please tell me WHY

[kappa 0]

i am a green card holder and from july i can apply for the citizenship

but i have some doubts if it is worthed or not

so I am asking what is the reason for you to become an US citizen ?

second question about taxes......the rules are the same for who has the green card and who has the US passport?

thank you for your help

[CaptainPenguin 5]

so I am asking what is the reason for you to become an US citizen ?

second question about taxes......the rules are the same for who has the green card and who has the US passport?

thank you for your help

I am about to have my naturalization ceremony next week, and there is plenty of reasons for me wanting to become a US Citizen.

First of all, this is the place I call home, the United States is where I want to be and where I always wanted to be. I already see myself as more of an American than any of the other countries (birth or residence) I have associated myself with. I moved here because I wanted to find a place where I liked the (like minded) people, the climate, the laws and respect for freedom and liberty, and I have found it. Many people came over here because of a special someone they ended up getting married to, and they did not know too much about America, but I set out on a quest to find a great place where I would enjoy living, so I also had a different view on things to begin with. The greatest privilege with US Citizenship in my mind is that I can call myself an American, and that I can also give back to my community by taking federal jobs and running for local office. Oh and not to mention the the most essential reason, a Unites States Passport gives you an ultimate right to return home, to the US. If something were to happen as a PR you can still be deported or denied entry, but as a USC you have a constitutional right to come home to the place you love.

And regarding the taxes...

As a US citizen you will have to pay tax on all your income regardless of where it comes from, same thing applies when you a re a Permanent Resident but with the difference that if you are a PR you will most likely work and live here in the US because you may not be away for extended periods of time, while as a USC you could live in Europe, and you would have to pay proper taxes to the IRS. But here is where it gets a little complicated, unless you are making huge sums of money you will most likely not even have to pay US taxes on those because the rules essentially say that you are required to file a tax return, but if you are paying taxes already somewhere else (like the country you earned them in) you will in most cases not have pay additional taxes on that unless it is in excess of several hundred thousand dollars a year. I never saw this as a big problem, in my opinion there are a lot of misconceptions around this and it is blown out of proportions. One thing you can look up just for fun is president Obamas tax returns, they are available as PDFs on whitehouse.gov. On those you can clearly see how he declared income from book sales from a dozen countries or so, but because those countries already taxed him, most of that income was exempt from taxation back home even though it added up to a couple of million dollars.

Good luck with your journey, and I hope you make the right decision.

[NickD 202]

My wife was getting tendinitis from always having to carry that green card with her, maybe not much of a reason to get US citizenship, but a reason.

Plus she was always checked by her employer that she was maintaining LPR status, use the word permanent, but hardly permanent. Had to show it, and keep it current for getting a drivers' license, and if lost, very costly to replace. Not much of a reason, but a reason.

Plus she and I were obligated to tell the USCIS where we were, again not much of a reason, but a reason. Also have to carefully watch your time out of the country or you will lose it.

She wanted to partake in our legal system, with always the possibility of getting a government job as she works with government employees and envies all the time they get off.

We also couldn't find a ten year calendar to remind her to renew it, if not renewed, big problems, you are then here illegally.

Sure you have your own reasons for not wanting to get your US citizenship, but really not a need to discuss those, no obligation to get it, its your choice.

[LEISEROM 32]

There are a lot of good reasons.I told my wife she needed to do this at first opportunity as I didnt care to deal with immigration again ever. No more standing in lines waiting on paperwork,etc. Was a long time ago. However her friend who has been in US almost 20 years now wants to do citizenship thing. Same thing. when her GC is expiring it takes awhile to get the renewal. However her friend who doesnt work doesnt speak enough english to pass the test mainly because she watches TV Globo(available on Direct TV) and has all Brazilian friends thereby never learning or speaking much english. Call me a redneck but my attitude was you will not be successful here if you dont speak English. I never even made an attempt to learn Portuguese until recently. My attitude was this is America speak english. However my wife has a language degree from UFRJ(Federal University of Rio) so languages werent that hard for her. She did go to intensive English for a year though.

Edited June 7, 2010 by LEISEROM

[v333k 59]

HI,

In my opinion, you need to find the answer to your first question... people can suggest and can tell you what they think of being a USC but this is something for you to achieve. IF you don't reach that point, I highly recommend you don't get naturalized. Go over the oath and really understand what it means and what it stands for....

As for taxes - yes, as long as you make a penny in this country (whether you are a USC, LPR or a non-immigrant working in the US), you need to file taxes.... but whether you are a USC or LPR same rules apply...

hope this helps

[csoul 0]

As for taxes - yes, as long as you make a penny in this country (whether you are a USC, LPR or a non-immigrant working in the US), you need to file taxes.... but whether you are a USC or LPR same rules apply...

Not only in "this" country... I believe that as US Citizen you need to report the money you make in ANY country... Is what I understand from the IRS website...

[v333k 59]

Not only in "this" country... I believe that as US Citizen you need to report the money you make in ANY country... Is what I understand from the IRS website...

correct - actually my sentence came out a little cryptic since I meant that even non-immigrants who work in this country will have to report and file taxes....

Edited June 7, 2010 by v333k

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

As many people expect from me, I pull this thing right around on you.

1) You need to establish Italy's policy in regard to dual citizenship. I'm not sure about that and I tried to figure it out.

2) Should Italy not allow dual citizenship, becoming an American would close the door for you not just to Italy, but Europe, as EU-members can move around freely, but Americans can only visit for up to 90 days.

3) Most important, however, is that you even raise the question. If you don't have the burning desire to become an American, if you don't daydream about it at least once a day for many years, if you are not feeling like the USA is "your" country, and if you have no problem living as an Italian among Americans, I don't think you are ready for the step. I myself have friends who are LPRs for way over 10 years and like it just fine. They feel like Germans and want to stay Germans and there's nothing wrong with that.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Just Bob