Rushman

US citizenship??? I'd rather do a 25 stretch in the scrubbs!!!!

Ray

Yes I do ....

scrubbedexpat099

Me too

3 for Marriage, 5 otherwise.

Partystar

I do now!!!

I don't know much about the whole thing, as I really don't want to do it! Who knows where I'll be by the time I'm eligible anyway.

BigDavyG

Your married - doesn't that mean you only have a 3 year wait - i would have to wait 5 and only 7 months gone

Partystar

Thanx for that (no thanx to you Ray, ya b@stard!!!), I couldn't remember whether it was 2 or 3.

Rushman

I bet a pound to a pinch of shit that had him laughing

JAJ

Referring to U.S. tax liability for expats, something I posted earlier on the thread:

"Not as much of a problem as it sounds, as if you are living in another Western country (such as the UK or Australia) then foreign income exclusions and foreign tax credits should ensure you don't have to pay much to the Americans (if anything).

More of an issue if you go to work in a "tax haven" (as Bob suggests) but how many people do that?"


Another point to note is that the U.S. estate tax can be much heavier if the surviving spouse is *not* a U.S. citizen.

TRPardoe

A US citizen, naturalised or born that way, is liable for Income Tax on their entire (world-wide) income. e.g. If you earn interest on an account in the UK, Uzbekistan etc, you have to declare it to the Feds. I think that even if you are here on a GC and domiciled the same thing applies.

Also, if you have an account outside the US with (I think) over $10k in it at any time during a tax year you have to declare the account's existance to the Feds.

Ray

I answered your very specific question correctly .

Englishmum

If married to a US citizen you can apply for citizenship after three years of being a green card holder.

Everyone else has to be a GC holder for five years.

I understand that you can start the ball rolling by filing for citizenship 90 days before the 3 or 5 year anniversaries (my friend did this).

AdobePinon

They were talking about citizenship, I believe. But as far as conditional green cards go, you have the 90 day period ending on the 2nd anniversary to file. Otherwise, you're out of status and you have to prove good cause for filing late.

User Name

An inadvertent error, my memory is rarely wrong, so perhaps the rule has changed. Now that I think about it, I seem to recall that I applied for the removal of conditions in good time but it took me a while to get my new green card. I seem to recall a problem with a misplaced letter INS (I guess USCIS now) sent me instructing me where to go, etc. But I do distinctly recall that not renewing a 10 year green card on time was not a cardinal sin ... so I guess the rule has changed and/or tightened up. I am going to ask Sue to delete my previous post - it does contain an inadvertent error. Thanks for pointing it out.

Partystar

I thought (& I could be wrong!!!) the provisional GC only applied to couples that have been married for less than 2 years. We've been married for over 5 years, so I got the 10 year GC from the get go.

Partystar

Why yes you did, thanx for your help, I don't think!!! *kiss kiss*