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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

Here's a question for the board please, having casual conversations with family and friends over the holidays I mentioned maybe my wife (who is filipina)and I may retire in the Philippines, (I'm way to young to retire right now) and I was surprised to hear it's not that easy, some say I would have to come back to the United States every 6 months to keep my U.S. Citizenship, some said no I wouldn't, some said I could get dual citizenship, there we're 10 filipina's at the party and I got ten different answers. Does anybody know the true LEGAL answer on how I could keep my U.S. citizenship and legally live in the Philippines, without major expenses like flying somewhere out of country every 6 months that could get expensive. Hope I explained myself well.

Thanks for your help...

I-797 mailed: April 20,2009

RFE Received: Sept. 30,2009

NOA Response: Oct. 25,2009

I-797 Notice: Dec. 24,2009

APPROVED

Medical exam: March 16,2010

(SLMC,Manila,Phils.)

Interview : March 30,2010

(US Emabssy,Manila,Phils.)

APPROVED

Visa Issued : April 13,2010

Visa Received: April 19,2010

Left Phils. : May 01,2010

Arrived US : May 01,2010

Married : May 07,2010

I-765(EAD) : June 22,2010

Received : June 29,2010

RFE received : July 21,2010

NOA Response : Aug. 05,2010

Received : Aug. 19,2010

I-765 Notice : Sept. 02,2010

I-485(AOS) : June 06,2010

Received : June 29,2010

Noticed : Sept. 29,2010

APPROVE

October 04,2010 Got my GREEN CARD I.D in the mail :)

Posted

It is pretty hard to lose your citizenship from what I have read. Of course I only did a short search online. I am sure people have better websites to reference it, but here is one:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5663456_lose-citizenship-u_s_.html

From what I have read you have to denounce your US citizenship to lose it. Unless you get a permenant resident (ACR)in the PI, I believe you would have to leave every 16 months anyway.

I know you wanted the no kidding legal answer, but this should get the discussion started.

For our Full timeline

event.png

Removal of conditions Journey

16 March 2012 Sent I-751 package from Aviano AB, Italy.

29 March 2012 Received everything back...wrong fee. thought we didn't have to pay biometrics since we were sending fingerprint cards and passport photos.

30 March 2012 Sent everything out again from Aviano AB, Italy.

10 April 2012 Check cashed

17 April 2012 Received NOA1 dated 6 April.

06 Dec 2012 Received 10 yr green card. Letter said it was approved 28 November 2012.

Posted

Here's a question for the board please, having casual conversations with family and friends over the holidays I mentioned maybe my wife (who is filipina)and I may retire in the Philippines, (I'm way to young to retire right now) and I was surprised to hear it's not that easy, some say I would have to come back to the United States every 6 months to keep my U.S. Citizenship, some said no I wouldn't, some said I could get dual citizenship, there we're 10 filipina's at the party and I got ten different answers. Does anybody know the true LEGAL answer on how I could keep my U.S. citizenship and legally live in the Philippines, without major expenses like flying somewhere out of country every 6 months that could get expensive. Hope I explained myself well.

Thanks for your help...

You CANNOT lose your U.S. citizenship no matter how long you stay outside the U.S.! If you are a legal permanent resident, i.e., greencard holder and thus NOT a citizen, if you are absent for longer than six months, questions may arise as to whether you have abandoned your U.S. residency. This does not in any way, shape, or form apply to U.S. Citizens, born or naturalized.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice, but my personal opinion. While I am a law school graduate, I am not a licensed attorney and thus not qualified to give legal advice. :ot2:

