Originally Posted by fulwood

Hey Trottytrue, You have to do what is best for you and your husband. I just wish you all the best..

Originally Posted by between two worlds

Sorry for all these posts, just adding to say that I think someone who's been married to a USC for nearly 33 years (clearly not a marriage of convenience!) is in a better position than a Brit who was given a green card just because of working in the US--I think even if I were one day deemed to have abandoned my residency status, I should be able to get it back again if we ever wanted to return to the US to live.

Tina

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

When I leave the US it is something I am going to look seriously at. Although the IRS are now taxing people who relinquish US citizenship. Not sure...but I have a feeling they will still have to file tax returns for several years.

Originally Posted by fulwood

Hey Trottytrue, You have to do what is best for you and your husband. I just wish you all the best..

Originally Posted by Mallory

Tina, all manner of things can happen in the future that we never envision. Hypothetically, what if all your children stay in the US, and grandchildren start to come along? Not being morbid, but what if your spouse died? Would it still be easy to get another green card if yours had expired.

What if you fell and broke your hip, and couldn't make these twice yearly visits to the US? Besides which, as you said. when your spouses's ex-pat posting is up, they will be looking at the dates of your travel on the computer, and how much time you actually spend in the US.

Your spouse is USC, so he is obligated to file a tax form to the IRS anyway, and you yourself will receive a social security check at 62, and Medicare part A (free) at 65.

I think it would be a risk not to get citizenship in your particular situation. It's different when both husband and wife are British, and don't have ties to the US. Just food for thought...

Originally Posted by J.JsOH

Our experience was the crowded room ceremony with a few hundred others.
After the ceremony the judge gathered us round for an informal comment; something along the lines of "we know you all still got your non-US passports and we know you going to use them when you visit your country of origin, just be sure to use your US passport when you come and go from the US"

Originally Posted by trottytrue

between two worlds...I am so happy for you being able to finally go home. I wish you all the best. As for becoming a US Citizen like Rodney I did it because I thought it would be best. I have children and grandchildren and you never know what the future holds. At my ceremony the room was crowded with maybe 100 or more people. When it came to saying the oath I just said what was relevant to me and then when it asked to give up your allegiance to your former country I just mouthed it and didnt say it. When parts came up that I found not to my liking I sang "God Save the Queen" in my head. That might seem strange to some UK citizens who dont seem to care about heritage anymore to me it was important. When you don't have it you appreciate it and all that goes with it.

Update on Going Home...

I made a big decision this week. You all know about my illness and now my husbands further illnesses. I had to think really hard about it, if it was just me I would be home in a flash but I cannot do that to my OH he does well when he is in a familiar setting but taking him back to the UK I know would not be good for him. So we went ahead and bought a house. This time I picked and its one that could be easily sold if we needed to. I cannot say I was over the moon in fact I was really sad but I have to keep that to myself. My daughter would be most upset if she thought I was just settling for less than I wanted. But I know I have done the right thing. If in the future I want to go back home I could always rent it out and return home and then when I felt I could no longer live a good life in the UK I would return to the house. Its not far from my daughter so she would be happy with that.

I have promised myself that I will try and become more involved in the community around me and start driving again. Being ill last year made me realized a great many things. Going home would not mean relying on relatives back home because they seem so involved in their own lives they are really not concerned about others. Sad to say but its the truth. So in the end I will have to be able to take care of myself. You know you carry this idilic idea of what its going to be like but it doesnt always turn out that way.

A word on those who are still thinking of moving to the US I think its really important to know who you are and how you would fit in. A good measure is and I know this is silly but when you go on holiday are you pleased to return back to England and all it holds good and bad. I know even when I was in my twenties I enjoyed taking trips but was always pleased to get back home. I never realized how much I loved the place.

Make sure when you are making the choice to move to another country that you are not doing it for the wrong reasons ie..because someone else wants you to go and you dont want to upset them. That sounds silly but it can happen and if prior to getting on that plane you have second thoughts go with them dont keep your mouth shut otherwise you have a lifetime of regrets. I knew even before I left that I didnt want to go but we had sold our house and sent our goods ahead of us I just felt I could not back out.

Make sure your health is not the problem I had just had 3 children and a hysterectomy and later when I asked my doctor in the US about this he told me I should have been told not to make any serious decision for two years after the operation. Wish my doctor in the UK had told me that.

The first year in the US I suffered with awful depression and was put on pills for it. Never mind the pills find out what's causing the trouble and deal with it. Even if it means returning home without OH. Do whats best for you.

I shall continue with updates and am just happy to see those who have waited so long to go home finally getting the chance just make the most of it.

