Japan and Mexico
Additional bilateral Social Security Agreements in the offing...

Foreign passports
Update on biometric requirements...

Visas required
Visitors entering from abroad via private transport...

Withholding taxes
New US-Japan tax treaty...

Useful worldwide info
State Dept web pages revamped...

Registration
Who knows where you are? Perhaps the State Department...

Deportation proceedings
Checkmate for Bobby Fischer...?

Banking
And speaking of checks...

Book project
ACA awaits your contribution for its upcoming book on Americans abroad...

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However you want the presidential and congressional elections to turn out in November, you need to think ahead to make sure your own vote is counted. The standardized Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) for an absentee ballot is accepted by every state, and now it will even be accepted in its downloaded form, so you can print copies for yourselves and other Americans in your area. Full instructions are on the web site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). www.fvap.gov

Print up that form, click on the state of the address that you use and follow the directions, send the form where they tell you, and you're registered. Five minutes, tops.

Go for it !!!!!!!!!!!!! And please get everyone you know to do the same !

While on the FVAP site, review information concerning the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB), which can be used by timely-registered voters who do not receive their absentee ballot.

NOTE ALSO the tollfree phone numbers listed on the site to phone for help. FVAP follows up on complaints related to difficulties encountered in voting from abroad.

Voters from all states can use a simplified procedure at www.overseasvote2004.com

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Two new Social Security Agreements have been signed with the governments of Japan and of Mexico. Each of these must be ratified by the respective governments, and are not expected to go into effect before 2005. Texts of the treaties can be found at www.ssa.gov.

A Supplemental Agreement has been signed with Sweden, and must also be ratified by both governments.

Direct deposit of Social Security payments is now possible in Greece and Mexico. ACA welcomes views and feedback on any of the above agreements (email acage@aca.ch).

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The United States now issues "machine-readable" passports (MRP) which, when swiped through a passport reader device, provide bio-data on the passport holder. As of 26 October 2004, the US will require that holders of passports from all Visa-Waiver Program (VWP) countries (27 countries whose citizens can enter the US for 90 days without a visa) must also have MRP. An individual from a visa-waiver country who does not have a MRP after that date will be required to obtain a visa for entry.

Note also: the Department of Homeland Security announced in April that beginning September 30, 2004 it will expand the US-VISIT Program, tracking entry and exit of foreign visitors by using electronically scanned fingerprints and photographs) to include also visitors from VWP countries. So your spouse/child/colleague with VWP citizenship may not need a visa to enter the US, but his/her arrival/departure will be tracked electronically.

Yet another twist comes into effect, also on 26 October 2004: from that point on, countries currently on the VWP can remain so only if they have in place a program to produce biometric passports, where the holder's bio-data are embedded in the passport in a contactless chip. Nationals of VWP countries can still enter the US with their MRP issued prior to the 26 October deadline, or with a biometric passport issued on or after that date.

The catch is: NO ONE will be ready to issue biometric passports by 26 October 2004. The US itself will be producing test biometric passports in December 2004, and hopefully will issue biometric tourist passports as of spring 2005. The UK expects to begin in late 2005; Japan will be in full production by April 2006; and others not until way into 2006.

Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, pleading for a 2-year deadline extension. Failing that, consular posts expect - and despair of finding means to cope with -- a 70% increase in the number of visa applications after late October. (details at: travel.state.gov)

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A fact situation was recently presented to ACA: the European head of European operations for an American multinational flew to an from overseas to an inland airport in the US - and was greeted with the news that he should turn around and go home, and that his pilot could fined heavily for having transported him. This, despite the fact that the individual came from a visa-waiver country. Why?

Because the VWP provisions are only valid to those who enter the US aboard an air or sea carrier that has agreed to participate in the program. This applies to most airlines and shipping companies (Private or official aircraft or vessels do not meet this requirement). You will need a visa if your carrier is not a participant.

As explained on a US Embassy website (in language now somewhat outdated):

Q. I am entering the United States aboard a private plane, can I travel visa free?
A. If you are entering the United States aboard a private aircraft of a U.S. corporation that has entered into an agreement with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to carry passengers under the Visa Waiver Program, you will not require a visa, if you are otherwise qualified to travel visa free. If you are entering aboard any other private or official aircraft, you will require a visa.

Q. How can I find out if my employer can carry visa free passengers on its' aircraft?
A. You must contact your employer. The Embassy does not have a list of corporations that have entered into an agreement with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to carry passengers under the Visa Waiver Program.

Q. I am entering the United States on a private yacht; do I qualify for visa free travel?
A. No. If you are entering the U.S. on a private yacht, you will require a visa.

