Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing renunciation of United States citizenship. I did a prior video talking about Senator Elizabeth Warren's proposed Bill wherein she would like to see a heightened exit tax associated with those Americans who are renouncing their citizenship. Now the thing to take away from this video and to understand is first, renunciation of US Citizenship is not a petty thing; it is not something to trifle with; it is not something to underestimate. I see a lot of folks out there in the ether of  the internet that talk about renouncing US Citizenship like it is like taking off your jacket or something, it's just no big deal. It's a very big deal. So those who are looking at it, you really need to contact a legal professional and get real insight into how the ramifications of renunciation will impact you. 

Meanwhile, another thing, a question posed in the comment section of that video was, "Is it true that the State Department can refuse to let someone renounce?" Yeah I see this kind of, it's a bit of a misnomer out there in the ether that is the internet, this notion that State can just keep you from renouncing. I will say that while it may be possible to delay, I wouldn't say that it's correct to say that the State Department can refuse a renunciation. Let me get into what I'm talking about here.

I thought of making this video after reading online on the website of the US Embassy here in Thailand, that's th.usembassy.gov and it is under the heading: Renunciation. Quoting directly: "Renunciation of US Citizenship is a very serious decision and once approved by the Department of State, is irrevocable. Potential renunciants are asked to carefully reflect on their decision before making an appointment to execute the Oath of Renunciation which can only be executed at the US Embassy in Bangkok." Okay, first that's a Thailand thing; that is Bangkok. Other Embassies are going to work a little differently but long story short, yeah one area where we have seen people say "oh they're trying to thwart me from renouncing” comes with the issue of scheduling an appointment. Look appointments are done on first come first serve basis. I saw the appointment times for renunciation skyrocket; I think we did videos on that, that the appointment times became very difficult to obtain, especially during COVID. Well appointments for things like Tourist Visa interviews became difficult to obtain doing that time frame. That said, I am not going to engage in a bunch of conspiracy theories but I do see people's point where they say "well it looks to me like they are intentionally dragging their feet about getting me an appointment to go get my Oath of Renunciation."  I see people's point there. I don't know that I necessarily buy it. I would probably chalk that up to more bureaucratic inertia than any sort of preconceived notion of trying to thwart somebody from renouncing. Quoting further: "An individual seeking to renounce their US Citizenship must show that they fully understand what he or she is seeking to do." Okay, yeah that is one area where there is an adjudicatory function to this renunciation process. It's kind of the inversion if you will of the Consular Report of Birth Abroad process if you want to look at it that way, the CRBA process wherein you take a child, usually a child, to the US Embassy to report their birth abroad and thereby register the automatic transmission of US Citizenship from the parent to the child. Look strictly speaking, if the child meets the requirements under the Law, then they are in fact an American. They're just not documented as such prior to the time they get the CRBA. You could look at renunciation similarly and say look, if I intend to do it and I am of sound mind and I go through all the process, it's going to happen; they are not allowed to keep that from happening. Well fair enough, but they are the fact finder and they do have a fact-finding function wherein they do need to adjudicate whether or not the person is Compos Mentis for purposes, they have the capacity for the purposes of citizenship renunciation. Do they understand what they're doing? So in that regard, yeah there is going to be perhaps you could call it a delay, associated with the adjudication by a consular officer as to the mental capacity of the person looking to renounce. Quoting further: "Including the consequences such as losing the right to reside in the United States without documentation as an alien as well as show that they are acting of his or her own free will, without undue influence from others and without reservation." Again, these are adjudicatory functions that are undertaken by Consular Officers. In past cases where we have seen renunciation, I have actually seen Consular Officers say 'okay I am not going to let you do this today but I want you to come back a week from now, if you still want to do this after I explain," they usually have an explanation session where they explain all the ramifications legally speaking of what you are doing. I have actually seen them send them away, send people away and say 'okay you are going to come back in whatever time interval and if after that time interval I am satisfied that you understand what's going on here and that you are fully competent, you have capacity and you are not operating under someone else's undue influence or something, then and only then will I then make the determination that yes of course you have the capacity to do what you're doing, administer the Oath of Renunciation and on we go with the further steps.

So while no they can't exactly refuse or not allow someone to renounce who wants to renounce, there is a process to adjudicate whether or not that person is in fact of sound mind and has the capacity and is not being unduly influenced to making a really big decision in their life because really citizenship renunciation is a big deal. Even so-called accidental Americans, kids that were just born in America, lived there a couple of weeks and move abroad, losing a US passport, it is a major travel document by any meaning of the term, by any definition of the term, it's not insignificant. Losing the ability to live and work in the United States is not an insignificant benefit; the privileges and immunities of the United States citizenship, not insignificant benefits. So again, yeah is there a process for ascertaining whether or not someone has capacity to renounce these benefits? Yes there is. Can they refuse if someone meets all the requirements? Not really. They basically have to go ahead and administer these things and that person can thereby shed their US citizenship.