Met in Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines: 2007-05-17
Our son was born in Borongan, Eastern Samar, Philippines: 2009-04-01
Married in Borongan, Eastern Samar, Philippines: 2009-10-24
CR-1 Visa - California Service Center; Consulate - Manila, Philippines
I-130 mailed: 2010-04-13
I-130 NOA1: 2010-04-24
I-130 NOA2: 2010-09-30
NVC received case: 2010-10-14
Case Complete: 2010-12-01
Interview scheduled: 2010-12-06
Medical, St. Luke's, Manila: 2010-12-09 and 2010-12-10
Interview at US Embassy in Manila 8:30 AM: 2011-01-05 - Approved!
Visa delivered: 2011-01-08
CFO Seminar completed: 2011-01-10
My beloved wife Sol and my beautiful son Nathan arrive in the U.S. (POE San Francisco): 2011-01-26
Lifting Conditions - Vermont Service Center
Date mailed: 2012-11-01
Receipt date: 2012-11-05
NOA received: 2012-11-09
Biometrics letter received: 2012-11-16
Biometrics appointment date: 2012-12-10
Biometrics walk-in successful: 2012-11-20
Removal of Conditions approved date: 2013-04-27
10 year green card mailed: 2013-05-03
10 year green card received: 2013-05-06
Citizenship
N400 mailed: 2013-10-28
N400 delivered: 2013-10-31
NOA1: 2013-11-04
Biometrics: 2013-11-18
In Line: 2013-12-26
Interview scheduled: 2013-12-30
Interview: 2014-02-03

Oath ceremony queue: 2014-02-07

Oath ceremony: 2014-03-28 Sol is a U.S. citizen

Applied for expedited passport: 2014-04-01

Passport received, Priority Express: 2014-04-09 This is journey's end at last!

Naturalization certificate returned, Priority Mail: 2014-04-12

Passport card received, First Class: 2014-04-14

1457 days, I-130 mailed to passport in hand

Posted

You CANNOT lose your U.S. citizenship no matter how long you stay outside the U.S.! If you are a legal permanent resident, i.e., greencard holder and thus NOT a citizen, if you are absent for longer than six months, questions may arise as to whether you have abandoned your U.S. residency. This does not in any way, shape, or form apply to U.S. Citizens, born or naturalized.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice, but my personal opinion. While I am a law school graduate, I am not a licensed attorney and thus not qualified to give legal advice. :ot2:

This is absolutely true...I've resided outside the US for 3 out of the past 4 years, and so far as I know, as long as you renew your passport every 10 years you'll be OK.

To the OP, the requirements aren't all that strict, but keep in mind, to have the 'retiree' status you would need to have about $50-70K in an account, and that's probably to ensure you buy a house to live in. There is a great website from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, I'd recommend looking at it!

12/29/2009 - - - - -Met on CherryBlossoms

3/12/2010 - - - - - -Arrived in Manila and fell madly in love

3/25/2010 - - - - - -Proposed (of course she said YES!)

3/31/2010 - - - - - -Departed Manila (and the love of my life)

5/22/2010 - 5/27/2010 - - - - - -Arrived in Manila again...we have an apartment together!

8/22/2010 - 9/5/2010 - - - - - - -Arrived in Manila yet again...I love not paying for hotels!

11/23/2010- - - - - Arrived in Manila (Just in time for my birthday!)

1/5/2011- - - - - - - Married!

1/28/2011- - - - - - Departed Manila (doesn't get any easier every time I do this :( )

3/19/2011- - - - - - Arrived in Manila (and off to the island of Leyte)

8/22//2011- - - - - - Wife interviewed for Tourist Visa -- DENIED!

9/16/2011- - - - - - Departed Manila (alone)

Filed: Other Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

Looks like you already got your answer on the U S citizenship question. As for leaving, I believe that it is once a year that you have to leave the Philippines for one day. Doesn't matter where you go. Can be by boat or plane. Just get the cheapest ticket anywhere out of the Philippines. The rest of the time, just keep getting visa extensions. For more info, you will probably get the best advice from some of the expat forums of u s citizens actually living there. It is not that hard at all.

Posted

check this site out:

http://www.us-expatriate-handbook.com/chpt6.htm

US CITIZENSHIP AND RESIDENCE ABROAD

US citizens who take up residence abroad, or who are contemplating doing

so, frequently ask whether this will have any effect on their

citizenship. Residence abroad, in and of itself, has no effect on US

citizenship. However, a person who becomes a US citizen through

naturalization and then takes up a permanent residence abroad within one

year thereafter is subject to possible revocation of naturalization on

the grounds that he did not intend to reside permanently in the United

States when the petition for naturalization was filed. Each particular

case is judged on its own merits. Clearly, some persons may have

intended to reside in the United States but due to unexpected

circumstances had to take up residence abroad. Revocation of

naturalization is the responsibility of the court where the

naturalization occurred. The initial steps leading to revocation are

taken by the Departments of State and Justice. Contact the nearest US

embassy or consulate if you have any questions about citizenship.

