Renunciation and Relinquishment of United States Citizenship: Discussion thread (Ask your questions) Part Two
Ask your questions about Renunciation and Relinquishment of United States Citizenship and Certificates of Loss of Nationality.
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NB: This discussion is a continuation of an older discussion that became too large for our software to handle well. See Renunciation and Relinquishment of United States Citizenship: Discussion thread (Ask your questions) Part One
Congratulations, Atticus!!! I am so really happy to read this! That long wait was awful, just so wrong.
As you said, “Thank god, this chapter is over.” That’s how I felt when mine arrived — an beautiful sense of relief that my life was back on track, back to reality, back under control, a free person again basically who could live my normal life.
Congratulations!!!!!
Thank you, bubblebustin! I am just going to look forward now. I hope the arrival of my CLN means others who have been waiting longer than one year will soon have theirs as well.
Congratulations, AtticusinCanada!
I’ve “only” been waiting for 6 months. Based on other reports earlier this year, I had in my mind about 10 months, but now I’ll try to revise my expectations for 12+ months.
@AtticusinCanada, CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am so happy for you!!
What a Horrible Long Wait you had, So Glad it is now over!!
YAY!!!!!
@Atticus that’s great news! Congratulations on finally getting your CLN.
Congratulations! I can only imagine how great this feels for you. You know the Calgary Consulate told me at my relinquishment appointment in Aug, 2014 that the CLN would take 6 months. I guess I won’t count on it especially when the Consul recommended that my application not be accepted.
Wonderful news, Atticus. What a feeling! Feel like dancing?
So happy for you and your family.
MAZEL-TOV!!!!!!!
Now go drink a large glass (or two) of sweet wine for finally receiving your “freedom papers”.
@atticus,
Wow! Congratulations. Thank goodness it’s finally over. What a relief.
Atticus,
Late to the party, but I want you to know how happy I am for you. It’s about bloody time you got that piece of paper! Sincere congratulations to the end of a horrible wait for you. I want to thank you for all you have done in this fight — and I know you will continue for others.
My thanks to Pacifica too — the resources she maintains here are invaluable!
You’re all so, so kind and I could never have got through this without your help! What a shocker to have that big envelop waiting in my mail box today.
Oh well, it is a beautiful thing to have this finally over!
I experienced an odd feeling today that I’m no longer used to so it took a while to identify. The way I USED to feel before all this started. Just NORMAL, no anxiety to speak of, no big ups or downs, nothing. Odd, the over whelming main feeling is…normality restored. It will take getting used to again. I thought I’d post this because for those of you still in line you might not expect or even believe you can get back that wonderful blah, day to day feeling. This is something I can and will get used to andn it’s coming for some of you too after a long wait. I expected to feel sad, I guess all my crying happened before this. I feel no different except the weight of the witch hunt is lifted off me. I am going to monitor this thread so I can enjoy the rest of the relief moments posted here when your CLN’s finally arrive. Again, deepest heartfelt thanks to each one of you, especially those I’ve known here for so long.
@AtticusinCanada Congratulations on your CLN! Thank you for expressing your feelings and giving those of us still in this mess some hope. I will look forward to feeling normal again someday.
@AtticusinCanada
Major congratulations! I imagine you’re as light as a feather now.
One quick question, if you don’t mind: If I understand correctly, you had your relinquishment appointment in 2013 to document your 2012 relinquishment. This means you’d have your final year tax filing in 2014 for the 2013 tax year and for form 8854. So, my question is whether you went ahead and filed 8854 (and 2013 returns) without having the CLN in hand, or whether you put off filing 8854 and waited for the CLN.
[Won’t even get into the absolute absurdity of you having to have to wait over a year for the CLN!!!]
TIA.
Hooray @Atticus. So happy to hear of your CLN and the lift it gave. Another one has now crossed the river and rests safely on shore.
@heartsick,
Hang in there. You are not alone.
Yes, tdott I went ahead and filed it and I am done, done, done. I did a few things though that made going ahead and filing somewhat safer for me. First I contacted a professional who has done a ton of these renouncement exit tax forms. She advised me since my back dated CLN would say 2012 to go ahead and file the 8854 for my final year as 2013. She said if there were any issues she would help me sort them out.
