4 ms·

> I have a Romanian passport so it's easy to jump over the pond but I'd love my US residency and all the years I put in to be able to start switching jobs more

> I have a Romanian passport so it's easy to jump over the pond but I'd love my US residency and all the years I put in to be able to start switching jobs more easily. I don't want a ridiculous amount of wealth but I'd love to have a head start and secure financial freedom for my family. That is 100% totally understandable, and is basically the American dream, as you know. No matter what, as soon as you can: After you hold your green card long enough, make sure to naturalize as a United States citizen. A lot of green card holders never bother to become US citizens. I always encourage people I know to do so. But, generally speaking, once you are a citizen, you are a citizen: it can never be taken away from you. We need people like you and your family as US citizens. I would get a lawyer, but many lawyers can be sketchy. My best advice would be to go to the Embassies of Switzerland/France/Germany/Canada/UK/etc. to the US websites' and go to their "legal advice" page. There usually is a PDF list of American lawyers. On there, it will specify their area of practice. Obviously, you want an immigration lawyer. Lawyers can be sketchy, so you need to vet them out for any possible red flags, such as "positive counter-reviews", "any bad reviews", or "painting an overly perfect picture of oneself". If they are involved in commerce associations or any sort of business association (especially if it involves complicated laws or situations), this can be a good sign, as they have to get along with others and just get stuff done in general. From there you make a list of prospective lawyers, email them, and go from there. I would also ask for references, both on a professional level and from actual clients, too.

vecinu 6y ago
It's interesting you say that, I last decided to skip US citizenship due to the fact that the IRS will haunt you for taxes (Double tax treaties, foreign tax credits yeah yeah but it's a hassle) and as mentioned in other replies, being a "US Person" is such a hassle for opening foreign bank or brokerage accounts. I value the point of citizenship and passports but getting the US one seems to be shooting yourself in the foot if you don't ever see yourself moving back to the US. I know for sure if I leave, I'm not planning to retire anywhere in the US so it would be a tough sell to go for citizenship.
- disabled 6y ago
  > It's interesting you say that, I last decided to skip US citizenship due to the fact that the IRS will haunt you for taxes (Double tax treaties, foreign tax credits yeah yeah but it's a hassle) and as mentioned in other replies, being a "US Person" is such a hassle for opening foreign bank or brokerage accounts. Sorry, but this is not true at all. I was being dead serious about suggesting that you might as well naturalize as a United States citizen. You are already liable for US taxes for at least the next 10 years abroad, from the date you have been judicially determined to have abandoned your green card. You do not acquire this status by not fulfilling the requirements of your green card, either: you need to fill out an I-407 form or a Letter of Intent to Abandon Residence Status. Then, at some point, you receive a judicial determination and have to pay taxes for the next 10 years to the US, from that date, while abroad. See: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/visa-green-card-holder-pay-taxes-29639.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/visa-green-card-hold... The worst part is that due to FATCA, they can literally seize your bank accounts that you hold abroad. Anyways, this is a good overview for "playing your cards", with respect to pensions and taxes, while abroad, as a green card holder or an American: https://www.goldinglawyers.com/green-card-holder-foreign-income-2018-u-s-tax-fatca-fbar/ https://www.goldinglawyers.com/green-card-holder-foreign-inc...
  - vecinu 6y ago
    > You are already liable for US taxes for at least the next 10 years abroad, from the date you have been judicially determined to have abandoned your green card. So I can't find this mentioned anywhere in your link or online. That's the first I hear of it, do you have a source? There is an expatriation tax if you've been a GC holder for 8 out of 15 years, which I haven't been so I'm fine to leave without any hassles of worrying about taxes. I don't see the point in US citizenship, I have 2 other strong citizenships that cover all of my needs, unless I decide to stay in the US. It looks like I don't want to stay in the US long enough to make citizenship worth it, right now.
    - disabled 6y ago
      My apologies: I linked the wrong source. But, my info is otherwise correct. What I mentioned does not even have anything to do with the expatriation tax for green card holders. See: https://americansoverseas.org/en/knowledge-centre/when-are-you-a-us-person-for-tax-purposes/green-card-holders/ https://americansoverseas.org/en/knowledge-centre/when-are-y... These are the most important headers to look at: * US Income Tax: How to Relinquish the Green Card * Form I-407 or Letter of Intent to Abandon Resident Status Both of my parents were American accountants, and my father was a CPA. So, I guess I have a different outlook on taxes. I do not see them as a big deal except for the fact that I take paying my taxes very seriously, and obviously I do my best when giving information. I always pay them on time. But, I just look at it like "paying my dues to society", whether or not I actually agree with it--which in this case really does not matter--as it is due, legally. I am just stating this from purely a personal perspective, so please do not be offended. I know we all have different feelings about being taxed, double-taxed, etc. By the way: I am not afraid of renouncing my US citizenship, even though I am culturally American and it would be harder to access my family. The only reason why I do not: I have 2 rare immune-mediated neurological diseases affecting my peripheral nervous system. One of them I nearly died from, and is considered to be very rare, with case reports and small cohorts, at best, in the literature. The disease I have was discovered via National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funds, given to the Mayo Clinic, in the early 2000s. Ultimately, as problematic as the US is, they saved my life, along with the few thousand people diagnosed with this illness worldwide.
eatbitseveryday 6y ago
> But, generally speaking, once you are a citizen, you are a citizen: it can never be taken away from you. We need people like you and your family as US citizens. Naturalized citizens can lose citizenship if it is determined they lied on their application. This is unlike those who inherited citizenship via birth.

