American Citizens Abroad celebrated its 25th birthday on 10th July 2003. The kind words received from numerous and geographically diverse readers were greatly appreciated:

"The very best to ACA and all those who keep the spirit alive. You are much appreciated and are a lifeline for the thousands of us who live overseas. You are our collective voice. Keep up the good work and God bless you!" wrote a consular agent in Brazil.

A European-based publisher said, "I know of no other organization that deserves the recognition and gratitude of overseas Americans, for the work it has done on their behalf, for so long, than American Citizens Abroad. Thank you for that stewardship."

Birthday or not, the little notes of "Keep up the good work!" frequently received by ACA serve as an excellent pay-substitute for an organization run almost exclusively by volunteer labor.

Back to the top

Paris, 18 June 2003: ACA and representatives of other overseas Americans met with representatives of the Census Bureau to discuss preparations for the test census to be held in France, Kuwait and Mexico in 2004.

The Census Bureau will be running a publicity campaign in these countries to raise awareness of the test count and to encourage Americans there to file requests in writing or via internet for the census count forms, which will later be mailed to them. Copies of the forms will also be made available at US consular posts. While there will be some range in the date of receiving the forms, information on them is to reflect the household's situation on 1 April 2004.

Washington, 20 June 2003: J. Eugene Marans of the law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, generously continued his support to getting Americans abroad included in the decennial census by filing ACA's comments in response to the Department of Commerce request for comments on the 2004 Enumeration Test as published in the Federal Register.

In its comments, ACA included a number of suggestions and queries for further details.

Back to the top

Starting 1 October 2003, travelers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program must have a machine-readable passport. Any traveler without a machine-readable passport will be required to obtain a visa before coming to the United States.

This requirement is mandated by the USA Patriot Act of 2001. Immigration inspectors may deny entry to any traveler attempting to enter on a visa-waiver basis without a machine-readable passport after 1 October 2003.

Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries are permitted to enter the United States for general business or tourist purposes for a maximum of 90 days without needing a visa. The 27 countries currently in the Visa Waiver Program are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

A traveler who must use a non-machine-readable passport, even if from a Visa Waiver Program country, will have to apply for a non- immigrant visa at a US Embassy or Consulate. The worldwide US- visa application fee is $100. The US non-immigrant visa contains machine-readable biographical data.

The Visa Waiver Program requirements can be found at the Department of State's Visa Services web site, travel.state.gov

Back to the top

The recent battle in Congress to keep the tax exclusion for overseas Americans was won, but there are signs that the war is not over. Close watchers of the Washington scene warn us to be prepared for further attacks.

Watch this ACA web site for immediate warning of any new threats. We'll also be posting some choice quotes from members of Congress concerning the Section 911 exclusion. Let us--and Washington!--know your opinion.

Back to the top

INSEAD, a leading international business school based in Singapore and France (www.insead.edu), is conducting a questionnaire survey on "American Expatriates' Attitudes and Experiences" as part of its global study on "International Careers." The objectives of the study are to examine the current career concept of expatriates, their perceived career impact of the international assignment, and their satisfaction with different aspects of the assignment.

They write: Target respondents are Americans working for American organizations and are currently on expatriate assignments in any other country. Findings of the study are expected to be helpful to current and future expatriates, and to those who are involved in managing expatriate assignments. Upon completion of the study, INSEAD will be pleased to share the results with respondents. We sincerely hope that you will help us advance our understanding of the challenges that expatriates face in their careers by participating in our survey. To get a copy of the questionnaire, please kindly send an email message to CheiHwee-CHUA.Fb@insead.edu.

Joanna Salmon at Oxford University is investigating how gender influences expatriation in the context of American Expatriates in the UK. Issues to be addressed include: the woman's role in deciding to migrate, the effect migration has upon women's employment, and gender differences which exist in formation of new social networks.

She seeks American expatriates, both male and female, currently residing in the UK. If you are such a person, regardless of how long you have been residing in the UK, or how relevant you think your experience is, she asks you to contact her at joanna.salmon@keble.oxford.ac.uk to obtain and respond to a short questionnaire.

Return to the top

If you know of particular upcoming non-profit events that may be of interest to Americans living abroad, ACA can note them in our News Update. (To advertise upcoming for-profit events, why not take out ad space in the Update?)

MANDAT INTERNATIONAL is a Geneva-based NGO (non- governmental organization) created to support and reinforce the participation of delegates from NGOs in international conferences. Mandat maintains a roster of individuals willing to welcome in their homes delegates from developing countries who are attending conferences at the United Nations in Geneva, such as the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples which meets 20 to 27 July 2003. Individuals interested in knowing more should contact Mandat International at Geneva number +41 22 9598855 or email: info@mandat.org

W.I.N. (Women's International Networking) will hold its 6th annual conference in Lausanne, Switzerland from 2-4 October 2003. The group specializes in "leadership events for women working internationally." To learn more about them and the upcoming conference, see: www.winconference.net or email: network@winconference.net

Return to the top

With best wishes to you each and all, the News Update staff is also going on vacation! We'll be back in September. If you, too, would like to join the 2003-2004 team of editors, contact ACA at: acage@aca.ch

Return to the top