Originally Posted by Englishmum

Hi Tina,

If you give up your green card, yes you can get it back again due to having an American spouse.....but it will be very expensive and time-consuming. It's far easier for you to just get your US citizenship.

I found it a pain in the neck to maintain my green card status after my spouse (who gave up his green card) took up another expat posting in 2008 in Singapore and in mid-2011 transferred to Switzerland. I was spending a few weeks in Singapore then returning to New Jersey for a few weeks etc. although it was much easier once he'd moved to Switzerland (where I currently reside.)

I became a US citizen last August. I sent in my N-400 application on 9th May, had fingerprints taken on 3rd July and became a citizen on 22nd August. So quick!

I file 'nil' tax returns as I don't earn any income in my own right. At my interview the officer, herself a Korean immigrant wasn't at all concerned that I'd spent half of my 5 years qualifying time out of the US; I simply explained to her that due to the economic downturn and the company laying off employees in the US, yet the need to pay our mortgage my spouse had left the US. (We were originally in the US on the L1 & L2 intracompany transfer visas). She asked me if he'd given up his green card and when I said 'yes' she said that as I was going to be a US citizen I could sponsor him back into the USA...

Now at Newark, NJ where I had my citizenship interview and (easy) test, the oath is taken on the same day. We were told that an officer would be scanning the crowd to see if people were saying the oath....I kept my fingers crossed lol! A little old Asian (Filipina?) lady was standing next to me. Her English was poor and some of her words were definitely coming out in another language.. We also had to sing a cheesy country song ('God Bless the USA') to accompany a video of lots of happy smiling patriotic faces of Americans of all creeds and colours...whilst waving the little flags we'd all been given. Yuck...

Oddly enough I attended my son's citizenship ceremony on Sept 11th and no-one was scanning the crowd, neither did they have to sing and it was much more low-key.

Now that I'm a dual national I don't have to keep going back to the US and it's great! I have no plans to reside in the States for the forseeable future and I don't feel 'American' at all, but we do have a house there which our son is living in. It's good to know that if he eventually has a family of his own that I can go on extended visits rather than going in on visa-waivers etc.

Btw you do have to list on the citizenship application form all the trips (including duration) of each journey you have made out of the USA before applying.

Here's how to apply for US citizenship and I honestly think you should go for it.....as someone else mentioned, you could 'mouth' the words when you take the oath if you are concerned about it, although in any case the British govt. doesn't recognise it and it does not compromise your British citizenship in any way....the only way for you to lose it is to make a formal declaration in front of a British consular officer:

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resources/B3en.pdf

Originally Posted by Englishmum

Hi JG -

You will find the relevant information here about the tax situation regarding US citizens and long term Green Card holders ( it seems to be 8 years out of last 15 years) who relocate outside the US:

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-...Act_080808.pdf

http://blogs.angloinfo.com/us-tax/20...s-citizenship/

Incidentally the singer Tina Turner has just renounced her US citizenship:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...hip-Swiss.html

I know of quite a few Americans over here in Switzerland who are giving up their US citizenship - they are long-term residents and have Swiss spouses. There is a 3 month waiting list to renounce at the US Embassy in Bern.

Originally Posted by dunroving

Here is an article about it.

Funny, I'm looking out of my office window at the exact same scene as they are showing in the picture.

Originally Posted by between two worlds

Gosh you miss a day on the forum and all sorts of stuff happens.

Trotty, much love and big hugs coming your way. First thanks for your note to me about the citizenship thing, yes I would certainly mouth (rather than say aloud) the words if I could but even so the whole thing would make me feel weird....

About your own decision, I know from experience how uncomfortable it can be trying to make a decision, so I hope that you have found some peace of mind just in having decided, and knowing you are doing the right thing for your hubby. Also there's the plus of being near your daughter, and as you say, you can go back and forth to UK and many options are still open.

I think your determination to become more involved in your community is brilliant, and I hope that it proves easier where your new house is than where you lived before. (I don't know where you are, and please don't feel I'm trying to make you say, as we need to keep our privacy in a public forum, but I wonder if it's anywhere near Portsmouth NH, I think that is just an absolutely lovely town with so much going on culturally etc. I have a friend there.)

So glad you will continue with the updates as your many friends on here really care about you by now!

Hoping you and your husband have health improvements in leaps and bounds, and enjoy the new house.

Tina

Originally Posted by jasper123

Thats very funny, the British weather certainly wont deter Rumanians or Bulgarians, anywhere in the UK is like tropical weather to them, there countries are almost as cold as Alaska in the winter
pity we cant just build a big fence along our border like Bush did to try and keep the Mexicans out, Oh I forgot that didn't work too well did it