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
KalC, that’s great work! Can you also save it as an HTML file and/or as a PDF file? That way people who don’t use Word will also be able to read it. Of course, someone who can sign in on the Brock web site will have to install the files and the links to them here.
KalC, is there any way you can upload the file to some place like SmashWords or some other e-book type site? That way anyone who wants it can download it to a reader? Or something like that? Sorry, not techie, so I don’t know the in’s and out’s.
Not a techie either . Right now it is also a PDF file. I wish to remain anonymous so I don’t know how to upload it. I could e-mail it to anyone who knows what to do with it.
My husband says that you can upload a pdf to a website as a pdf and provide a link that will enable people to download it then.
I don’t know if Petros is able to do that here on IBS, but basically that’s all that is required. You can apparently also use Facebook for pdf’s but the file has to be 4mb’s or less.
Hi, KalC,
Thanks for the work you’ve done on this important resource. I maintain the Renunciation & Relinquishment database at Isaac Brock, updating and then uploading by a pdf file. If I email you my contact info, you can email the file to me (perhaps both versions, Word and pdf) and I’ll work on setting up a new resource page (with Petros’ help).
*****
Email bounced back so guess you’ll have to email to Petros: petros@isaacbrocksociety.ca
Thanks again!
Calgary411 Be happy to. There was a typo in my e-mail. i have corrected it. Substitute a k for the second c. ………..kal at gmail dot com. I also sent the file as a pdf to Petros. I can send as a word.doc and pdf to you. to
Right folks, I’m gathering together all the docs I need for the renunciation tomorrow. I have:
US hospital and State Dept of Health birth certificates
British birth certificate issued by the British Consulate in Kansas
UK marriage certificate
Letter dated 1960 from the British Consulate confirming that if my parents took US citizenship they would still continue to be British citizens
Parents’ US citizenship certificates dated 1963
Letter to my mother dated 1968 confirming that I am a dual national and could get a British passport if I wanted to.
Death certificates for both parents
Anything else document-wise I need? I can’t think of anything else useful. I will also have my US and UK passports with me.
I’m not going to bother to fill in the Oath and Statement forms I’ve decided. If they want to charge me $450 then they can do the paperwork!
All the best to you at your appointment tomorrow, Medea. Looks like you have your ducks in a row.
I certainly hope so Calgary411. Trying to anticipate any questions they may ask re the dual national side.
Good luck Medea. Glad to see one more cross over and be relieved of the US status jeopardy.
Thanks badger. I’m hoping that they won’t throw a wobby over the State Dept of Health certificate being a certified copy, that’s my only worry really. I’ve never had an “original”, that’s my original. Mind you, the one from the hospital says it can be used for proving citizenship so that should back up the SDH’s copy.
Good luck Medea! Looks like you are ready. Now head up, shoulders back and go meet your UNmaker (i.e. the UNmaker of your US citizenship). Afterwards, step out into the sunshine (hopefully the sun will shine) and know that you are well on your way to form freedom.
Thanks Em. Just want to get this bit out of the way so I can then sort all the tax side out and finally put an end to the worries about possible loss of bank accounts. Will let you all know how it goes once I’m back home tomorrow.
@Mona,
Sorry so long to reply. I know what you mean about not wanting to close that door on going back to family. But it kind of depends on how change affects one, you know? I have always found that the things I worry about the most, never happen. And that sometimes, it is better not to make a decision based upon unknowns. At first, I couldn’t imagine remaining in Canada if I lost my husband and my son moved to the US. But over time, I realized there is a lot I do have here and it would be better to make the most of that. LIke a said, ‘home is a grey area…..” I would not move back either. I could not afford the health insurance and can’t imagine what work I would find at my age (a few years short of 60). On top of that, I don’t think I could stomach the illusion that everyone there is still under. The rest of the world is much more interesting.
The other thing is, why do you need a US account of any kind to have for a US cheque? Here I can deposit any US funds directly into a Canadian account. I used to have US accts but the service fees were ridiculous esp when it wasn’t necessary. I don’t know if it’s due to a large volume of transactions but in Toronto, it is no problem. I wouldn’t want to file that 1040NR past the one that will accompany the last 1040 and 8854.
