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What benefits do you think we're getting when we live overseas? Having to fill out a lot more tax forms? Getting charged $50/document you need notarized at th

What benefits do you think we're getting when we live overseas? Having to fill out a lot more tax forms? Getting charged $50/document you need notarized at the embassy because they're the only option available if you're not in the US? And if you do decide to renounce your citizenship, they charge you $450 just to do that! Trust me, unless you're very well connected, you're not getting any benefits of US citizenship when you live overseas.

vacri 13y ago
Forest for the trees. I met a triple Dutch/UK/American citizen. Sounded English, self-identified as Dutch, but always travelled on her US passport (she was a world traveller, big time). Why? Because the US actually does things to support its citizens when they travel in foreign lands, whereas everyone else just gets "well, you were stupid, weren't you". She was quite clear on the point that Americans get more assistance than others do, and she wasn't well-connected in the US (being early-mid 20s European)
- raverbashing 13y ago
  Not sure, but I believe European countries give some support if you're in trouble abroad (read, some bad 3rd world country) Maybe American support is better, depending on the region, do citizens get evacuated to US military bases in case of emergency? (Tsunami, etc?)
  - deerpig 13y ago
    Like I said above, if you're in the news cycle they might help you, if not, then probably no.
- deerpig 13y ago
  Wrong. If you aren't on CNN, they won't lift a finger to help you. About 12 years ago my life was in very real danger, my best friend at the time was the British embassador to the country I was in. He told me if I was a British citizen he could help me and told me to go to the Us Embassy, because that's what they are for. When I went I was interrogated by four guys with buzz cuts and shiny shoes who obviously had no clue about what was happening on the ground outside the embassy walls. I refused to talk until they told me what they could do to help. Finally a woman came in who appealed to my patriotic duty, and finally pushed a piece of paper across the table and told me to write down an address in the States where they could ship my body, saying "it is not the policy of the United States Government to help citizens abroad." I was floored, but finally declined her generous offer and took my chances. Luckily it only cost me a few broken ribs, though one of our offices was firebombed, another partner chopped up with a machette in another part of the country. If you're in trouble abroad, don't hold your breath. Hell, you can't even walk into embassies any longer for citizen services, you have to make an appointment for all citizen services and even then, they still make you wait for half an hour in an empty waiting room with bullet proof glass before they get around to seeing you.
  - ars 13y ago
    "I refused to talk until they told me what they could do to help" That's not exactly the best way to ask for help. You are asking them, not the other way around. "who appealed to my patriotic duty" She appealed to you?? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I suspect your experience is not shared by most people, and has more to do with you than with the US embassy.
  - vacri 13y ago
    I can't speak for the experiences of the woman I met, but she was a British lawyer, and she showed me her passports - the US one was replete with stamps, the other two empty. At least that one person was giving a vote of confidence to the US over the UK and the Netherlands. I met her in Vietnam, and she had a fair few third-world countries in her passport, so it's not like she was travelling only in safe areas, either.
- tallanvor 13y ago
  I'm not sure what assistance your friend felt the US provided that other countries wouldn't have, but many people would disagree. The US doesn't evacuate citizens as readily as other countries, and when they do, they don't do an overly great job of it, they only take you to a nearby safe place at which point you're on your own again, and they charge you to boot. Here are some examples of just how great the US assistance was when evacuating citizens from Libya back in 2011: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/24/134034173/u-s-evacuation-attempt-hits-snags-in-libya http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/24/134034173/u-s... http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/23/us_citizens_evacuating_from_libya_via_ferry http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/23/us_citize...

vacri 13y ago

Forest for the trees. I met a triple Dutch/UK/American citizen. Sounded English, self-identified as Dutch, but always travelled on her US passport (she was a world traveller, big time). Why? Because the US actually does things to support its citizens when they travel in foreign lands, whereas everyone else just gets "well, you were stupid, weren't you". She was quite clear on the point that Americans get more assistance than others do, and she wasn't well-connected in the US (being early-mid 20s European)

raverbashing 13y ago
Not sure, but I believe European countries give some support if you're in trouble abroad (read, some bad 3rd world country) Maybe American support is better, depending on the region, do citizens get evacuated to US military bases in case of emergency? (Tsunami, etc?)
- deerpig 13y ago
  Like I said above, if you're in the news cycle they might help you, if not, then probably no.
deerpig 13y ago
Wrong. If you aren't on CNN, they won't lift a finger to help you. About 12 years ago my life was in very real danger, my best friend at the time was the British embassador to the country I was in. He told me if I was a British citizen he could help me and told me to go to the Us Embassy, because that's what they are for. When I went I was interrogated by four guys with buzz cuts and shiny shoes who obviously had no clue about what was happening on the ground outside the embassy walls. I refused to talk until they told me what they could do to help. Finally a woman came in who appealed to my patriotic duty, and finally pushed a piece of paper across the table and told me to write down an address in the States where they could ship my body, saying "it is not the policy of the United States Government to help citizens abroad." I was floored, but finally declined her generous offer and took my chances. Luckily it only cost me a few broken ribs, though one of our offices was firebombed, another partner chopped up with a machette in another part of the country. If you're in trouble abroad, don't hold your breath. Hell, you can't even walk into embassies any longer for citizen services, you have to make an appointment for all citizen services and even then, they still make you wait for half an hour in an empty waiting room with bullet proof glass before they get around to seeing you.
- ars 13y ago
  "I refused to talk until they told me what they could do to help" That's not exactly the best way to ask for help. You are asking them, not the other way around. "who appealed to my patriotic duty" She appealed to you?? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I suspect your experience is not shared by most people, and has more to do with you than with the US embassy.
- vacri 13y ago
  I can't speak for the experiences of the woman I met, but she was a British lawyer, and she showed me her passports - the US one was replete with stamps, the other two empty. At least that one person was giving a vote of confidence to the US over the UK and the Netherlands. I met her in Vietnam, and she had a fair few third-world countries in her passport, so it's not like she was travelling only in safe areas, either.
tallanvor 13y ago
I'm not sure what assistance your friend felt the US provided that other countries wouldn't have, but many people would disagree. The US doesn't evacuate citizens as readily as other countries, and when they do, they don't do an overly great job of it, they only take you to a nearby safe place at which point you're on your own again, and they charge you to boot. Here are some examples of just how great the US assistance was when evacuating citizens from Libya back in 2011: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/24/134034173/u-s-evacuation-attempt-hits-snags-in-libya http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/24/134034173/u-s... http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/23/us_citizens_evacuating_from_libya_via_ferry http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/23/us_citize...