Several Franco-American lawyers have raised the alert to The Connexion over a drastic bill to cancel double nationality potentially affecting both them and clients with whom they work on citizenship and immigration.
Americans should write to congress people and senators and post on social media to raise awareness of the potential harmful effects, said avocate and attorney Amanda Zane Quenette of the Hauts-de-Seine and New York bars.
The law, if passed, stands to have a major impact on anyone of any age, having both American and another – such as French – citizenship, and however these citizenships were acquired.
Senator Bernie Moreno – who moved to the US as a child from Colombia and became a US citizen at age 18 – has stated that “being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege – and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing”.
His bill, introduced to the Senate, demands that all Americans should “owe sole and exclusive allegiance to the US” and it states that in future holding American and another nationality should be banned, without exceptions.
Furthermore, existing dual citizens, no later than one year after the act is in force, should write to the Secretary of Homeland Security saying they are renouncing the foreign citizenship and if they do not, they shall be assumed to have given up US citizenship.
Affecting millions
This stands to affect tens of millions of people in the US as well as thousands in France who would face having to decide on their ‘allegiance’, in many cases despite having both French and American family.
Losing legal residency status in France and having potentially to return to the US and apply for a long-stay visa to return
Losing the usual benefits of French citizenship such as right to vote or to pass on French citizenship to children
Losing EU citizenship including free movement and equal treatment rights and exemption from EES or ETIAs
However, losing US citizenship would mean:
Having to apply for an ESTA (authorisation to enter) to visit family in the US, potentially including showing five years of social media records (if recent proposals go through) or a visa if they ever want to move back
Potentially triggering a ‘covered expatriate’ exit tax payment calculated against worldwide assets if the person has net worth of $2million or more, average income tax liability exceeding $206,000 or even if they are deemed to have not been fully compliant with tax declaration requirements in the last five years.
As ex-Americans, future gifts or bequests they make to Americans also become subject to a 40% tax payable by the recipient (whereas for most people in the US there is no gift or inheritance tax).
'Scary times'
Amanda Zane QuenetteFANNY DUSSOL
Amanda Zane Quenette, from Neuilly-sur-Seine, said that the bill appears “quite drastic and not at all in line with case law from the US Supreme Court”, which establishes that renunciation of citizenship must involve a clear, voluntary act.
“We’re frankly living in scary times and I wouldn't say that it's completely unexpected in the political climate we're in.
“I don’t want to seem alarmist but we need to take this seriously. It clearly would be catastrophic for Americans globally and worldwide and it's not in the spirit and intention of what my country has historically been in terms of the American melting pot. This is the complete opposite.”
She added: “France and the USA have always been friends and this idea of calling into question loyalties because of dual citizenship is completely unfounded.
“It's quite possible to be loyal to multiple countries and it's just the reality of the world today: my children have three nationalities and most of the kids they go to school with have at least two.
"Why – because today you can get on the airplane and you can be on the other end of the world on the same day.”
Ms Zane Quenette was born in the US but became French by naturalisation after moving here and studying for the bar; her children acquired their nationalities from their parents.
Another situation is people who are American because they were born on American soil, even where they have no other links with America (so-called ‘accidental Americans’).
Some of these, and others who do not want constraints such as annual tax declarations and banking declarations, voluntarily renounce citizenship. Ms Zane Quenette said she has helped some people do this, but it is a lengthy process even to obtain an appointment to complete the paperwork.
Unclear how bill will be managed
Even “logistically”, it is very unclear how the bill’s proposals would be managed and enforced, she added. There is, for example, no database of dual citizens.
She said senator Moreno appeared to make assumptions based on his own situation, having renounced his Colombian citizenship. However, he has lived in the US most of his life and retains few links with Colombia.
“We need to be really worried about this and try to fight against it,” she said.
“Were we to get to the point where it was passed, you would have former Americans living in France.
"Concretely, I'm not going to give up my French nationality because I've been based here for 15 years – I’m not going to start applying for a carte de séjour. I’m a French avocate, my children are here, my life is here.
“But then when I want to visit my elderly mother that lives in Florida, I'd need a visa? I have family and friends there; I spent my entire childhood there. Life today is messy and across borders.
“We're getting to this very Kafkaesque situation now, where the world in which we live and the America that we once knew is resembling less and less a beacon of liberty.”
The law, if it happened, would also potentially mean a loss of some tax income to the US, since the ex-Americans abroad would cease to have tax reporting obligations to the US.
“In fact, it's completely in America's economic interests to have worldwide citizens everywhere.”
