No matter where you live, count on AARP to be your voice in the U.S. on the issues that matter most. Log on to the AARP Webplace for information about health and finance, or advice on voter registration and absentee ballots in your state. Learn more about our long-distance caregiving assistance programs and AARP travel discounts in the U.S. and abroad. Staying connected is easy when you've got AARP. Visit www.aarp.org or call +1 202 737-9860.

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Now the naturalization process just got a little easier. Public Law 107-273 recently amended section 322(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1433(a)), making available the facilitated naturalization procedure for children of American citizens abroad who do not meet the residence requirements for transmitting citizenship to those minors whose citizen-parent is no longer living. If the citizen-parent is deceased, an application for naturalization can now be made by a citizen-grandparent or a citizen-legal guardian. Previously, death of the citizen-parent excluded his/her children from easy naturalization.

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ACA's Tenth Annual Gala Auction will be held Friday, March 14, 2003, at the Hotel Beau Rivage in Geneva. Beginning at 7:00 p.m. with music and hors-d'oeuvres, guests will have an opportunity to bid on prizes such as airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, and jewelry. The proceeds will help American Citizens Abroad continue to offer important, timely information to its members and readers. Join us if you can! If you can't, you can still join ACA! You can become a member and pay here.

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The Treasury Department issued final regulations on Dec. 24, 2002, concerning the applicability of section 645 elections to foreign trusts and foreign estates. The new regulations enable a foreign trust to be considered part of a decedent's estate, an election previously reserved only for domestic trusts. If you have created a revocable trust and are concerned about the new regulations, you should contact a lawyer for further information. ACA thanks Carlyn McCaffrey of Weil, Gottshal and Manges, New York, NY for her help in drafting the comments ACA submitted to the Treasury Department regarding the regulations.

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In an important victory in the struggle for equal representation for overseas Americans, twelve states have expanded the right to vote to those previously excluded. Typically, under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), an American citizen living abroad is allowed to vote in the last place the person was domiciled before leaving the U.S. Formerly, however, an American citizen who was born abroad and has never resided in the U.S., despite being subject to American income taxes and other requirements of citizenship, was not qualified to vote, since there was no state or territory which that citizen could claim as his/her home. Now, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have expanded the UOCAVA to allow these American citizens to claim the legal residence of a parent and to vote in that state's elections. For more information see the Federal Voting Assistance Program web site at www.fvap.gov.

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An article published in the New York Times on February 19, 2003, reports that building anti-U.S. sentiment is causing many Americans living abroad "varying degrees of wariness, discomfort and even risk." The American Embassy in Jakarta has evacuated the families of American diplomats, and many American corporations are following suit. Several American embassies in the Middle East have begun the process of sending the families of diplomats and staff members home. The article further reports that schools attended by American children in the Middle East and Indonesia have asked students to maintain stores of clothing for several days in case the children have to remain at the campus. The article outlines the experiences of several Americans living in different countries. These range from a teacher in Pakistan whose house is guarded by four armed sentries to a consultant in Germany who says that most locals reserve their hostility for the American government and remain generally friendly to U.S. citizens. The full text of the article is available at www.nytimes.com. Remember that the State Department consular services web site www.travel.state.gov has regularly updated advisories related to living or traveling abroad.

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The U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt is asking Americans residing in that consular district (Hessen, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Saarland, and Rheinland Pfalz) to provide feedback to two questions:

1. As an American living overseas what topics would you like to hear more about?
2. Would you be interested in attending "town meetings" hosted by the Consul General and the consulate staff for American citizens?

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ACA would like to remind its readers that the White House Comment Line is always available to receive citizen comments. If you would like to make your opinion known on any subject, you may call +1-202-4561111 (for hearing impaired: +1-202-4566213), fax: +1-202-4562461 and/or email: president@whitehouse.gov or vice-president@whitehouse.gov.

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As of March 1st, 2003 the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) no longer exists. All functions previously exercised by INS will be carried out by Bureaus within the Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov -- a web site loaded with information, since 22 other agencies have previously been absorbed by DHS). Immigration and naturalization adjudication come under the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, whose web site is already up and running: www.immigration.gov.

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Please join Zurich International School on Saturday, March 29, 2003, for ZIS WORLDFEST, an international day-long festival for the whole family. Celebrating the many cultures represented at the school, guests will enjoy delicious foods from around the world, and games, activities, and live entertainment from 44 countries. Adults can bid on valuable raffle prizes, including airline tickets, original artwork, and local gift certificates. ZIS WORLDFEST is held at the ZIS primary school campus, Steinacherstrasse 140, W„denswil. It is conveniently located just off the A3 Wädenswil exit. By train, take the S8 or S2 to the Wädenswil Bahnhof, then Autobus 160 to the Neubuhl stop. For more information see www.zis.ch.

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The Thomas Jefferson Award is given each year for outstanding service to Americans abroad by a State Department employee. If you know of an employee who has contributed beneficially to the experience of an American abroad, please nominate him/her for this award by contacting ACA by March 15, 2003. This award is an apt way in which to honor a State Department employee who has made the lives of American citizens living abroad easier.

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American Citizens Abroad observes and celebrates 25 years of existence and helping the American community overseas. ACA was founded in Geneva in 1978. We would like to hear from people who were involved with the groundbreaking and the first year's growing pains. How did you hear about it? What prompted you to join? Did you think it would last? What were the highlights you remember of the first year? Drop us a line to acage@aca.ch for the 25th anniversary special News Report. Put ACA Anniversary in the subject line.

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