As many as 30,000 citizens living abroad have been unable to secure a ‘loss of nationality’ interview during the pandemic

In recent years, Michael has come to regard the United States, the nation of which he has been a citizen all his life, as an abusive parent.

“I can acknowledge my past association with that person while at the same time wanting to keep future association to a minimum,” he said.

Michael – the name is false as he requested anonymity to avoid being inundated with hate mail – found his disaffection with his native country reach crunch point in 2020. The chaotic end of the Donald Trump era combined with the inequities exposed by the Covid pandemic made him despair of being an American.

“Coronavirus made me realize that in the US, if you’re not a member of the moneyed elite you’re left to fend for yourself with virtually no help from the federal government,” he said. “The farcical presidential campaign made me realize that I don’t want to be a member of a society in which my vote is made irrelevant by gerrymandering or the electoral college.”

And so Michael decided to renounce his US citizenship. Having moved to Finland 10 years ago, he would break the ties that officially bound him to a country whose values he no longer recognised.

That’s when Michael’s troubles really began. He discovered that along with thousands of other US citizens living abroad, he was caught in a Kafkaesque trap.

For almost two years, since the pandemic struck in March 2020, most US consular missions around the world have suspended their expatriation services for those wishing to give up US citizenship. The US embassy in London, the largest of its sort in western Europe, announces on its website that it is “currently unable to accept appointments for loss of nationality applications” and is unable to say when services will resume.

The US state department says giving up citizenship requires a face-to-face interview with a government official, and that it is too risky given coronavirus.

Delays have led to a growing mountain of disgruntled citizens. By some calculations, there may be as many as 30,000 people among the 9 million US citizens living abroad who would like to begin the renunciation process but can’t.

Joshua Grant is one of them. He was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, until he moved to Germany when he was 21 to learn the language.

He has been there ever since. He lives in Lower Saxony and married a German citizen last year. Grant, 30, feels ready to acquire German citizenship, but under German law he must let go of his US passport. Easier said than done.

He submitted a pile of paperwork to the US embassy in July 2020. Nothing has happened. He has written emails to the embassy staff, with no reply.

He contacted the office of US senator from Alabama Richard Shelby. They passed him on to the state department, which in turn passed him back to the bureau of consular affairs, which mentioned the pandemic.

“It’s very taxing. My whole life in Germany is on hold,” he said. “It’s funny: people in Germany tend to see the US as a liberal country where the rule of law was established, but I can’t even find anyone in the US government to talk to.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/31/americans-seeking-renounce-citizenship-stuck

I'll unequivocally agree to part with 10mil in a exchange for USA citizenship

wetin dey occur for U.S na
If America falls, the world will be ruined. U.S. of A is the country keeping most excesses in check in this whole damn world

Make we just exchange naw.. Simpu sturvs

Ahmback:
wetin dey occur for U.S na
If America falls, the world will be ruined. U.S. of A is the country keeping most excesses in check in this whole damn world

of which it contributes 50% of the excesses! No?

The problem with their citizenship is that you must pay taxes to the US government even if you no longer live in the US! For a lot of their citizens it is a burden they wish to do away with

USA, a country I'd trade anything to get the citizenship.

Well, different strokes for different folks.

vedaxcool:
The problem with their citizenship is that you must pay taxes to the US government even if you no longer live in the US! For a lot of their citizens it is a burden they wish to do away with

Good point. Furthermore, Uncle Sam reserves the right to seek out bank accounts held in foreign countries by US citizens, so as to tax that income or even impound the content of those offshore bank accounts. This is why Switzerland is very reluctant to welcome Americans who wish to open bank accounts there.

Jakumo:


Good point. Furthermore, Uncle Sam reserves the right to seek out bank accounts held in foreign countries by US citizens, so as to tax that income or even impound the content of those offshore bank accounts. This is why Switzerland is very reluctant to welcome Americans who wish to open bank accounts there.

Gbamsolutely!