Note from Phil: this is the sixth episode of The Expatriation Chronicles, in which we follow the renunciation process from start to finish with a 17-year old Irish girl who is an Accidental American.
. . . wherein we wait.
Here is the latest update from A, our 17-year old accidental American, who is busily working on renunciation of her U.S. citizenship.
Hi Phil
Just to give you a quick update to say there are no updates 🙂
I sent an e-mail to the Embassy to find out how long it would take to receive the ssn. They kindly replied within the advised 3 day time scale saying that it would take 6-8 weeks as the information and card would be issued in the US.
Also sent a reminder to the renunciation department requesting an indication as to how long it takes to receive an appointment and whether all the paperwork is in order. Apparently they are short staffed and will be in contact again in late autumn.
Let the waiting game continue …
Kind regards
So now we know. A will receive a Social Security card within a couple of months, mailed from the United States.
That means she will have a tax identification number (a Social Security number performs that function) in plenty of time to file her 2015 Form 8854 (and any other 2015 filings that she is required to do).
Yikes. London is shortstaffed and backlogged. Who would have guessed? Fortunately the State Department is wallowing in cash after raising the price of renunciation to $2,350, so they can solve the staffing problem pronto. /sarcasm
Late autumn for the next contact date — not the renunciation appointment date, but the date of next contact by the Embassy staff. When will renunciation actually happen? Let’s hope it happens in 2015.
There is good news and bad news embedded into the delay.