# Is it possible to gain BACK american citizenship if I am married to an american?



## misterno (Jul 24, 2015)

Say I want to renounce my us citizenship for tax purposes

Say after 10 years, I want to gain my us citizenship BACK, is this possible if I am married to a US citizen all this time?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Non-expert opinion:

Technically I think it is possible to get US citizenship again, but it could be a large expensive pain to go through the entire process. You might want to look at your potential savings vs. potential costs and see if you can't structure things to avoid/reduce US taxes another way.

If you're married to a US citizen now and you renounce, it won't necessarily get them off the hook for US taxes, depending on what are considered joint assets etc. 

And technically you aren't supposed to renounce for tax purposes. Many do, but don't make it your official reason.


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## misterno (Jul 24, 2015)

Nononymous said:


> Non-expert opinion:
> 
> 
> If you're married to a US citizen now and you renounce, it won't necessarily get them off the hook for US taxes, depending on what are considered joint assets etc.


How is this possible? When I renounce my citizenship how come I am still paying taxes to US?

This does not make sense


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Like Nononymous says, it probably can be done, though officially you aren't supposed to be able to reclaim US nationailty once you've given it up. I would think it would be a very "dangerous" thing to do - just too many things they could call down on you, or they could just plain refuse you once your prior citizenship came to light (and keep whatever fees you'd paid up to that point).
Cheers,
Bev


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

misterno said:


> How is this possible? When I renounce my citizenship how come I am still paying taxes to US?
> 
> This does not make sense


I didn't say you that would still be on the hook, I said that your US citizen spouse might still be on the hook for something jointly held, since they will still have US tax filing obligations. In other words, it could be complicated, depending on your situation, so worth discussing with a professional before making any decisions.


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## misterno (Jul 24, 2015)

Nononymous said:


> I didn't say you that would still be on the hook, I said that your US citizen spouse might still be on the hook for something jointly held, since they will still have US tax filing obligations. In other words, it could be complicated, depending on your situation, so worth discussing with a professional before making any decisions.


I see

Yes my wife would still be on the hook that is correct


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

The answer is no, not by itself. Your U.S. citizen spouse would need to sponsor you for an immigrant visa (IR-1 or CR-1), that visa would have to be granted, and you'd have to move to the United States. That then restarts your U.S. tax status. After a number of years of U.S. residence you could naturalize as a U.S. citizen.

That path is entirely discretionary. USCIS and the State Department aren't required to issue an immigration visa, and Congress and the President could close down that path any time they wish -- there is no constitutional right in question here. That path also critically depends on the continued good health of your U.S. citizen spouse and her willingness to stay married to you and to sponsor you for a visa. None of those are givens.

You must properly consider renunciation of U.S. citizenship to be irrevocable for life.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

misterno said:


> Yes my wife would still be on the hook that is correct


In fact her U.S. tax burden could increase if you're currently filing a joint tax return (Married Filing Jointly) and she ends up inevitably having to file a separate tax return (Married Filing Separately). You/she should be aware of that likely MFJ to MFS increase. You still have the option to participate in a joint tax filing with her via a Section 6013(g) election, though that'd be truly silly after renouncing for tax reasons.

U.S. citizen spouses can transfer unlimited amounts of wealth to each other (and upon the death of one spouse), U.S. tax free, but that's not true when one spouse is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident and the other is.


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## misterno (Jul 24, 2015)

BBCWatcher said:


> U.S. citizen spouses can transfer unlimited amounts of wealth to each other


Can you explain this part further?

Never heard of this


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Exactly what I wrote. U.S. citizen (and U.S. permanent resident) spouses have an unlimited marital gift/estate tax exemption between them in the U.S. tax code. When one spouse loses (or never had) U.S. tax status then the annual gift limit from the U.S. spouse to the non-U.S. spouse drops from infinity to $143,000 and the lifetime limit drops to $5.43 million (both figures for tax year 2015).

There's also an inheritance tax that kicks in when a U.S. person (e.g. your lovely spouse) inherits an estate from a "Covered Expatriate," a reasonably wealthy (or more) individual who renounced U.S. citizenship.

To net it out, there are often tax impacts *to the U.S. spouse* when his/her spouse renounces U.S. citizenship. Said another way, it's not just about you at least when you're married.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

All of the above is basically saying that:

1. there's no guarantee that you'll get your US citizenship back, and it would not be a simple process to do so

2. the tax implications of your renouncing might bite your wife in the ass big time

3. ergo, one cannot have one's cake and eat it too


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Nononymous said:


> 2. the tax implications of your renouncing might bite your wife in the ass big time


Or perhaps little time, but such impacts should be considered.

Not just taxes, by the way. (There really is more to life than taxes, even in this forum. Blasphemy, I know. ) For example, at present the whole household can visit and/or move to the United States as soon as the next flight leaves. Does your spouse want to visit or live in the United States without you? Do you want that? Or are you both OK with her leaving you behind during her stays in the United States? Non-citizens -- and _particularly_ ex-citizens -- have no right of entry into the United States. (Ask Roger Ver.) That may not be a problem for you, but is it a problem for any of your loved ones?

Anyway, the point is you have a wife, and her life probably will be affected. Maybe she has an opinion? If she does, surely she is correct. My wife always is.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Another point - your access to the US and ease of regaining US citizenship would depend in part on what your other citizenship is.


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