US Government Changes Citizenship Renunciation Passport Policy After Criticism Helen Burggraf - The Wall Street Journal
go to original March 20, 2015

A bit of good news for U.S. citizens who apply to renounce their citizenship: In the past, they had to relinquish their passports upon announcing their intent to renounce. Now in most cases they can keep their passports until they’re no longer official Americans.

Until recently, “renunciants” were obliged to surrender their passports early in the renunciation process following a “renunciation interview” with an official at a U.S. Embassy. This meant they would not be able to return to the U.S. until the renunciation process was completed, because under U.S. law, Americans cannot travel into the U.S. on another passport, even if they have one.

The U.S. Department of State says the policy change took effect Feb. 24. In a statement, the State Department cautioned that not everyone who begins the renunciation process will be permitted to retain their U.S. passport, but rather, only those who are able to demonstrate “an urgent need to travel to the United States prior to receipt of the approved Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States.”

London-based law firm Withers LLP actively lobbied for the change. “To their credit, they got it, they were fantastic,” said Reaz Jafri, a New York City-based attorney who heads up Withers’ global immigration practice. He cautioned that it may be some time before all U.S. embassies around the world become familiar with the new rule.

The change to the rules governing renunciants’ passports comes at a time when the number of expatriate Americans seeking to renounce their citizenship is at an all-time high. And as we reported, the price of renouncing has recently risen, along with the wait time for renunciation interviews.

Read the rest at The Wall Street Journal

Photo: Reuters

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