How to Renounce/Relinquish
Consulate Report Directory (Brockers Describe their Consulate Meetings) and CLN Delivery Time Chart
Department of State Forms, Procedure Manuals, and Contact Info
Expatriation Date, Form 8854 & Certificate of Loss of Nationality
Important if Relinquishing Act Prior to June 4, 2004
Very important for pre-2004 relinqishers to read, the posts/threads at this link also contain some useful information for those who relinquished after June 4, 2004, or are planning to do so.
Interactions between Department of State and IRS regarding Renunciation/Relinquishment
You can renounce (or apply for a relinquishment-based CLN) if you have not filed taxes. Here’s some general information, with source links, relating to that and the relation between DoS and IRS in the context of renunciation/relinquishment.
IRS Ruling on Relinquishment and Retroactivity, 92-109
Relinquishment and Renunciation Data
The actual “relinquishment and renunciation data” was integrated into the Appendix of the Consulate Report Directory in 2013 (tracking chart of people’s wait times from booking to consulate appointment to receipt of CLN) and is continually updated there. The thread itself , however, has remained open and popular.
Relinquishment by Persons-Born-Dual or Who Naturalised in a Foreign Country as a Minor
Although a person who is already a citizen obviously can’t relinquish by naturalisation, any adult can relinquish by taking employment with a foreign government (or its subdivisions) or by joining the military.
Relinquishment by Naturalisation (INA, s. 349(a)(1)) by Person Born in US to Canadian parents: Cheryl’s Story. Relinquishing act (naturalisation) was her registering her birth abroad with the Canadian government in 1977 when she was an adult.
Cheryl’s detailed story contains information of particular interest to Canadians and general information which may also be useful to those of other countries and those with slightly different fact sets as well.
Reports by Persons who Relinquished US Citizenship Upon Taking Government Employment, Immigration and Nationality Act, s. 349(a)(4)(A)
Self-Documented Relinquishment
The relinquishing act itself causes the citizenship loss. A CLN provides proof of it, but it’s not the only way to prove it.
Estate Matters for Former US Citizens
How the 877A Exit Tax May Apply to your Canadian Assets
This is a series of nine posts on different aspects of the exit tax. Much of it is relevant to persons in all countries.
Almost No US Citizenship Renunciation Appointments Left During 2016 in Dublin
The title highlights Dublin, but this post contains a chart of links to consulate websites’ and their info re renunciation appointments around the world, as well as ongoing discussion of the topic.
It looked like a new crew at the middle of nowhere border station where I normally cross, but this was the first time I crossed since some 20 months ago just before the land border was closed to non-essential travel.
It’s quite possible there’s a new memo out – or that the manual’s been changed.
That’s why I recommend carrying a copy of the Federal Register page referencing former sections of the INA if you are relying on those sections.
CBP like other large organizations periodically issues memos directing employees to be on the watch for particular circumstances. We only know about them when the questions change.
If I am correct in believing that they have to allow entry to a US citizen, why do they spent time trying to persuade people that they really are US citizens?
What is the penalty for using a foreign passport to which you are entitled?
The penalty for using a foreign passport is that by so doing, you have broken the US law that requires you use a US passport. However, since no penalty has been defined for breaking this law, the penalty is not a penalty.
However the penalty could be missing your flight you need to pre-clear US customs and someone decides to be a dick about it and send you in for a long lecture.
The penalty is that the people in line behind you are all delayed while the CBP officer delivers his lecture.
The problem is that most people have never heard of this requirement. The actual crime happened a long time ago, i.e, leaving the US without a US passport. Which, of course, makes no sense if you happen to be a dual who doesn’t live in the US, or someone who has lost US citizenship.
In my case, I moved to Canada long before a passport was required to cross the border, but that doesn’t matter. I still broke the law by leaving the US without a US passport.
Can anyone tell me if it is free to renounce after one’s 18th birthday for 6 months, so between the ages of 18 years and 18 years and 6 months? Thanks, Louise
@ Louise,
AFAIK, Department of State charges $2350 regardless of age. There’s no mention of an exemption for under 18-1/2 in the DoS Procedure Manual for Renunciation.
(@All, if you are aware of a Dept of State exemption for people under 18-1/2 regarding the CLN fee, please let us know with a link.)
There is, however, an IRS exemption from owing exit tax for people between 18 and 18-1/2.
https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8854#en_US_2021_publink100046231 (Near beginning of document under “Who Must File”):
Exit tax kicks in if: (1) a person’s average tax owed (not income) for the 5 years prior to expatriation is $172,000 or more, (2) or their net worth was USD 2,000,000 or more, (3) or they fail to file the exit tax forms. (In reality, when it comes to people who have never been in the US tax system, although like anyone else they’re supposed to file exit forms with IRS, some do and quite a few others don’t. My sense over these past 11 years, FWIW, is that most don’t,)