If citizenship gets approved... what happens next?

[Paul 0]

This is a bit of a vague question... but once (or maybe, if) I get approved for citizenship, apply for my passport and get it... can I just come and go from the USA for as long as I want?

I'm thinking if I move back to the UK- or anywhere else- are there any restrictions on how long I can be out of the country... also, is there any such thing as conditional citizenship or does everyone who is approved get unconditional indefinite citizenship?

Thanks for any input!

[Wonderer 0]

Once you are a US citizen you can come and go as you please. Many US citizens reside overseas. All you have to do is comply with the UK immigration laws. The best part is that you dont have to interact with the clowns at USCIS.

[NickD 203]

Would make attempts not to commit a major felon or to overthrow the government, that may cause you problems. You still have to be good.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

One thing you must do, even if you live abroad: file your taxes in the US until the sweat breath of death takes you in his arms

[phillydude411 0]

One thing you must do, even if you live abroad: file your taxes in the US until the sweat breath of death takes you in his arms

You don't have to file if you had no income, or if you have overpaid. You only have to file if you owe taxes.

Well, no matter what the case is the worse that can happen is they make you pay penalty, I think.

[lucyrich 20]

One thing you must do, even if you live abroad: file your taxes in the US until the sweat breath of death takes you in his arms

You don't have to file if you had no income, or if you have overpaid. You only have to file if you owe taxes.

Well, no matter what the case is the worse that can happen is they make you pay penalty, I think.

Technically, you DO have to file if you have overpaid, as long as your total worldwide income was above the (ridiculously small) limit.

However, there is no penalty for late filing, no matter how late, if you had overpaid. You do give up your right to a refund after three years, though, I believe.

Furthermore, if you don't file, you run the risk of having the IRS file a return on your behalf. And their return will make all the assumptions in the worst possible way for you, so their return may show you owe them money, even though a correctly filed return would show you had overpaid. If you find yourself in this situation, it's up to you to pay what the IRS says you owe or to refute their claim by filing your own return. Generally, it would have been simpler if you'd filed your own return in the first place.

Finally, if you file a return, you start the statute of limitations clock ticking, so that after enough time has passed, you can be sure they can't audit your return, dispute it, or assess penalties on it. But if you fail to file, there's no statute of limitations and they can go back years later and allege you owed them money.

So it's generally best to file a return every year, even if you don't owe them anything, and even if your income was very low, and/or subject to exclusion.

Back to the original question, it's pretty hard to lose US Citizenship once you have it. Certainly living outside the US for an extended time won't cause you to lose citizenship. Generally, in order to lose US citizenship, you have to perform one of a number of listed expatriating acts voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing nationality. You can see the acts listed in INA 349. But those phrases I put in bold mean that, if you're not trying to lose your US Citizenship, you generally won't lose it. If you DO want to lose your US Citizenship, you should go to a consulate and sign a statement in front of them stating that you want to relinquish your citizenship.

[Paul 0]

Thank you- this is just what I needed to know.