Calgary consulate that your appointment is for a relinquishment. It’s my understanding that they only do renunciations/relinquishments on certain days. I think someone else (Lagoon?) ran into a situation in Calgary where his appointment had to be re-scheduled because it had been booked through the wrong channels.
Regarding your inquiries about documents required (posted on another thread), I relinquished in Calgary last fall and the only things they asked for were birth certificate, and proof of Canadian citizenship for which I provided my passport and Canadian citizenship certificate. I have never had an American passport but you would have to take that if you have it. I took along every document I could think of, just in case and if I were you I would do the same because you just never know what wrinkles you might run into. Of course, fill in Form 4079 ahead of time and take your accompanying letter if you are providing one. I received my CLN in 3 1/2 months. Good luck!
hijacked and tiger are correct, Joe Zinga. I would think it better to advise your Calgary appointment is for relinquishment by email: Calgary-ACS@state.gov, sending in all requested documentation by email beforehand, than to get there and find they cannot take accommodate your appointment. Calgary does work differently. My husband, myself and my daughter renounced there and corresponded by email beforehand. All documentation was ready to go when we were actually there for our appointment and it went smoothly, efficiently, respectfully.
Well, I’ve completed my second appointment for relinquishment at Vancouver. I was originally scheduled for June but they apparently had some cancellations and I got bumped up. I arrived 40 minutes early (30 min. is requested) and was immediately sent upstairs after the usual security scan. I went straight to a wicket to present my ID and then they sent me to a private waiting room with magazines, tv, computer, and couches. The rest of humanity, and there was a bunch of them, lined the hallways in stiff chairs. Presumably they were there for visas. No one else was in my waiting room and I was promptly called back to review and sign the documents. The staff were very courteous and thorough, checking the documents carefully to make sure no one missed signatures, dates, stamps, etc. The whole process took about 40 minutes, so I was out the door at about the very time my appointment was supposed to begin. The CLN should be ready in about 3 – 4 months.
Many thanks to all the Brockers who have bared their complicated lives and offered encouragement for the journey. I don’t think I could have done it without you.
While I live on the border, I haven’t been south in quite some time. I’m thinking about crossing before I get my CLN. I can’t see any real problems with that. Its not like I have to worry about missing a flight.
@dawid
CongratulTions on completing the 2nd appointment. Happy it went well.
My 2nd appointment at Vancouver consulate is tomorrow. It was originally scheduled for October.
@Congratulations, Dawid!! They also told me that I’d have about a three or four month wait for my CLN to arrive.
@Tiger
Hope you have a very happy expatriation!
Yea, Dawid. Congratulations on having your Vancouver appointment moved up for another relinquishment! Thanks so much for your report (and thus encouragement for tiger going for her second appointment today!). Your report definitely is part of the information that will help others make their decisions regarding expatriation and knowing what to expect in Vancouver. We all need each other for such information and support. Personally and as part of Isaac Brock, I’m so happy that this second appointment is now completed for you.
May that CLN arrive sooner rather than later. (…and you’ll be fine crossing the border before you get it — they should have your reliquishment information at the border.)
@Dawid,
Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your report on your relinquishment. I’m so glad Vancouver finally completed your process cause it’s been about a year, really a ridiculous wait time, (and you’ve not even been a USC for decades, as I recall). Very frustrating. Really glad to hear it’s over!
Re the border. No one has written of having any problems with crossing in the time between filing for the CLN and receiving it. Also, apparently the fact it’s been applied for is also in a database DHS uses. Schubert did a post on Border Crossing on Maple Sandbox and wrote in it that his wife was told by the vice consul at her interview that “her CLN file is now on the State Department website and is accessible to DHS staff at the border.”
At last, my second appointment at the Vancouver consulate is finished. And I must admit that when I left there today, I felt ever so much better than when I was at my first appointment, last September.
Afraid to be even a bit late, I arrived at the consulate approximately 90 minutes early so I went for a walk to burn off energy and calm myself down. It always works. Unlike the appointment last fall, there was no line-up outside to go through security. My guess is there are no appointments on Fridays for visas as that was the bulk of the line-up last September. Also, after I was admited and went through security (both inside and outside the building), I realized that in the “Visa” waiting area, there were no people waiting.
I went to a window to ‘check-in’ and was then told to wait in a waiting room for “American Citizen Services”. There were several families with young children already waiting in this area – I assume for passport applications.
Finally after about 30 minutes, my number was called and I went to a wicket and met with the same woman, who I had seen last September. She went over everything with me again, photocopied my documents (again), told me that the process had been speeded up and was now taking approximately 3 months rather than one year. After organizing all the documentation, Form DS4079 and DS4081 in a particular order (she said the consul liked the documents in a certain order), she went to see if the ACS, Chief, Mr. Bunt was ready to see me. Unfortunately he was with another person and I was asked to wait. After about 20 minutes, he called me up to his wicket.
He said he realized that I was most likely aware of the consequences of my actions, he was required to discuss them with me. He asked if my intent 40+ years ago, upon my naturalization in Canada, was to relinquish my U.S. citizenship. Also, asked if the expatriating act had been performed voluntarily. Of course, I said yes. He then also talked about potential tax obligations and said he needed to go over all the consequences with me.
He was most professional and polite as was Maria, the clerk. All the documents were signed and I was then able to leave – approximately 1 1/2 hours after I was admitted.
At this moment, I have to say that I am exhausted. However, I have no doubt that after a good night’s sleep, I will be feeling so good. To finally have this behind me – Yes, I know I still need to wait for the document, but just knowing that I should never again have to enter that building almost makes me euphoric.
Dear tiger,
Your updated information is now enshrined in the Relinquishment and Renunciation database. So happy for you!!!
CONGRATULATIONS, TIGER!!!
This is the report I’ve been waiting for! I am so happy! What a ridiculous journey you had with bureaucracy to get to the end of the road. Now, you’re officially who you always were. Congratulations!!!