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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I had my consulate appointment last week to relinquish my US citizenship (in Germany). Now it is a waiting game to see when my CLN will arrive. The vice-consul had no idea how long it will take as I am one of the first people to ever relinquish at the consulate and they have no experience with it. He said for renouncers it normally takes about 8 weeks. Out of interest sake, does anyone know what the DoS actually looks at. Do they decide on the relinquishment based only on the materials that the consulate send them or do they look into other records (driving license records, court jury, employment etc.)?
I read this interesting 2013 NY Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/nyregion/making-choice-to-halt-at-door-of-citizenship.html?_r=0) about the fact that as many as 40% of green card holders who could naturalize and take US citizenship don’t among other reasons: “Of those, many may want to apply but are deterred by a variety of reasons, including the $680 application fee….”. So becoming American is still three times less expensive than giving up American citizenship, go figure.
I see that the new edition of the Directory is out, but I noticed some minor errors in the Appendix (pages 214 & 215) re my posting when I received by CLN. I seem to have gotten double listed as relinquishing in Osaka (with is correct but has not been updated to reflect receipt of the CLN) and renouncing in Tokyo (which is not correct).
@ TokyoRose,
Fixed — thank you!
@ pacifica777
Thank you. I tend to doubt wether my info will ever benefit a reader on IB, but I guess there’s always a chance.
If anyone is looking for a very quick turnaround in Canada, according to someone I’ve made acquaintance with on Facebook, the Halifax consulate is offering June appointments. Apparently after a few email exchanges, this gentleman was was recently offered appointments earlier than June 17, but settled on that date because he had loose ends to tie up before going in. He believes it’s only a single appointment, but I would verify with the consulate.
I still need to write up my consulate renunciation report, but for the record, I renounced in Toronto early in January 2015, and received my CLN before the end of March. I was very surprised.
Now just some final paperwork to clear up, and by the middle of next year (sigh) will hopefully be free of this ridiculous process.
Very thankful to all my fellow Brockers!
Oh, another small comment: my name has not yet appeared on the name-and-shame list of renunciations.
Congratulations from me and the many here, OddlyNamed. Fast turn-around for getting your CLN. You are seeing a brighter light at the end of your particular US tunnel. You may have a bit longer wait to be on the coveted *Name and Shame* list — my name took almost two years to appear. Best to you!!!
My sibling and I both just performed our relinquishment at the embassy in Bern, and the time from the first phone call to the actual appointment was only about three weeks. Some interesting notes: The only American I came across was the vice-consul himself. Outside there were two or three members of the Swiss consular protection service, and inside the building security was handled by a private Swiss company. The staff behind the counter were also Swiss, and a British person worked at the till. The staff, by the way, were friendly, helpful and efficient, and even corrected a mistake on my form for me. While I was there, there were four other people that were there for the same reason. One or two appeared to be Swiss, one lady who was in tears, was clearly American, and another had apparently been told years ago she had lost her citizenship , but in fact hadn’t and was now trying to renounce. The staff and vice-consul seemed to confused at her situation, but were trying their best to help.
The meeting was on the whole well organised and efficient, and was over quite quickly. We sat down in a room with about four counters, and another six people entered while we were there. One needed information about his spouse working in Switzerland, another wanted a visa to travel to the US, and everyone else was renouncing. Our name was called up by one of the Swiss staffers, who took our documents, and put them in a file for the vice-consul. Soon afterwards, the friendly vice-consul arrived, and we went through the process, reading and signing the necessary documents. He took the time to explain everything to us, and how we could visit the US in future.
The vice-consul mentioned that relinquishments were quite rare, and he had only done about four of them. Renunciations on the other hand, were running at a rate of about three to five a day, every day. If we assume they work 5 days a week, for an average of 49 weeks a year, that would put the total number for Bern at 735-1225 people a year.
@AJ, thanks for the update re Bern. Interesting figures and show no sign of decreasing since they put the fee up. And congratulations to you both for squeezing in before the $2,.350 fee is extended to relinquishers as well.
@AJ was it four people in total there to renounce or four when you first went in and then another four later on?
