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Another problem for young men is that if you are a US Citizen living overseas you must register for selective service.
I believe that is correct based on news clips I've run across.
I do wonder how the USA finds and keeps track of "Accidental Americans" if they never live here; have no business or accounts here, never apply for a USA passport, etc. Say they're born here while mom is on vacation and she takes the child back to "country X" within a couple weeks. The child never returns, never does any business with the USA, has no accounts here, has no USA passport, etc. How would the USA fed gov't even know they exist?
Perhaps the rule could be changed so that if the child is born here and substantially resides here until 18 years old, then they become a citizen? Or something like that? It seems counter-intuitive to make it difficult for "Accidental Americans" to renounce citizenship if they wish or, really, even force it upon them in the first place if they've never even lived here.
Another problem for young men is that if you are a US Citizen living overseas you must register for selective service.
FATCA has a lot to do with it. Every foreign financial institution, including those managing pensions has to examine its customer base and report any Americans it finds. That would include children of US citizens and those folks born in the USA. Whenever you open a bank account for example you have to explicitly state whether or not you are a US citizen.
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If you are a dual citizen living in the country of your other citizenship then fortunately you are exempted. It states that explicitly in our US passports.
DUAL CITIZENSHIP - Dual nationality may hamper efforts to provide protection to dual citizens in the foreign country of their other nationality. Dual citizens who encounter problems abroad, including possible conscription for military service, should contact the nearest US Embassy or consulate.
Dual Nationals
U.S. dual nationals are required by law to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday, regardless of whether they live inside or outside of the U.S. Dual nationals residing outside of the U.S. can register using a foreign address here.
Shouldn't that be an easy box NOT to check? Especially in second world countries? No dog in this fight but just curious.
I just looked in my passport. It says the following
My interpretation of that language is that if I were living in England and HM government try to draft me for service in the armed forces of the UK, I should contact the US embassy. It is not an exemption from US selective service. And I think that interpretation is confirmed by this language from the US Selective Service website
https://www.sss.gov/register/who-needs-to-register/#p1
Doesn't affect either of us, but young men should keep it in mind.
My place of birth, as set forth in my US passport, is also UNITED KINGDOM.
My father was an American sailor. My mother was British. I was born in London. My parents were not married until after my mother and I immigrated to the US a year after my birth. When I was 11 years old, I went to see a United States District Judge, who interviewed me alone in his chambers and then signed a Certificate of Citizenship. So I am a US citizen through operation of law, not by birthright under the Constitution.
FATCA has a lot to do with it. Every foreign financial institution, including those managing pensions has to examine its customer base and report any Americans it finds. That would include children of US citizens and those folks born in the USA. Whenever you open a bank account for example you have to explicitly state whether or not you are a US citizen.
The cheapest way for a bank or brokerage to comply with FATCA is simply to refuse to have any US customers, so many places simply don’t allow USCs to be customers. Even the huge Vanguard UK does not allow USCs as customers. (I expect Fidelity UK is the same). We have had an account at the same UK bank for almost 40 years but when we returned to England and entered a change of address process we had to admit to being USCs and then complete W9s so that our bank can report our accounts to the IRS each year.
It used to be that accounts > $10,000 are reported. Is it still true?
My wife became a permanent resident when we moved back to the US and a citizen a few years later. Everyone helped her study. When the ACA was passed and we went to register at the gov site they asked for her naturalization certificate, and it took me a stressful week to find it.
We went through a similar process with the ACA, I had our Naturalization certificates but the number was in the wrong format for the website! I ending up having to upload a copy and waiting for human verification. At least that was better than when my wife applied for SS from England in 2020 she was told that she had to send her Naturalization Certificate to the US Embassy in London because it had to be viewed “eau naturelle”, an upload would not do. This was during lockdown and the interviewer was calling from home so we waited until the following year before sending the documents to them, sending mine at the same time so I would be registered as a USC for when I apply.
In both cases (ACA and SS) you don’t have to be a citizen to qualify anyway, and why a US passport isn’t sufficient proof is beyond me, and why is being a Naturalized citizen so significant in those situations? We have made clear to our kids to say that they are NOT naturalized citizens whenever they have these types of forms to complete.