Life with a green card (K1) after divorce

[inneedofhelp 1]

Hello fellow members,

So I currently have a green card which I gained through a K1 visa. As hard as it is to say still, I got divorced in 2011. I have yet to decide whether or not I want to keep renewing my green card every 10 years or do the paperwork to become a US citizen. I do think about it a lot but never come to a decision.

Anybody have any advice/points/suggestions to help me come to some kind of decision? I tried seeing if there was a forum created that discusses the pros and cons on the subject, I came up empty handed.

So that was one thing on my mind.

Also, I am curious to know what happens now, in the future when I meet someone else who I want to spend the rest of my life with. How much of an issue is it to get remarried to a US citizen while still on a green card (If I choose not to become a US citizen). Does this complicate things? I mean, by no means am I ready to get remarried yet but its something that crosses my mind every once in a while.

So, if anyone has any advice/suggestions on these matters, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you in advance.

[chami123 5]

you can file for citizenship after 5 years of having ur green card, you do not have to wait for 10 years

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

The real advantage that I see:

You are restricted in some ways of living elsewhere or risk losing your greencard.

If you become a USC, you can leave the US for years and come back with nothing more than your passport.

You can marry again as a greencard holder.

You are eligible to become a USC in October 2014 on your own, despite the divorce.

[N&S 32]

The real advantage that I see:

You are restricted in some ways of living elsewhere or risk losing your greencard.

If you become a USC, you can leave the US for years and come back with nothing more than your passport.

On the downside of that: you are responsible to pay US income tax even if you decide to live somewhere else.

From what I understand (no expert by any means, so please correct me if I'm wrong), for some countries there are regulations that you only have to pay the difference in tax if the tax rate in that country is lower than US tax but that doesn't apply for all countries so potentially your income could be double taxed...

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

On the downside of that: you are responsible to pay US income tax even if you decide to live somewhere else.

From what I understand (no expert by any means, so please correct me if I'm wrong), for some countries there are regulations that you only have to pay the difference in tax if the tax rate in that country is lower than US tax but that doesn't apply for all countries so potentially your income could be double taxed...

One clarification--

You are responsible to FILE a US tax return if you earn money. That doesn't mean the same as PAY US income tax.

There is the foreign income exclusion which (in very basic terms) allows you to exclude the first $95,000-ish you earn abroad if you are resident abroad. So you could easily end up with zero taxable income and thus no tax due, even though you filed a tax return.

Foreign taxes paid is also deductible from US taxes owed, but the income exclusion would probably cover most regular blokes.

A tax treaty between the two countries would have to be in place, but there are a lot of countries that have treaties, including the UK.

Also to the OP-- In case you didn't know, if you became a USC, you don't give up your British citizenship. You have passports from both countries. The US requires you to use the American passport while in the US, ie. when you leave or come back in through immigration. But you can use your British passport when you land in the UK or to travel freely around EU nations.