My appt is is on Wed. I have the golden ticket. I have the best family who would never move the the USA. Kermit
Thanks for the kind words, @Noble. Hopefully the meetings will go smoothly and will get the CLN without any problems. I’ll feel safer then.
If I deposit a U S. Check in a UK account, it takes several months to clear plus there are high charges.
@em “….Afterwards, step out into the sunshine (hopefully the sun will shine) and know that you are well on your way to form freedom.”
To a kind freedom that founding fathers actually meant it to be!
@medea Good luck, here in the “dütschschwiiz” it looks like it will be a sunny day !! 🙂
@monalisa1776
You could also maintain, for example, a US checking account which pays no interest and therefore there’d be no need to file a 1040NR. Just my 2 cents, which is more than most checking/savings accounts will give you today anyway. 😉
@Not-amused, might be worth looking into. I would like try to also help Calgary with her reports but am going to at least wait till I’ve safely received the CLN and will probably not give exact dates, etc.
I also had the impression that after the finalyear of filing that I would only have to file subssubsequently for 1040-n.r. if my U.S.-sourced income was above the personal exemption amount though this may be incorrect.
I only have a small amount of cash in my American account anyway so it will produce literally just a few cents interest anyway so probably won’t even get a 1099 from it going forward.
Just hope embassy will accept certified copies of my birth and marriage certificates.
@notamused
Unfortunately it’s tricky these days to open a US bank account if you’re not a US resident. Thanks to our old friend the Patriot act many US banks now won’t deal with anyone who doesn’t have a US address, US person or not. Sometimes using a PO box or relative’s address will get round this, but that can have its own drawbacks. Worst case, it might open you up to state taxes. One bright spot though — under the US/UK tax treaty interest from a US bank isn’t taxable to the US, only the UK. So if you can open even an interest paying account, no 1040nr.
I would think you need to convert and inform the US banks of all your US interest, dividends , etc once you get a CLN and file a W-8BEN with the bank? The holding rate is a flat 30% unless there is a tax treaty.
The real problem for me going forward isn’t double taxation as much as expensive accounting fees plus burdensome reporting requirements (plus no financial privacy from what to me is a foreign government ). I just want a life!
Good luck for Wednesday Kermitzii.
Mine went through without problems, just a LOT of waiting time. Got there just before 10am (appointment time) but had to wait 15 minutes before being called to a window. Checking the paperwork, handing over my passports and making the payment took only 10 or so minutes so I was back to waiting again by 1030. Vice Consul didn’t make another appearance until 1110 so a 40 minute wait, and then he dealt with a couple of people before seeing me, even though I had been ahead of them in the processing. Still it was just a question of him reading the Oath, me saying I do, and then signing the Oath and Statement of Understanding and it was done. No questions, no need for all the documents I took with me. At 1120 I was taking the Oath; at 1121 CET I was no longer American. It will be 2-3 months for the CLN to arrive so the Vice Consul said.
The only real hiccup was gaining entry to the embassy. I’d just bought the docs and money/credit card in a small purse with me. I checked that the purse would be okay to bring in before my OH left to do other things around the city while he waited for me and yes, that was okay. So hubby’s disappeared, I’m emptying my pockets and wow no pedometers allowed. It’s a cheapo and you can’t turn it off so the guy had to check with his supervisor about whether they could hold on to it for me – luckily the answer was okay so I was able to collect it again on the way out.
I don’t know if anyone else was renouncing today. Most people were renewing passports, but I did hear the Vice Consul say earlier to a woman that he’d included the form for giving up her green card if that’s what she wanted to do later.
So that side of things is done; now I have to get all the tax stuff done. Won’t that be fun!
Congratulations, Medea!
I know it’s great sense of relief — and it must be especially so with the day-to-day problems USCs have in Switzerland! I’m glad the renunciation went smoothly. Glad you didn’t lose your pedometer, too 🙂
A similar thing happened to me with waiting (at Toronto). I also waited about 40 minutes and they called people who arrived after me — I started to get concerned they had skipped my number, so I asked a guard. He said no worries, it depended on what people were there for and/or who they were seeing or something like that. Then, when they called my number, the meeting itself went really fast.
So glad everything went smoothly, Medea. Thanks for the report.
Good luck for your Wednesday appointment, Kermitzii!