# US citizenship



## FloD (Oct 23, 2008)

Hi,
We are planning on asking for US citizenship. We are originally from France. Does anyone know what are the big commitments once you have applied. Thank you for sharing your personal experience.
Flo


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

FloD said:


> Hi,
> We are planning on asking for US citizenship. We are originally from France. Does anyone know what are the big commitments once you have applied. Thank you for sharing your personal experience.
> Flo



Can elaborate a bit? What do you mean by big committments?


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

So, you are lliving in the US and have been there long enough to apply for citizenship? At one time you would have been required to give up your French citizenship, but I don't think that is necessary any longer. You will gain the right to vote, and will be obligated to pay tax on your worldwide income forever, even if you should later decide to return to France to live, or move to a third country.


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## FloD (Oct 23, 2008)

twostep said:


> Can elaborate a bit? What do you mean by big committments?


There are probably ties to becoming a citizen (ie: paying taxes to the US for lifetime even if you move elsewhere). I just want to learn more before taking the decision. Thanks.


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## FloD (Oct 23, 2008)

synthia said:


> So, you are lliving in the US and have been there long enough to apply for citizenship? At one time you would have been required to give up your French citizenship, but I don't think that is necessary any longer. You will gain the right to vote, and will be obligated to pay tax on your worldwide income forever, even if you should later decide to return to France to live, or move to a third country.


Thank you for your answer. I guess there are agreements between the US and the other countries where you might go to live so you don't have to pay taxes twice.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

FloD said:


> Thank you for your answer. I guess there are agreements between the US and the other countries where you might go to live so you don't have to pay taxes twice.


There are treaties with most countries you're likely to go to - but they work imperfectly for some types of income (e.g. retirement benefits, investment income, rental income). The basic idea is that earned income (i.e. salary income) is excluded from your US taxable income while you are living outside the US (up to certain limits). For income over the limit or other types of income, you can take a tax credit for income taxes paid overseas against what you owe to the IRS (again, within limits).

I think there are still a few countries you aren't supposed to visit if you're a US citizen (but if you're really keen to go, just remember to enter and leave on your French passport).

You are obligated to use only your US passport whenever you return to the US.

And if you are eligible for a foreign government pension (like from France), you may find your US Social Security payments cut back a bit under something called the Windfall Elimination Program (WEP). 

Those are probably the major "inconveniences" of taking US nationality. Nothing terribly critical as long as you are aware of the tax thing. (And every few years Congress threatens to eliminate or cut back on the overseas earned income exclusion.)

Oh, one more - if you later decide to give up your US citizenship, there are penalties for doing so, though mostly directed at those who doing so "for tax reasons."
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

FloD said:


> There are probably ties to becoming a citizen (ie: paying taxes to the US for lifetime even if you move elsewhere). I just want to learn more before taking the decision. Thanks.


Taking the decision sounds great. Do you have what it takes to get a visa?


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