The law was filed in the Senate on December 1, and would have to be accepted by the Senate and then go to the House of Representatives and be signed into law by the president.
Ms Zane Quenette said “allegiance” is drilled into young Americans with a pledge every morning in school, but this idea is now being “distorted” with this bill, with a sense of “you’re either with us, or you’re not with us”.
“I reiterate that we must take this seriously. In 2016, people said Trump could not become president and Brexit could never happen.
“If you’re unhappy, you should write to senators, write to congresspeople, make noise, speak to those around you, post on social media. We need to be vocal, we need to speak up.”
Shawn Quinn, who is also a lawyer at the New York and Hauts-de-Seine bars and a naturalised French citizen, said current US law is clear that by taking another nationality, unless you expressed clear intent to lose American citizenship, you remain American.
“The senator is giving a timetable to people, perhaps to imply that by not acting in a certain time it shows the choice was voluntary,” he said – however, he said it is a stretch to say that lack of action shows intent.
“There’s also the logistical problem: many people don’t read up on the law and will miss the deadline, creating a gigantic mess.”
Mr Quinn, based near La Défense, added that the retroactive element is also worrying, the fact it would not only apply to those making a choice to take a foreign nationality, but those who became dual nationals in the past.
“If they’re going to do it, they should change it to say that from now on if you take on another citizenship, you give up US citizenship. That would make more sense.
“I hope this law doesn’t get traction; it would be extremely detrimental for naturalisation in the US and for US citizens abroad.”
He said he helps many clients emigrate to the US and take US citizenship.
“They are proud to be there and like the culture, but there is a protection aspect too. If you need a green card [residency card] you have to maintain that.
"If you get certain convictions, for example – and sometimes people get arrested accidentally – that can cause a green card holder to be removed.”
Regarding enforcement difficulties, he stated that the US government tends to be “pretty good” at this and “I would not want to get on the wrong side of US immigration – I always say ‘tell the truth and things will go much smoother’. It usually works out better that way.”
Another complication, he said, is that if you voluntarily give up citizenship, this usually triggers a special last tax filing in the year afterwards, which has to be made called ’8854’ – which, if it is not made, can result in a $10,000 fine.
“If they’re going to pass it, it needs to be redone. This will open up a lot of litigation and be very bad for Americans.”
'Outrageous move'
Geraldine Tissot-Brown is licensed with the Paris and California bars and completed studies in Bordeaux and Los Angeles, where she works for the offices of Laurent C. Vonderweidt.
She said: “This is somewhat of an outrageous move; similar to other tactics aimed at scaring immigrants off. Among people I work with it’s very unpopular as there are a lot of dual citizens.
“We don't have official numbers from either France or the US on how many dual citizens there are but on the US side, they say it's estimated that 40 million people have dual citizenship in the US.
“And there are an estimated 100,000 Americans in France, though not all with dual nationality.”
She added: “The reason they're doing this is probably to target Hispanic communities, just like the current policies with deportations and ICE arrests. The number one dual nationality is with Mexico. So, they're trying again to appeal to voters who are anti-immigrants.”
She added: “If this was to pass – which is a big if – the exit tax would be a very big factor as well as the emotional difficulty of having to choose.
“For example, my husband's American, my baby is a dual citizen. Do the baby and I decide to stay French, and he's the only one who's American? Do we renounce my own culture in order to stay with my husband and have the family setting be safe?”
She added the rules on gifts and bequests would also pose difficulties within families, and it would make it difficult to ever move back to America.
“Can you imagine the backlog of the millions that would need a green card again? Logistically, I don't think it's possible. I think it's a PR stunt.”
Similarly, in France, the prefectures would face having to deal with Americans seeking to regularise their residency.
“They would need a visa again and a residency card again. And the prefectures are already extremely backlogged – a nightmare.”
It would also be upsetting to some clients who have spent a lot of time and money ‘retrieving’ French nationality to which they are entitled due to family links but who would face having to renounce it again.
Ms Tissot-Brown said if the law is passed, it will likely be in a modified form, with exclusions, for example for people who are born with dual citizenship by parentage, but also bearing in mind the case law around how renunciation is a voluntary act involving a set legal process.
“America's been an ally of France forever. We've been in active conflict together, but never against each other.
“So, it worries me, as somebody that loves both countries, to think, are you envisioning us being at war one day?
“Because that would be the only scenario where it would be impossible to have both allegiances; if both countries called you to fight against each other.
“With a president that claims to be anti-war and to want the Nobel Peace Prize, that makes me deeply uncomfortable.”
