Hi Tony,

I am an American Civil War reenactor! I reenact with the 2nd South Carolina, a confederate unit. I also reenact with the 28th New York, a union unit, but I've been in the 2nd SC since I was 14.

I just got bored of the "Image not available" image that I had up and figured I'd change it!

I'll probably change it again, I was a bit drunk when I changed it last night!

technically, if your entering the UK, you can use your US passport as long as it is valid for your intention of that trip, such as a holiday...would get in a spot of hassle using your US passport if you moved into the UK...

The US on the otherhand, have to use your US passport.

Cool. I'm just a nosey git see.

Would like to go to one of those re-enactment things one day. Must be interesting to be involved in.

Probably a stupid question but why would you want to change citizenship if you already have a GC? I mean, what are the benefits of doing this?

But that would mean having to go through the non-citizens' queue, and who wants that!?

~ Jenney

true...do that, and by the time you get through, there'll be a queue for the bogs, and with my newt like bladder, could never have that

getting US citizenship, means you don't have to deal with USCIS ever again, means you can't be deported, you can vote, you can bring over immediate relatives...your already claiming global income as a GC anyway...

down side, errr...you can't skip jury duty

Is this a joke post?

"...your already claiming global income as a GC anyway..."

Global income?

- US citizens can vote; GC holders cannot.

- US citizens can't lose their status if they live abroad; GC holders can.

- US citizens can move into and out of the US freely; if a GC holder loses their residency, they have to start the immigration process all over again.

- US citizens (native or naturalized) don't have to deal with people's ignorance about what GC holders can/cannot do: ie, getting a job, opening a bank account, getting a mortgage, etc.

- US citizens can sponsor certain relatives to immigrate to the US, like parents and siblings, extremely cutting down on the wait time that GC holder-sponsors have.

- US citizens can sponsor fiance(e)s for the K1 visa; GC holders can't.

- Becoming a US citizen lets your financial sponsor off-the-hook.

- Not sure of the specifics, since we don't have children yet, but I believe I've read that in families where the children are automatically dual citizens, there are advantages to both parents also being dual citizens, rather than one parent from one country and the other parent from the other.

Naturalization is not for everyone, but there definitely ARE advantages to having citizenship.

~ Jenney

The US taxes its citizens and GC holders based on their citizenship/legal status, NOT on their physical residency.

US citizens and GC holders not only report income earned in the US on their US tax returns, but also report global or worldwide income -- that is, income they earned in any other country -- even if they are not physically resident in that other country.

So, if you're a GC holder from the UK who is living in the US, and you have foreign-earned income -- perhaps from a savings account or something -- then you are to report that on your US tax returns. If you become a US citizen this does not change.

~ Jenney

yup, though most countries have a tax treaty so you don't pay taxes twice, but you still have to claim them to the IRS....

speaking of...and the big one, as a USC, if you or spouse kick the bucket, death tax gives you a break for something like $2M...if your a GC and you or your spouse die, big chunk of your money goes in death tax....well inheritance tax, but doesn't sound as dramatic

Great. Now I've just got to find $2M

But with the tax, isn't it also the case that as a GC holder you don't deal with US taxes if you don't live in the US but as a citizen you still have to file every year regardless of where you live?