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Most Americans aren't seeing this stuff. You mean most foreign-travelling Americans, who are a minority in comparison to the Americans that don't have a passpo

Most Americans aren't seeing this stuff. You mean most foreign-travelling Americans, who are a minority in comparison to the Americans that don't have a passport, as only 37% hold one [1]. Domestic flights are way less of a pain than international, if only because you don't have to go through Customs. [1]: http://www.theexpeditioner.com/2010/02/17/how-many-americans-have-a-passport-2/ http://www.theexpeditioner.com/2010/02/17/how-many-americans... EDIT: My American wife (I'm British) was the same way. I'm in the process of applying for a Green Card, which means we'll have to go to an INS office and both of us get our fingerprints taken. "Why the hell do they need my fingerprints? There's no way I'm giving them my fingerprints!" "Honey, they take my prints every time I come to the US."

danssig 16y ago
You're trying to get a green card? Do you realize that once you get it you're going to be responsible for filing tax returns as long as you have it, no matter where you actually live and work?
- mdda 16y ago
  This is precisely why I've been repeatedly extending my E-2 visa. Of course, by wanting that freedom, all my payments to US social security are definitely going to waste...
  - danssig 16y ago
    There is no way to claim that back? To be honest with you, I worked in the US for over a decade and I consider everything I paid into SS a waste. If I end up keeping my citizenship (unlikely), by the time I would be able to draw it would probably be $100/mo or something ridiculous. It could easily cost me much more than that in wasted tax dollars before I retire.
- Lewisham 16y ago
  I wasn't aware of that, no, but I don't really have any intention of returning to the UK. I like it here. I get homesick sometimes, but usually it's a combination of childhood nostalgia and watching too much BBC programming. The Britain I see through those rose-tinted glasses is not the Britain that actually exists.

danssig 16y ago

You're trying to get a green card? Do you realize that once you get it you're going to be responsible for filing tax returns as long as you have it, no matter where you actually live and work?

mdda 16y ago
This is precisely why I've been repeatedly extending my E-2 visa. Of course, by wanting that freedom, all my payments to US social security are definitely going to waste...
- danssig 16y ago
  There is no way to claim that back? To be honest with you, I worked in the US for over a decade and I consider everything I paid into SS a waste. If I end up keeping my citizenship (unlikely), by the time I would be able to draw it would probably be $100/mo or something ridiculous. It could easily cost me much more than that in wasted tax dollars before I retire.
Lewisham 16y ago
I wasn't aware of that, no, but I don't really have any intention of returning to the UK. I like it here. I get homesick sometimes, but usually it's a combination of childhood nostalgia and watching too much BBC programming. The Britain I see through those rose-tinted glasses is not the Britain that actually exists.