ACQUISITION AND LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP

US citizenship may be acquired by birth in the United States or by birth

abroad to a parent or parents who are US citizens. However, there are

certain residency or physical presence requirements that US citizens may

need to fulfill before the child's birth in order to transmit

citizenship to their child born abroad. A child born abroad in wedlock

to one citizen parent and one alien parent acquires US citizenship only

if the citizen parent was physically present in the United States for

five years prior to the child's birth, at least two years of which were

after the age of 14. Living abroad in military service or US Government

employment, or as an unmarried dependent in the household of someone so

employed, can be considered as presence in the United States. A child

born out of wedlock to a US citizen mother acquires citizenship if the

mother was physically present in the United States for one year. A

child born out of wedlock to a US citizen father must establish a legal

relationship to the father before age 18 or be legitimated before

reaching age 21, depending on the date of birth, if he is to acquire US

citizenship through the father. For further information on these legal

requirements, consult the nearest foreign service post.

Loss of citizenship can occur only as the result of a citizen's

voluntarily performing an act of expatriation as set forth in the

Immigration and Nationality Act with the intent to relinquish

citizenship. These include naturalization in a foreign state and taking

an oath or making an affirmation of allegiance to a foreign state.

For our Full timeline

event.png

Removal of conditions Journey

16 March 2012 Sent I-751 package from Aviano AB, Italy.

29 March 2012 Received everything back...wrong fee. thought we didn't have to pay biometrics since we were sending fingerprint cards and passport photos.

30 March 2012 Sent everything out again from Aviano AB, Italy.

10 April 2012 Check cashed

17 April 2012 Received NOA1 dated 6 April.

06 Dec 2012 Received 10 yr green card. Letter said it was approved 28 November 2012.

Posted

Here's a question for the board please, having casual conversations with family and friends over the holidays I mentioned maybe my wife (who is filipina)and I may retire in the Philippines, (I'm way to young to retire right now) and I was surprised to hear it's not that easy, some say I would have to come back to the United States every 6 months to keep my U.S. Citizenship, some said no I wouldn't, some said I could get dual citizenship, there we're 10 filipina's at the party and I got ten different answers. Does anybody know the true LEGAL answer on how I could keep my U.S. citizenship and legally live in the Philippines, without major expenses like flying somewhere out of country every 6 months that could get expensive. Hope I explained myself well.

Thanks for your help...

Here is a link to the Philippine Consulate in S.F. that has info on different types of immigrant visas to the Philippines.

http://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org/

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

If you enter the country with your wife, then you can get a Balikbayan stamp in your passport. That stamp gets you 1 year hassle free. You can keep doing this over and over as far as I know. (NOT CERTAIN) Fly to Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and then return, the downside is your wife would have to be with you upon entering each time and that could get expensive. Just a thought.

Wyatt

"The Brazos still runs muddy like she's run all along, there ain't never been no cane to grind, the cottons all but gone." R.E.K



Filed I-129F petition on Oct. 27th 2008
NOA1 Nov. 2008
NOA2 March 27th 2009
VSC sent notice that petition forwared to Manila on April 10th
Letter Finally recieved April 24th
June 10th interview date
Passed medical on May 26th (But, not allowed to get vaccinations)
June 10th Pink slip recieved (Yeee-hawww!!!) Consul interview lasted 5 min.
CFO- Completed in Cebu
POE-(LAX, Flew into together on July 17th, took only 5 min.)
Married August 11th (Now the AOS journey begins)

AOS
Recieved Packet Oct. 6th
Recieved NOA AOS, EAD, AP Oct. 17th.
Recieved Biometrics Appointment letter Oct. 23rd
Biometrics Appointment Nov. 2nd.
Advanced Parole approved Nov. 23rd
EAD Work Authorization received Dec. 6th
Permanent Resident Card and Welcome letter received Dec. 15th

96a46edb-2d4b-4f9c-98ae-240883a49565.jpg

Filed: Other Timeline
Posted

I would have never thought that people would discuss on this board whether or not Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are real, but even stipulating that a US citizen would lose their citizenship if he or she did not return to the US every 6 months is exactly that: completely insane, ridiculous . . . so far out there as Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all . . . . The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic . . . . There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.

