Renouncing US citizenship

US citizenship can only be renounced (by making an oath before a US consular official) at locations outside the USA. The only people likely to do this are those who already hold citizenship of at least one other country (my niece has triple citizenship - Canada, USA, UK) since otherwise they would become stateless. Such a person who has newly renounced US citizenship would now be a foreigner in the eyes of the US authorities and would have to hold a valid visa before they could enter US territory, and if they eventually obtained the right to lawful permanent residence, (the so-called "Green Card") they would lack certain rights which are enjoyed by US citizens.

Lawful Permanent Residents generally do not have eligibility for federal government jobs. the right to vote, the right to be elected in federal and state elections, the ability to bring family members to the United States (permanent residents are allowed to sponsor certain family members, but this is often not practical due to long approval delays).

Male permanent residents between the ages of 18 and 25 are subject to registering in the Selective Service System. Permanent residents who reside in the United States must pay taxes on their worldwide income, like U.S. citizens.

It is easier to involuntarily lose Permanent Residence status than it is to lose US citizenship: PR status can be lost for various reasons including committing a criminal act that makes a person removable from the United States, moving to another country to live there permanently, staying outside the USA for more than 365 days without getting a re-entry permit before leaving, or not filing an income tax return.

Thus I cannot see why anybody would want to do this.

That is, leave the US, renounce US citizenship, and then return to live in the USA.

And how are you goingto return to US when you have no citizenship, no passport or any connection to another country?
Getting a citizenship in another country usually takes a few years, during these years you have to work and earn a living. How will you do that in a country where you might not speak the language, where you cannot prove who you are?

Renouncing US citizenship only makes sense if you already have at least one other nationality.

That is whatI said:

...and what I said before that.

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_776.html


In Colon the court ruled you can't renounce US citizenship and still live in the US without documentation from another country. Any attempt to do so invalidates your attempt to renounce citizenship.