British Expats - Naturalization

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Andy_UK

Mar 14th 2019 11:33 pm

Naturalization

Just a quickie here, is it worth getting naturalization or just stay with my green card.
I have been in the US now for 6 years and was wondering if I should go for it, also what are the benefits off doing it or not?
TIA
Andy

Noorah101

Mar 15th 2019 1:25 am

Re: Naturalization

See our Wiki link here: https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pros_...US_Citizenship

Rene

Pulaski

Mar 15th 2019 3:01 am

Re: Naturalization

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_UK (Post 12653966)

If the centre of your life is, and is likely to remain in the US, why wouldn't you become a citizen at the earliest opportunity? :unsure:

rpjs	Mar 15th 2019 6:51 pm

Re: Naturalization

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 12654021)

If the centre of your life is, and is likely to remain in the US, why wouldn't you become a citizen at the earliest opportunity? :unsure:

Alternatively, if your long-term plan involves retirement outside the US, becoming a citizen will guarantee you'll be able to take Social Security benefits from overseas.

BigK	Mar 17th 2019 3:26 pm

Re: Naturalization

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_UK (Post 12653966)

Living Here long-term and paying taxes = Yes
As a green card holder you are subject to the same tax laws as US citizens so not sure why you'd
not want citizenship

Giantaxe

Mar 17th 2019 9:44 pm

Re: Naturalization

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpjs (Post 12654441)

Alternatively, if your long-term plan involves retirement outside the US, becoming a citizen will guarantee you'll be able to take Social Security benefits from overseas.

Unless you retire in one of a handful of countries that the US excludes from that provision.

Chances of SS totalization agreements being rescinded is probably quite small, but certainly greater than zero.

Personally, if I were going back to the UK to retire I wouldn't become a citizen as the complications of being a US citizen abroad outweight the benefits imo, especially in the FATCA world. But, if I intended to stay in the US or had a nexus with the US that was likely to remain - e.g. kids living here etc - I would go the citizenship route. I'm a citizen, but if I end up retiring in the UK (an unlikely prospect at present) I would give serious consideration to renouncing.

Hotscot

Mar 18th 2019 1:01 am

Re: Naturalization

I think I'm retiring in the UK. Who knows..:unsure:
But, if so, I'm leaving my investments here to keep finances streamlined.

durham_lad

Mar 21st 2019 4:12 pm

Re: Naturalization

We are staying in LA with our daughter at present after doing a cruise through the Panama Canal and while on the cruise we had 2 surprising conversations on Green Cards. (We Naturalized and became USCs last century).

The first was with a USC guy who has been married to a woman for over 40 years and she has had her green card for 52 years. When she applied to renew it a couple of years ago it came back “denied”, no other explanation, and you can’t find out why. I can relate to that as my first 2 attempts at a Green Card back in 1993 had similar results. They then contacted an immigration lawyer who helped them appeal her case. Again it came back as “denied”. They are currently awaiting a court date to appear in front of a judge to appeal her case. His wife was not with him on the cruise for fear of not getting back in the country, he was traveling with his mother.

The second case was similar with a lady who was telling us that her friend, in her 70s, had been denied her Green Card renewal after living in the US for over 50 years and she had appealed and was waiting for a response.

We made the decision to become USCs because we could see our childrens’ future for sure to be in the USA, and us becoming citizens before they turned 18 made them USCs automatically. It is much harder to revoke one’s citizenship than to revoke a Green Card.

Steerpike

Mar 22nd 2019 4:26 pm

Re: Naturalization

Not the biggest of considerations, but you will get called for Jury Duty if you become a citizen. Also, you can only work in certain defense-related companies if you are a citizen. And of course you can only vote (in most elections) if you are a citizen. But as others have pointed out, there's no guarantee a green card will be renewed, especially if you leave the country. I waited 27 years to get my citizenship because I just couldn't be bothered but I did it to secure my future here. You never know what a loony like Trump might try to do in regards to 'immigrants' ...

lansbury

Mar 22nd 2019 7:22 pm

Re: Naturalization

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 12658477)

You never know what a loony like Trump might try to do in regards to 'immigrants' ...

That I think is becoming a major consideration, and why my USC wife also has British citizenship as well. Who knows what changes to immigration laws the future holds in either country. Look how the UK made it harder a few years back to get a spouse visa.

Andy_UK

Mar 22nd 2019 7:25 pm

Re: Naturalization

Thanks for the replies, I am going to go for it!
I've downloaded all the paperwork and reading it through.

Steerpike

Mar 22nd 2019 9:05 pm

Re: Naturalization

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_UK (Post 12658598)

Thanks for the replies, I am going to go for it!
I've downloaded all the paperwork and reading it through.

Biggest hassle by far for me was the need to list every trip outside the US. I used to travel internationally for work back in the 80s/90s, and had poor records (many places don't stamp passports, and back in the 'good old days', travel tickets were paper only - no online / electronic record!). I spent a long time piecing info together from credit card receipts / bills / frequent flyer statements, (which I had anally kept for no good reason!), passport stamps, photos, etc. Of course, who knows if they would notice an omission, but I didn't want to open that one ... . Also, even traffic tickets are supposed to be reported - speeding, etc (but not parking). Again, I was a pack-rat for such things ... . Ultimately, after numerous false-starts, I hired an attorney and paid her to push me through it. There wasn't anything she did really that I couldn't have done, but having paid her, I felt obligated to complete!

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