President Teddy Roosevelt on Columbus Day 1915

Posted

I am in no way an expert on this. But I think you want the Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV) I've seen the deposit listed as 10K USD and also as 20K USD. But either way, it's still pretty easy.

You want to look at the Philippine Retirement Authority.

link

 

 

 

Posted

IMHO, the easiest way is to use the Balibayan Status as stated above. Take a 2 day trip to Malaysia once a year, and be done with it. Not that expensive at all. You can find flights thru China Airlines for 3200PhP or so r/t per person.

IR-1/CR-1 Visa

Event Date

Service Center : California Service Center

Consulate : Manilla, Philipines

Marriage (if applicable): 2010-02-28

I-130 Sent : 2010-06-15

I-130 NOA1 : 2010-06-19

I-130 RFE :

I-130 RFE Sent :

I-130 Approved : 2010-08-03

NVC Received : 2010-08-10

Received DS-3032 / I-864 Bill : 2010-08-17

Pay I-864 Bill 2010-09-01

Receive I-864 Package : 2010-09-18

Return Completed I-864 : 2010-09-21

Return Completed DS-3032 : 2010-09-25

Receive IV Bill : 2010-10-05

Pay IV Bill : 2010-10-06

Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

Here's a question for the board please, having casual conversations with family and friends over the holidays I mentioned maybe my wife (who is filipina)and I may retire in the Philippines, (I'm way to young to retire right now) and I was surprised to hear it's not that easy, some say I would have to come back to the United States every 6 months to keep my U.S. Citizenship, some said no I wouldn't, some said I could get dual citizenship, there we're 10 filipina's at the party and I got ten different answers. Does anybody know the true LEGAL answer on how I could keep my U.S. citizenship and legally live in the Philippines, without major expenses like flying somewhere out of country every 6 months that could get expensive. Hope I explained myself well.

Thanks for your help...

You can not lose your US citizenship no matter what, You can not denounce your US citizenship, the reason, you will always be obligated to pay US taxes (depending on earnings of course) and you will always be obligated to military service.Just try to get rid of your citizenship and those government obligations, you can not. LOL

Posted

you can formally denounce your citizenship, but then you would need a visa to come the US. I agree your best bet would be to take a short trip every year.

For our Full timeline

event.png

Removal of conditions Journey

16 March 2012 Sent I-751 package from Aviano AB, Italy.

29 March 2012 Received everything back...wrong fee. thought we didn't have to pay biometrics since we were sending fingerprint cards and passport photos.

30 March 2012 Sent everything out again from Aviano AB, Italy.

10 April 2012 Check cashed

17 April 2012 Received NOA1 dated 6 April.

06 Dec 2012 Received 10 yr green card. Letter said it was approved 28 November 2012.

Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

you can formally denounce your citizenship, but then you would need a visa to come the US. I agree your best bet would be to take a short trip every year.

Well, let me know when you do. I would like to see the letter from the US Government saying your citizenship is revoked.

Renunciation of natural born citizenship is a myth.

Read this:

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_776.html

Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

Here's a question for the board please, having casual conversations with family and friends over the holidays I mentioned maybe my wife (who is filipina)and I may retire in the Philippines, (I'm way to young to retire right now) and I was surprised to hear it's not that easy, some say I would have to come back to the United States every 6 months to keep my U.S. Citizenship, some said no I wouldn't, some said I could get dual citizenship, there we're 10 filipina's at the party and I got ten different answers. Does anybody know the true LEGAL answer on how I could keep my U.S. citizenship and legally live in the Philippines, without major expenses like flying somewhere out of country every 6 months that could get expensive. Hope I explained myself well.

Thanks for your help...

I've been living the Phils for a little over 3 years on extended tourist visa's. That's what many expat's do here.

The Phils Gov't did extend the period of time you can extend for without having to leave from 1 year to now 16 -18 months (Not sure exactly)

Since i usually go back to the states once a year anyway.

I've never been under the impression that my status as a US citizen was ever in jeopardy.

 
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