Thread: Citizenship
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Old 06-27-2008, 02:53 PM
Shoonra Shoonra is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Maryland
Posts: 2,701
I found that the US Dept of State has issued a fact sheet for Americans considering renouncing their US citizenship:

http://travel.state.gove/law/citizen...html?css=print

Among the important information in that fact sheet is that 18 USC §1481(a)(5) specifies that
Quote:
A person wishing to renounce his or her U.S. citizenship must voluntarily and with intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship:
1. appear in person before a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer,
2. in a foreign country (normally at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate); and
3. sign an oath of renunciation.

Renunciations that do not meet the conditions described above have no legal effect. .... Americans cannot effectively renounce their citizenship by mail ... or while in the United States. ....

A person who wants to renounce U.S. citizenship cannot decide to retain some of the privileges of citizenship, as this would be logically inconsistent with the concept of renunciation. ....

[T]he fact that a person has renounced U.S. citizenship may have no effect whatsoever on his her U.S. tax or military service obligations.... In addition, the act of renouncing U.S. citizenship will not allow persons to avoid possible prosecution for crimes which they may have committed in the United States, or escape the repayment of financial obligations previously incurred in the United States or incurred as United States citizens abroad. ...

Finally, those contemplating a renunciation of U.S. citizeship should understand that the act is {generally} irrevocable. .....
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