Tracing this back a bit further, one comes to the "International Flight Information Manual: Guide for Private Flyers" (www.faa.gov), which is fascinating to peruse.

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The United States-Japan tax treaty, which was signed on November 6, 2003, entered into force on March 30, 2004. Pursuant to Article 30, the treaty generally is applicable with respect to withholding taxes on July 1, 2004. In the case of U.S. withholding taxes, the treaty is applicable for amounts paid or credited on or after July 1st. In the case of Japanese withholding taxes, the treaty is applicable for amounts taxable on or after July 1st. For full details, including treaty text and guidance documents, see: www.irs.gov, then search for "tax treaties"

While on the IRS web site, you can locate the listings for the 3 (only!) IRS offices located abroad to service Americans and others obligated to file US tax returns. All three offices are located in Europe (London, Paris, Berlin), but together they service the entire world. Most consular posts have copies of various tax forms to be filled out (most or all of which can also be downloaded electronically now), and many have a system of IRS-trained volunteers available during the springtime to help filers to prepare their returns. On the IRS web site, go to "Contact my local office internationally".

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The recently revamped State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs pages (travel.state.gov) are more jam-packed with information than ever, yet permit rapid zeroing in on specific subjects. A government web site where it is really interesting to surf. Go beyond the basic passport and visa information to the listing of key officers of Foreign Service posts, or the Foreign Service Manual itself. How about a country-by-country listing of local holidays worldwide? See also post reports by US government employees and their families assigned abroad, providing living, housing and health conditions (note that some are rather outdated).

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Americans abroad have alternately been encourage and discouraged regarding registering their presence with their local embassy. Now the State Department has launched on-line registration, saving overworked consular officials, busy business people and those distant from consular posts trouble and frustration. Check out the website: travelregistration.state.gov and let your presence be known.

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According to the Associated Press, former world chess champion Bobby Fischer has appealed Japanese plans to deport him to the US and hopes to find political asylum in a third country. Fischer was detained by Japanese immigration officials last week after trying to leave the country for the Philippines. His passport was determined invalid. Fischer is wanted in the United States for playing a chess match in Yugoslavia in 1992. Yugoslavia was under international sanctions at that time, and U.S. citizens were banned from doing business there. (source: Siskind's Immigration Bulletin - www.visalaw.com)

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The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act ("Check 21") was passed on 28 October 2003 and comes into effect 28 October 2004. The law permits electronic check clearance by banks, a major cost-cutting for the banking system. What this also means is that it will take HOURS, not days, for your check to clear within the US. For those of us sending US checks from abroad, a heads-up to recalculate timing so as to ensure you have funds to cover in time. A full write-up of the pros and cons at www.consumersunion.org

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This News Update is, like ACA itself, of, by, and for Americans abroad. ACA is staffed through the efforts of volunteers, with its primary income source being membership fees and donations from private American citizens around the world.

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE HANDS-ON TO ACA WORK:

1. NEWS UPDATE EDITORS. ACA is seeking to supplement its News Update staff. Work involves actually writing the News Update 2 - 3 times a year, under supervision of a Senior Editor, and monitoring raw material considered for the newsletter on a regular basis. Calls for e-mail access and an ability to write/edit succinctly and against a deadline. ACA takes pride in the global spread of its editors.
2. BOOK REVIEWS/REVIEWERS. ACA is interested in discovering books of particular interest to Americans abroad. It also seeks individuals willing to review such books. Reviewers get to keep the book, and to see their contribution in print. Click here for a list of books or contact the ACA office.

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO ACA'S FINANCIAL SUCCESS:

1. Did you know that by accessing amazon.com (click on any Amazon link you find in the book review section, ACA web site) and then browsing and purchasing as normal, ACA receives—at no cost to you—a small percentage on the purchases you make? Check ACA's web site and make a painless contribution: it makes $&sense!
2. Join us for our annual auction. The FUNdraiser evening produces the single largest annual contribution to ACA's working budget. And the highest bids are for items ingenious and/or exotic. It's a good bet that someone in the attending crowd of internationals will be intrigued by even the most distant and/or unusual of objects or services.
3. And, of course, an outright contribution via check or charge card is the most obvious way to support the work of ACA and its worldwide volunteers working to help YOU. Membership is only $40 a year ($30 for seniors). Secure payment via this web site, or mail to: ACA, 5 rue Liotard, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland.

Disclaimer: "While ACA makes every effort to be accurate in the information it transmits, such information is not to be considered a substitute for specific and qualified professional advice."

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