Learn How to Re-Enter U.S. After Renouncing Your Citizenship

Travel to the US After Giving Up Citizenship or Green Card: 6 Facts

How To Legally Return to the U.S. After Renouncing Citizenship

When a Taxpayer renounces their U.S. citizenship, it means they are no longer subject to U.S. tax on their worldwide income and because they no longer have U.S. citizenship they will not have a United States passport — but, just because a taxpayer renounced their US citizenship does not mean they cannot return to the United States. Taxpayers have many opportunities to return to the United States depending on which country they reside in and which visa they qualify for — some countries even allow taxpayers to return to the United States for a limited time without having to obtain a visa (ESTA). Most Taxpayers will want to seek out a tourist visa B1/B2 to return to the United States– but there are other avenues as well, such as an investment visa, student visa, or treaty visa if applicable. Let’s take a look at some of the common ways taxpayers can re-enter the United States after they have renounced their US citizenship.

The Original Article ‘ How to Travel to the U.S. After Giving Up Citizenship or Green Card was originally published back in 2022.

ESTA Visa VWP

If you reside in a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program, then you may be able to obtain an ESTA visa — which allows you to travel to the United States for 90 days at a time.

E-2 Treaty Investor Visa

The E-2 Visa is a type of treaty visa in which the United States allows streamlined visa requirements for taxpayers who qualify and reside in a treaty country (types of treaties may vary). By entering on a treaty visa, a person can typically stay for six months at a time instead of the 90-day limitation under the ESTA visa.

B1/B2 Travel Visa (10-Year)

The most common type of visa is the B1/B2 business/tourist visa. Otherwise known as a “tourist visa,” it can be issued for up to 10 years and allows the taxpayer to reside in the US for up to six months at a time, but not more than six months in the year.

EB-5 Investment Visa

The EB-5 is an investment type of visa in which a taxpayer makes a significant investment in the United States economy and gains the ability to travel to the United States and reside in the United States relatively freely. One key component of this visa is that it does require significant investment and is oftentimes considered a type of Golden Visa similar to other countries that allow taxpayers to acquire permanent resident status and then citizenship through investment.

F-1 Student Visa

The  F-1 visa is a “student visa.” One great benefit of the F-1 student visa is the taxpayers on this type of visa are generally not considered US persons for tax or reporting purposes for the first five years they were on the visa. Therefore, if a person expatriates and then will be returning to the United States on an F1 visa it is important to analyze prior-year residence to assess whether the substantial presence test is met. This is accomplished by analyzing the number of prior year days they resided in the U.S., in conjunction with the current year — to try to avoid becoming a U.S. person for Tax and Reporting Purposes.

Substantial Presence Test

The Substantial Presence Test is a test developed by the Internal Revenue Service that counts the number of days a taxpayer resides in the United States in the current year, along with the two prior years using a one-to-one, three-to-one, and six-to-one ratio. If the taxpayer remains in the United States for too long, then they will be considered a U.S. person for taxing reporting purposes, which would defeat the reason why most people relinquish their green card or renounce their citizenship in the first place – so it is something to be very cognizant of for non-residents who are returning to the United States for an extended period of time.

Late Filing Penalties May Be Reduced or Avoided

For Taxpayers who did not timely file their FBAR and other international information-related reporting forms, the IRS has developed many different offshore amnesty programs to assist Taxpayers with safely getting into compliance. These programs may reduce or even eliminate international reporting penalties.

Current Year vs. Prior Year Non-Compliance

Once a Taxpayer missed the tax and reporting (such as FBAR and FATCA) requirements for prior years, they will want to be careful before submitting their information to the IRS in the current year. That is because they may risk making a quiet disclosure if they just begin filing forward in the current year and/or mass filing previous year forms without doing so under one of the approved IRS offshore submission procedures. Before filing prior untimely foreign reporting forms, Taxpayers should consider speaking with a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist who specializes exclusively in these types of offshore disclosure matters.

Avoid False Offshore Disclosure Submissions (Willful vs Non-Willful)

In recent years, the IRS has increased the level of scrutiny for certain streamlined procedure submissions. When a person is non-willful, they have an excellent chance of making a successful submission to Streamlined Procedures. If they are willful, they would submit to the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program instead. But, if a willful Taxpayer submits an intentionally false narrative under the Streamlined Procedures (and gets caught), they may become subject to significant fines and penalties. 

Need Help Finding an Experienced Offshore Tax Attorney?

When it comes to hiring an experienced international tax attorney to represent you for unreported foreign and offshore account reporting, it can become overwhelming for Taxpayers trying to trek through all the false information and nonsense they will find in their online research. There are only a handful of attorneys worldwide who are Board-Certified Tax Specialists and who specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and international tax amnesty reporting. 

*This resource may help Taxpayers seeking to hire offshore tax counsel: How to Hire an Offshore Disclosure Lawyer.

Golding & Golding: About Our International Tax Law Firm

Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in international tax, specifically IRS offshore disclosure. 

Contact our firm today for assistance.