The other thing I did was I double and triple checked with the consulate that mine was indeed a relinquishment BEFORE I let consulte send off my documents. I had the officer look everything over and then I asked if she thought they were filled out properly and she said “Yes, they are perfect and yours is a relinquishment but, if you are concerned I will call D.C. while you wait here.” I said that was what I hoped she would do. D.C. told her on the phone with me standing there that mine was indeed a relinquishment and then the officer came back and told me what D.C. had said. I asked her to be sure and document that she had, had it confirmed before they sent off the documents. Not approved but, at least confirmed ahead of time by D.C. so there was a slam dunk case for a relinquishment. I was then told the wait would be four to six months for my CLN. *not quite!*
Anyway, I did not see the sense given the above for me to wait to file my final form as I was pretty confident my CLN was going to say I was no longer a U.S. citizen as of January 2012. Which it does.
They are over worked at the consulate and backed up with these issues now so I have no idea how long it’s going to be for those getting in line currently. Heartsick, keep the faith. It will happen for you, I know it’s HARD. I went a little crazy from time to time during my wait. You’ll get there.
Congrats! I renounced in Jan. 2014 and will be filing 8854 next year. Curious to know whether you were able to complete this form yourself or did you use a professional? I’ve been filing all the “regular” IRS forms by myself for many years. I have declared ALL my income, from all sources (pensions, business income, Registered Retirement Income Plan [RRIF] income), but not always on the correct IRS form. I used the simplest filing method I could. So, I know for an absolute fact that I’ve not filed correctly. (The IRS has never contacted me over all these years, however.) Now, with the 8854 in mind, I’m wondering whether to use a professional and, if I do, will that person want me to re-do some of the forms from past years? I’m eager to get all the loose ends tied up (already have the CLN – hooray!) Thanks for any advice. Wyley
AtticusinCanada, congrats! I am waiting for my Canadian citizenship ceremony and will then apply for a Canadian passport. I have an appt with the US consulate in March, 2014 to relinquish or renounce. I then need to file the 8854 form (sounds like I will need to wait until June, 2015 now). are you able to give me the contact info on the professional who did the renouncement exit form 8854 for you. thank you
Congratulations AtticusinCanada!
It was incredibly sad that you had to wait more than a year for your CLN even though your relinquishment was so straightforward. But at least you now have it and can get on with your life. Enjoy!
Wyley. it should be straightforward to do yourself. You won’t hear from them about this one either.
@lioness I will give you her contact information if you will email me at Atticus in Cananda at gmail dot com.
@Wyley, I could have done it myself but, I used a professional due to the fact that if there were any issues or questions to deal with I wanted someone to go to and someone else keeping a record besides myself. This way if there is any loss of my information this professional has all my records too among other benefits such as knowing the 8854 was done properly and if not I can go back to HER to help straighten it out though I am confident she knew what she was doing.
Wyley, I forgot to mention-the last thing you want to do is redo prior year forms. That would merely f*** things up royally.
Thanks. That sounds like good advice. No need to open a can of worms. It’s just that, after taking a quick look at 8854, I didn’t feel I understood it well enough to fill it out on my own. Guess I should take a closer look.
Thanks very much.
Hi James, I can sympathize with your situation as I was in the same boat. My Canadian only husband established a company and gave me 50 percent ownership when we got married. I have been dual since 1991. We were horrified when we discovered that I had not exited the US properly in 1991. I did attend a Moodys Gartner information meeting and we did end up using their services. It was not cheap but it gave us peace of mind knowing that everything was done properly. If your situation is at all complicated I would suggest not trying to do everything yourself. There are things that can be done with shares that do not trigger Canadian or US tax, and there is also the exchange rate as well as future business tax liabilities in your favor. Believe it or not, getting under the 2 million dollar threshold is maybe more possible than you think. Spending more on expert advice is very hard to do but when you are looking at paying an exit tax on all of your net worth, it may be the cheapest alternative. I wish you the best.