rogerpenycate

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rogerpenycate

I got a summons to jury duty last week, for the first week in June.
On the back there is a list of dis-qualifications, one of which is being a citizen of another country.
I ticked that box and sent it back.
They must have got my name from my driving license registration

Englishmum

I entirely understand where you are coming from when you say that you will eventually probably choose to leave the States when you are elderly. It does seem to be so expensive for older people to live here; they don't get a reduction on their housing taxes unlike where they do on their Council Tax in the UK and I've often heard/read reports of old people finding their medical/prescription costs to be unbearable. I've even heard that the costs of dying are much higher here with the prices charged by the funeral homes!!! (Yay, "Six Feet Under" has a new series starting real soon again on HBO).

You *can* continue to pay into the UK State Retirement Pension fund by making voluntary Class 3 contributions. I do this by making an annual payment (actually I think I must be due for the latest payment anytime soon). It's only about 4 or 5 pounds per week max. The Class 3 stamps will only go towards a retirement pension, not for other govt. benefits eg. unemployment, invalidity etc. I have no idea if/when we will return to the UK (or indeed if we will continue to stay in the US for that matter) but even if you live overseas you will still be entitled to a UK State pension if you have made enough contributions (of course it will be paid in Sterling....or the Euro one day perhaps ). You must do this within 8 years of last making payments into your NI fund.

You can contact the National Insurance office and ask to be sent your "Pension Forecast". It will show your record of NI payments, what it's worth now and what it would be worth if you continue to pay in until you retire (at today's pension rate). A couple of years or so ago a single retired person would get about 78 pounds per week. Expats in the US are fortunate in that their conts. will keep pace with inflation - expats in other countries such as Australia, S.Africa and Canada are unfortunate in this regard.

Here is the link to the Inland Revenue Centre for Non-Residents - it tells you how to get a pension forecast and what to do if you choose to make voluntary contributions:

http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/cnr/osc.htm

Hope this helps

Ben

They do where we live. People who don't have children in the school district and people over 65 get reductions in their property taxes so pensioners get two reductions as long as they don't have family living with them with children going to school

ScotsmanInTexas

You *can* continue to pay into the UK State Retirement Pension fund by making voluntary Class 3 contributions. I do this by making an annual payment (actually I think I must be due for the latest payment anytime soon). It's only about 4 or 5 pounds per week max. The Class 3 stamps will only go towards a retirement pension, not for other govt. benefits eg. unemployment, invalidity etc. I have no idea if/when we will return to the UK (or indeed if we will continue to stay in the US for that matter) but even if you live overseas you will still be entitled to a UK State pension if you have made enough contributions (of course it will be paid in Sterling....or the Euro one day perhaps ). You must do this within 8 years of last making payments into your NI fund.

Thanks for the useful information. :-) This is an area I've been dreading getting into, but I know I'll have to get it sorted out before long, before I lose any entitlement to anything. Glad you replied, it's good to get it first hand from someone that's doing it already. I'll contact those people early tomorow morning (my time) when their office is likely to be open. Cheers!

rach7h

If you have the chance to get US citizenship then go for it. You obviously feel emotional still attached to the UK so go for dual. I spent a long time comtemplating what to do and I don't regret it now at all.

Good Luck

Lion in Winter

Look at it this way. You will not lose your Britishness, your history, your culture or your identity if you take US citizenship. You will definitely not lose your British passport or your British citizenship. It will enable you to come in and out of the US freely in the future, especially if anything ever changes regarding the status of Permanent Residents. I took US citizenship after many years here as a PR because I married someone on an E visa which went belly up (long story, won't bother with it here) and it was the only way to avoid constant visa renewal headaches for him. I can't say it was an easy decision because of the business of swearing loyalty to the US and the flag and all. It's the conscious act of swearing loyalty to a State which does so many things that I consider to be wrong that's the problem. I am English and love the place still, but I never had to swear loyalty to the Queen (or Tony!) because I happened to be born there, and I'm sure it would cause me some similar qualms if the shoe were on the other foot - but obviously we don't have to face that particular issue. (Just a thought, before someone says why did you become a citizen if you disagree with the government, or go home if you don't like it etc. ... I think there is no definition of loyalty which prohibits one from having a vision of how a country can be better and trying to do something to make it so. Many of my best, home-grown American friends do just this.) So just weigh up your personal pros and cons - you can't lose your Britishness no matter how hard you try.

lairdside

I've already been sworn in under 39 USC 1011:

``I, ________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support
and defend the Constitution of the United States against all
enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.''

I have no qualms about taking the Natz oath, looking forward to it actually. I'd also renounce my British and Irish Citizenships if required to choose.

Yorkieabroad

Not sure nationality changes much....my wife is USC, and last time she came back from Asia it took her over 2 hours to clear immigration!!! Think the problem is IAH, rather than nationality!!

Ps - dont' forget your tax planning if you do go for citizenship - especially with your 'bolthole' coming at some point....and if you find a decent adviser that can handle both sides of the pond, can you let us know

CaliforniaBride

Natz oath? Unfortunate choice of abbreviation

Taffyles

Class 2 voluntary contributions are now cheaper than class 3. We've just switched from class 3 to class 2... gives you a few more benefits but more importantly they are much cheaper eg Class 3 are approx 350 pounds a year- class 2 are 106 pounds a year. Ask if you are eligible to pay class 2.

Another benefit of paying voluntary contributions.......if, like us, you end up qualifying for full pensions in both countries the part of pension paid for in voluntary contributions will be exempt from the "windfall" tax.

Taffyles

This is the reason we'll probably take out citizenship- otherwise anything we leave each other or the kids will get clobbered with tax, something like 60% I think.... ouch!

Just Jenney

Just to clarify the above comment:

This is assuming that neither parent was already a US citizen when the child was born, or that the child was not born on US soil.

If the child is born on US soil, it is automatically a USC, regardless of the parents' citizenship(s) or immigration status.

If the child is born outside the US, but has one USC parent who lived in the US at least 5 years before the child was born, with at least 2 of those 5 years being after the USC parent's 14th birthday, the child is automatically a USC.

If the child is born outside the US to two USC parents, the child is automatically a USC, regardless of how long the parents have been USCs, so long as they both have lived in the US at some point in their lives.

More can be read about this here:

USCIS Naturalization FAQ: Who Is Born a United States Citizen?

~ Jenney

Elvira

Hear, hear - couldn't agree more!

Elvira

Elvira

This is interesting - I vaguely remember reading something about this but can't remember the details. Would you mind telling us how you did you go about switching, and what are the eligibility criteria? Is it an easy process to switch to Class 2?

TIA!

Elvira