Ask Slashdot: Should I Let My Kids Become American Citizens?

An anonymous reader writes "Can you help me decide whether to allow my small daughter and son to become American citizens? I am American and my partner is Swedish. We have both lived in Belgium for many years and have no plans to leave. I became a Belgian citizen some years ago and kept my American citizenship. My partner has both her original Swedish and now Belgian citizenship. We are not married. Instead we have a registered partnership, which is common in northern Europe, confers most of the benefits of marriage, and raises no eyebrows. However, the American government does not recognize such partnerships, so in their eyes I am still single. Generally, children of American citizens abroad automatically become American citizens themselves at birth. But our kids fall under an exception. Male American citizens who live abroad and have children out of wedlock with a non-citizen mother do not automatically transmit citizenship to their children unless they sign an "affidavit of support" promising to support their children until the age of 18. If you don't sign before the child reaches 18, the child is not considered an American citizen. This has been upheld by two Supreme Court rulings (Nguyen v. INS and Flores-Villar v. United States). For legal beagles, the relevant statutes are 8 U.S.C. 1401 and 1409. (Read on below for the rest.) The kids have Swedish and Belgian citizenship. We could go down to the American consulate and get American citizenship for them any time, but I keep putting off the decision and I am not sure I want to do it at all. Sentimentally I would like the kids to have American citizenship, but there is really only one practical pro to it: American citizenship would allow them to live, work, or study in America more easily, if they choose, when they get older. The cons:

• They would be immediately enmeshed in the U.S. tax bureaucracy, which would require them to file U.S. tax returns for life even if they never set foot in the U.S. This, as I know from experience, is a huge bother, even when you don't owe anything.
• Sometimes they would owe U.S. tax, though, for example for capital gains, unearned income, and in some countries self-employment income.
• My son would have to register for the draft.
• The decision, once made, is difficult to back out of: renouncing one's U.S. citizenship costs $2300 and a lot of paperwork.
• They can easily travel to the US for family visits as Belgian/Swedish citizens.
• There are lots of good universities in Europe. And if they really wanted to study in the U.S., it's not too hard to do as a European.

What do you think I should do? The clock is ticking, and I find it hard to choose between the evil of not being able to be American if they choose, and the evil of unjust, lifelong pursuit by the IRS. Here are two good relevant links.

Comments

Religion, mainly

[Anonymous Coward]

Your children will be spared when God comes down on the Europeans and their heathen ways. They have gay marriage.

Re:For all those reasons and more

[Anonymous Coward]

But....but no one cares.

Re:Yes. What do you lose? But talk to lawyer first

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Once you renounce citizenship, I don't think the united states will let you back in, I'm not entirely sure but I believe that is the case.

It's like prison, that way. You have to commit the crime again and be re-convicted, to be admitted back to the circle of convicts.

Re:Why are you asking us?

[marklark]

Or ask your children - and then do the opposite. What do they know, anyway? ;^)

Re:Yes. What do you lose? But talk to lawyer first

[al0ha]

Wealthy Chinese are paying big $$$ to birth their children in America, but I'm not sure if the reason is they want them to be US Citizens per se; or if the Chinese Govt has undertaken a long term initiative to eventually be able to influence US elections from the inside.