I am posting this on behalf of others who are now aware of this alert. It is for readers, especially in BC, Canada, who may want to take into account what we’ve been presented in their planning for either renunciation or relinquishment — so, especially for British Columbia readers, secondarily for those planning to go to other Consulates in Canada. We may all, worldwide, want to be cognizant, sort of a “Buyer Beware”.
A few of us have now discussed the information and I am presenting the words from our intermediary, Schubert:
READERS WHO LIVE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS.This piece of information is contributed through a person wishing to maintain one-remove anonymity (no direct posting to Brock). I have received this information third-hand, but from a source I consider very reliable. (So this is at least two-remove posting. I haven’t personally spoken with the individual reporting this conversation with a Vancouver consulate official or employee.In a telephone conversation with the Vancouver consulate in August 2012, a person at the consulate said that there is deliberate “batching” in the processing of renunciations. When the current batch is completed, priority will be given to other – presumably deferred – tasks for an unspecified period of time. (This perspective may help to explain the recent considerable lengthening of wait for first appointment in Vancouver.)My advice to anyone in BC is, if it’s at all feasible and you want to get a CLN, go to Calgary or maybe Toronto, not Vancouver. They aren’t doing this, as far as we know, and certainly the appointment timings and CLN release information, starkly contrasted with what is going on in Vancouver, supports that assumption.The information isn’t clear on whether this batching occurs with relinquishments as well as renunciations, but as Vancouver (unlike the rest of the planet except the Ottawa embassy) doesn’t seem to make any procedural distinctions in terms of processing the two very different forms of CLN, I suspect they probably also are batching relinquishments.So, I would assume that if you go to Vancouver consulate, your application for either type of CLN could sit in a black hole for a rather long time. Bear that in mind when planning your course of action. I believe if you’ve already made a first appointment or even have had that first meeting, you can still proceed with your process at another consulate, but I don’t know whether that might adversely affect processing in Washington. It shouldn’t, and I do know one person who got the application switched from the embassy to a consulate, but that person hasn’t received the CLN yet so we don’t know for certain that it has no adverse consequences.
*I was going to make a post on this later tonight discussing the Reed Amendment as to how it effects your circumstances and if you ever need to obtain a US hazardous materials truck drivers license(I am doing research as whether Canadian truck drivers who drive hazardous materials across the border need a US hazmat license which renounced citizens cannot get or whether they can just use their Canadian hazmat license).
Mach7, Of course you can relinquish. Your relinquishment date will be the date you became a Canadian citizen. Your 8854 will be filed next year before tax time. Relax. You are almost done. Don’t worry. Your relinquishment is exactly like mine. And you are right: the Reed Amendment explicitly says those who “renounce” their US citizenship. You should not be banned from the United States unless they change the law.
Thanks Petros,
Thats what I thought as well….i have a habbit of second guessing myself sometimes…but when you look at my situation, it actually is sort of the poster boy for relinquishments…lest joining the Military!
I sent you a personal email, but you have answered my question here. Cheers!
This doesn’t have much to do with the discussion, but I thought it was cute and may explain why consulate waits are so long in Vancouver 😉
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/map-how-canadians-and-americans-view-each-other/article4444941/