Part II: U.S. Department of State has Allowed (Starting in at least 2013) USCs to Keep their U.S. Passports After Oath and Prior to Receiving CLN

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See the first post on this topic:  U.S. Department of State has Allowed (Starting in at least 2013) USCs to Keep their U.S. Passports After Oath and Prior to Receiving CLN, Posted on March 17, 2015

A U.S. citizen is required to have a U.S. passport to enter the U.S., according to the immigration law regulations 22 CFR § 53.1 require that a U.S. citizen have a U.S. passport to enter or depart the United States.  US PassportThe relevant part of the regulations is § 53.1(a) which provides as follows:

Passport requirement; definitions.

(a) It is unlawful for a citizen of the United States, unless excepted under 22 CFR 53.2, to enter or depart, or attempt to enter or depart, the United States, without a valid U.S. passport.
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These regulations were first published in 2006, and rely in part on a Presidential Executive Order made by President Bush (Jr.).  See a prior post, USCs without a . . . Passport . . . Cannot Travel to the U.S., Posted on May 17, 2015. In that post and a later post, I explained how a social security number is currently not an indispensable requirement for U.S. citizens who wish to travel to the U.S. and need to apply for a passport.
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See, Important Correction: Passports Required to Enter and Leave U.S. – but SSNs May be Optional, Posted on May 22, 2015.
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This background is relevant for U.S. citizens who take the oath of renunciation.  Previously, many U.S. embassies and U.S. Consulates around the world would physically take the U.S. passport of the individual upon taking the oath of renunciation and completing U.S. Department of State Form DS-4080.  See, a prior post, Documents to Request the Consular Officer When Renouncing U.S. Citizenship, Posted on May 28, 2014, which provides as follows:
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The U.S. Department of State does not always provide any specific document, e.g., a certified copy of any of the following documents, after you take the oath of renunciation:

Form DS-4080, Oath of Renunciation of the Nationality of the United States. 

Not having a U.S. passport can of course be problematic if the individual needs to travel in or out of the U.S. for a period of time after taking the oath, but before receiving the CLN.  See,  The Importance of a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (“CLN”) and FATCA – Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, Posted on June 1, 2014

Fortunately, I have been told by several Chiefs of American Citizen Services in different U.S. Consulates and U.S. Embassies that they have been advised from Washington that they are NOT required to physically take the U.S. passport, until after the issuance of the CLN.  This now seems to be consistent practice throughout the world, and most all  Chiefs of American Citizen Services use this approach, based upon my personal experience with different clients.

This entry was posted in Immigration Law Considerations, Tax Compliance, U.S. Department of State and tagged , , , , , , .

2 thoughts on “Part II: U.S. Department of State has Allowed (Starting in at least 2013) USCs to Keep their U.S. Passports After Oath and Prior to Receiving CLN”

    royaberg said:
    August 16, 2015 at 12:24 am

    Hey Patrick,
    I believe the decision to collect or not collect an individual’s passport is made on a consulate by consulate basis. Most consulates in Canada will collect the individual’s passport if it hasn’t expired (they allow the individual to keep expired ones). The individual receives it back (stamped and punched “invalid”) with the CLN.

    Reply
      fnormano said:
      September 14, 2016 at 5:27 am

      At my appointment in September 2016 in Vancouver, they collected my US passport, and advised me to keep the $2350 renunciation fee receipt in the back of my Canadian passport in case the CBP asked questions at the border.

      Reply

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