At Least 6705 Americans Renounced Their U.S. Citizenship in 2020

9 thoughts on “At Least 6705 Americans Renounced Their U.S. Citizenship in 2020”

1. US gov’t been under-reporting true-freedom forever.

   I’m pushing my two children to renounce sooner than later. I missed the info about 18 yrs or I would have pressed then then. Damn.

2. Broken link to the press release in the AEFNJ piece. This is correct:

   https://apnews.com/press-release/newswire/donald-trump-new-york-embassies-north-america-international-relations-2868dcb14461dce85e165b1eccf66f0d

   These Bambridge people are absolute idiots. It’s never about politics. Post-election I would foresee an uptick in renunciations from the wealthy given there’s a perceived risk of estate tax exemptions being lowered, or taxes going up in general.

3. “Expatriation is a right that should not be made difficult.” Expatriation is not an unfettered right. Countries are forbidden by international law to render people stateless; i.e., you can’t be allowed to expatriate if you don’t hold another citizenship. Does the US check this?

4. Renunciation resulting in statelessness is strongly discouraged but not forbidden. I’m aware of a few people who have opted for statelessness (two of them have posted here in previous years) but it’s a really uncommon choice.

   From the State Department Manual:

   7 FAM 1261(g). Renunciation and Statelessness.

   Potential renunciants abroad who do not possess another nationality or a claim to one are nonetheless permitted to renounce U.S. nationality. In doing so the individual becomes stateless, a status that can present severe hardship and is disfavored under international law. You should explain the extreme difficulties that a stateless individual may encounter trying to establish residency in a foreign country or traveling between countries in order to ensure that the individual understands the consequences of statelessness. The ability to own or rent property, work, marry, receive medical or other benefits, and attend school can also be affected. See 7 FAM 1215 for additional information about statelessness. If the individual abroad still desires to proceed with the renunciation, you may proceed.

   7 FAM 1215 Statelessness Resulting from Nationality
   a. Persons who renounce their U.S. citizenship or commit any statutory act of expatriation intending thereby to relinquish such citizenship should understand that, unless they already possess a foreign nationality or are assured of acquiring another nationality shortly after completing their renunciation, they will become stateless and severe hardship to them could result. In the absence of a second nationality, those individuals would become stateless. Even if they possess permanent resident status in a foreign country, they could encounter difficulties continuing to reside there without a nationality.

   b. The U.S. Government generally cannot accord stateless former U.S. nationals the consular assistance that is provided for U.S. citizens and U.S. noncitizen nationals pursuant to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), U.S. statutes and regulations, and customary international law.

   c. Stateless former U.S. nationals may also find it difficult or impossible to travel as they may not be issued a U.S. passport, and would probably not be able to obtain a passport or any other travel document from any country. Further, a person who has renounced U.S. citizenship will be required to apply for a visa to travel to the United States, just as other aliens do. If found ineligible for a visa, he or she could be permanently barred from the United States.

   d. Expatriation will not necessarily prevent a former citizen’s deportation from a foreign country to the United States, nor will it necessarily exempt that person from being prosecuted in the United States for any outstanding criminal charges or held liable for any military obligations or any taxes owed to the United States. The fact that a person has been rendered stateless does not serve to nullify the individual’s expatriation if the renunciation is done voluntarily and with the intention to relinquish U.S. nationality.

   e. In making all these points clear to potentially stateless renunciants, the Department of State will, nevertheless, afford them their right to expatriate. We will accept and approve renunciations of persons who do not already possess another nationality. It should be noted, however, that if a foreign state deports such individuals, he or she may find themselves deported to the United States, the country of their former nationality.

5. The USA (like the majority of the world’s countries) has never acceded to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

6. Its well known that the quarterly renunciation numbers posted in the Federal Register are wildly inaccurate and have been for many years. They’re basically meaningless and its silly to argue that they are an indicator of anything.

   In other news, I was mildly amused to read that Neil Young was finally able to convince the USG that he wasn’t guilty of moral turpitude and has now been granted US citizenship, lol. My guess is that the money he spent on immigration and citizenship lawyers could have payed the fees for tens if not hundreds of renunciants.

7. Neil Young- just another wealthy AMERIcan Order of Canada recipient living in the sunny clims of the US.

8. Wow! I’m surprised anyone managed to renounce last year.

9. After March they didn’t. It’s mostly reporting backlog. There’s generally a huge delay between someone renouncing and turning up on the list (if at all).