vecinu 6y ago

It's interesting you say that, I last decided to skip US citizenship due to the fact that the IRS will haunt you for taxes (Double tax treaties, foreign tax credits yeah yeah but it's a hassle) and as mentioned in other replies, being a "US Person" is such a hassle for opening foreign bank or brokerage accounts. I value the point of citizenship and passports but getting the US one seems to be shooting yourself in the foot if you don't ever see yourself moving back to the US. I know for sure if I leave, I'm not planning to retire anywhere in the US so it would be a tough sell to go for citizenship.

disabled 6y ago
> It's interesting you say that, I last decided to skip US citizenship due to the fact that the IRS will haunt you for taxes (Double tax treaties, foreign tax credits yeah yeah but it's a hassle) and as mentioned in other replies, being a "US Person" is such a hassle for opening foreign bank or brokerage accounts. Sorry, but this is not true at all. I was being dead serious about suggesting that you might as well naturalize as a United States citizen. You are already liable for US taxes for at least the next 10 years abroad, from the date you have been judicially determined to have abandoned your green card. You do not acquire this status by not fulfilling the requirements of your green card, either: you need to fill out an I-407 form or a Letter of Intent to Abandon Residence Status. Then, at some point, you receive a judicial determination and have to pay taxes for the next 10 years to the US, from that date, while abroad. See: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/visa-green-card-holder-pay-taxes-29639.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/visa-green-card-hold... The worst part is that due to FATCA, they can literally seize your bank accounts that you hold abroad. Anyways, this is a good overview for "playing your cards", with respect to pensions and taxes, while abroad, as a green card holder or an American: https://www.goldinglawyers.com/green-card-holder-foreign-income-2018-u-s-tax-fatca-fbar/ https://www.goldinglawyers.com/green-card-holder-foreign-inc...
- vecinu 6y ago
  > You are already liable for US taxes for at least the next 10 years abroad, from the date you have been judicially determined to have abandoned your green card. So I can't find this mentioned anywhere in your link or online. That's the first I hear of it, do you have a source? There is an expatriation tax if you've been a GC holder for 8 out of 15 years, which I haven't been so I'm fine to leave without any hassles of worrying about taxes. I don't see the point in US citizenship, I have 2 other strong citizenships that cover all of my needs, unless I decide to stay in the US. It looks like I don't want to stay in the US long enough to make citizenship worth it, right now.
  - disabled 6y ago
    My apologies: I linked the wrong source. But, my info is otherwise correct. What I mentioned does not even have anything to do with the expatriation tax for green card holders. See: https://americansoverseas.org/en/knowledge-centre/when-are-you-a-us-person-for-tax-purposes/green-card-holders/ https://americansoverseas.org/en/knowledge-centre/when-are-y... These are the most important headers to look at: * US Income Tax: How to Relinquish the Green Card * Form I-407 or Letter of Intent to Abandon Resident Status Both of my parents were American accountants, and my father was a CPA. So, I guess I have a different outlook on taxes. I do not see them as a big deal except for the fact that I take paying my taxes very seriously, and obviously I do my best when giving information. I always pay them on time. But, I just look at it like "paying my dues to society", whether or not I actually agree with it--which in this case really does not matter--as it is due, legally. I am just stating this from purely a personal perspective, so please do not be offended. I know we all have different feelings about being taxed, double-taxed, etc. By the way: I am not afraid of renouncing my US citizenship, even though I am culturally American and it would be harder to access my family. The only reason why I do not: I have 2 rare immune-mediated neurological diseases affecting my peripheral nervous system. One of them I nearly died from, and is considered to be very rare, with case reports and small cohorts, at best, in the literature. The disease I have was discovered via National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funds, given to the Mayo Clinic, in the early 2000s. Ultimately, as problematic as the US is, they saved my life, along with the few thousand people diagnosed with this illness worldwide.

eatbitseveryday 6y ago

> But, generally speaking, once you are a citizen, you are a citizen: it can never be taken away from you. We need people like you and your family as US citizens. Naturalized citizens can lose citizenship if it is determined they lied on their application. This is unlike those who inherited citizenship via birth.