@ AJ
Congratulations to you and your sibling. It’s nice to hear the staff were efficient and courteous. Three weeks is very fast and now let’s hope your CLNs come quickly too. Those numbers you estimate from the Bern consulate are exactly what we all have been suspecting. They really are deliberately under-reporting. Based on the number of CLN seekers present when my husband relinquished in Calgary (2014), I’d guess that consulate was processing around 10 per week. Of course I can’t prove it but we should not be left guessing. They know what the true numbers are and they should not be supressing this information.
Another four (but possibly three) came in after us.
…and I guess they can afford to be courteous, they are making about 10’000$ a day on expatriations :-). Not bad for an office of about a half dozen people, they should all get raises.
@AJ, ” and how we could visit the US in future.”
So they did not indicate any future problems in visiting and being a typical Swiss Tourist in the USA?
If yes, thats a nice touch.
No, they didn’t indicate any problems whatsoever. He pointed out esta, a programme for visa wavers, and also explained that if we needed to travel to the US before we receive our CLN, that they would provide us with a passport.
I guess that since we never lived in the US, and haven’t visited in over a decade, it’s pretty clear that our ties to the US are very tenuous.
Hi,
Been waiting 7 months now for CLN. Should I keep waiting or is there a number I can call? Has anyone contacted the consulate or office in Washington to check on CLN time? I thought a while back someone had posted numbers for the Wasnigton office but can’t find that post. Thank you.
In reply to the question about who to contact regarding timing of your cln, I relinquished and contacted the local consulate directly. They followed up and let me know the status. It took 5 months and I called about three months in. Good.luck!
Mine took about 11 months – didn’t think it would ever come but it did.
@ Canadian eh!
Here’s the link to the Dept of State telephone directory. The Division Chiefs for the office that handles CLNs are listed on page 18 of today’s edition, first column, mid-page, under the heading “Office of American Citizens Services (CA/OCS/ACS).”
The Div Chief for Western Hemisphere is Geoffrey Martineau at 202-485-6289
Several people have phoned the Division Chief for their Division at DoS HQ in Washington. They’ve generally been helpful — and generally very helpful in getting fast action if the person’s CLN is taking noticeably longer than that Division’s usual wait time. 7 months isn’t particularly long for Western Hemisphere, so I don’t know if it will help or not, but I can’t see that it could hurt.
There is a also a link to the DOS telephone directory in the Sidebar under “Important Info,” State Dept Forms, Manuals and Contact Info.”
I was recently able to attend an appointment in Montreal. Was told it could take up to a year for the CLN, but often is faster. US passport was kept and will be cancelled and returned with the CLN. Crossing border in the short term can be done with CDN passport and receipt showing payment for the renunciation.
Earlier communication from Quebec City suggested contacting them in early Oct 2015 regarding possible appointment openings.
Best i could get from Ottawa was spring 2016.
@JustGetItDone: I am in Mtl too; would you kindly tell me the amount of time between your request and your appointment? Did you phone or use an online form?
Seven months and still counting …
@Duchesse – I would say get going right away. For much of the year i was told by different posts to wait until the fall to apply. This seems to be an active time and other times they are not doing it at all.
i believe online form is NOT the way to go. I made that error in Ottawa. This is a special appointment and treated differently. If you can get in by phone great, never tried that. You must get specific instructions from them and submit a bunch of forms with lots of info before they will give you an appointment. On the website you can see an email address: montreal-ACS@state.gov
You can try that. I have found that some embassy this just gets you a standard response which will not cover this situation. You will have to get past that to a real person somehow. Phone might be a good way.
Have you sent forms to them? or been in direct contact with a person yet?
Renounced in Frankfurt on October 7th. I tried to get an appointment in Munich but apparently all renouncements in Germany must now be made in Frankfurt. After sending all the necessary documents per e-mail I phoned the consulat and received an appointment within one week. Except for the fee it was painless. The staff and the vice consul were very courteous. I was told that it would take three to six months for the CLN to arrive. I was told that if an emergency comes up and I need to go back to the states for a visit, they will contact the DOS, suspend the process and send me back my passport. When I come back I must return the passport to the consulate and they will notify the DOS to continue (I hope this won’t be necessary).
Is there anyone out there who has renounced in Germany within the last eight to ten months and already received their CLN? It would be interesting to know how long it took.