Two hundred years after stepping down as America's first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson made yet another of his many reappearances, and he did so once again in a manner befitting his polymath career and inspiring personality. This time it was in the form of an award in his name created by American Citizens Abroad.

ACA created this award in 1993, on the 250th Anniversary of Jefferson's birth, to recognize employees of the U.S. State Department or U.S. Foreign Service who have done something particularly laudable to strengthen the United States by helping the 3.5 million U.S. citizens living away from home. Jefferson was born on the 13th of April 1743, in Goochland, Virginia, which was then a North American colony of Great Britain. Jefferson is of course well known as the author of the Declaration of Independence, but less well known is that while he was serving on behalf of the newly independent United States in Paris, France, he was also a prime mover of the Bill of Rights, and later as President promoted free public schools for all children, Jefferson, the Third President of the United States, was a paradigmatic American Citizen Abroad who as politician, diplomat and philosopher did much to promote the political, economic and intellectual interests of his country while living far from home in a foreign land.

ACA invites all American clubs, chambers of commerce, and individual Americans living overseas to nominate State Department or Foreign Service employees working at an Embassy or Consulate, or at the State Department headquarters in Washington, who in emulation of the creative and caring spirit of Thomas Jefferson merit praise for their work on behalf of the overseas American community, and thereby for all Americans. The deadline for submission of nominations for the next Thomas Jefferson award is February 28, 2005. The winner will be announced on Jefferson's 262nd birthday, April 13th, 2005. For further information: Contact Corinne Larsen, the Thomas Jefferson Award Committee, at ACA in Geneva.

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This year will see the end of exasperating delays and high costs for packages sent from the United States to Europe.

At the end of 2004, the U.S. Postal Services decided to scrap a system under which all non-letter parcels from a U.S. post office to an address in the 23 European Union Countries were channeled through a single entry point in Germany. From there they were re-expedited by commercial contractors to their addressees in the various countries of the European Union. This system of private delivery service distribution has generated since its introduction, many complaints from Americans residents in Europe. Long delays and high charges were quoted as the main source of frustrations. The U.S. Postal Service decided on letting its contract with Britain's partially privatized Royal Mail expire at the end of 2004. Americans living overseas are now once again able to pick up their packages from their local post office. This, with any luck should translate in better and improved postal services for all Americans residing in Europe.

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Mark your calendars today for the 12th Annual ACA Fundraiser Auction. The date is Friday, April 22, 2005, the time is 7:00pm (19h) and the place is the wonderful, 5-star Hotel Beau-Rivage in Geneva. The cocktail hour will start with hors-d'oeuvres graciously offered by the Hotel Beau-Rivage. The bidding will start at 8:00 pm (20h) directed by ACA's favorite auctioneers. Why not join us and have a memorable evening of fun while helping ACA raise its much-needed funds. Without your generous support, ACA would not be able to continue its activities.

Make a bid for one of the magnificent items on offer. Choose everything from a weekend stay at the Golf & Hotel du Grand Avignon (www.golfgrandavignon.com), holiday weekends at Château de Montcaud in Provence (www.chateau-de-montcaud.com), two night stays at the Four Seasons Deluxe Hotels, the George V in Paris and the Four Seasons Resort Terre Blanche in Provence (www.fourseasons.com), a return ticket for two, economy class Geneva-New York for two on Swiss, Chalet rentals in Anzere, Switzerland, Lladro sculptures, Burberry accessories... There will be something to please everyone.

Come and support ACA and make this year's auction our biggest success ever.

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ACA needs your help.

Because ACA is staffed by dedicated volunteers who give their time and talent to helping Americans abroad in many ways, from answering queries about taxes, social securities, voting, citizenship and helping to advance many more topics of interest to Americans living abroad, our Annual Fundraising Auction means a lot to us, as it provides much needed funds for the basic costs of running our organization.

So if you feel you would like to give a prize or make a contribution to our auction, please feel free to contact the ACA office at 5 rue Liotard, CH-1202 Geneva, +41 22 3400233 or email us at acage@aca.ch

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Overseas Americans, who contribute to Tsunami victim's relief through organizations in the countries where they live, may not be aware that contributions to foreign charities cannot be claimed as deductions against their US income tax.

Contributions to domestic, tax-exempt, charitable organizations that provide assistance to individuals in foreign lands qualify as tax-deductible contributions for federal income tax purposes provided the U.S organization has full control and discretion over the uses of such funds. Contributions are deductible for the year in which they are actually made. However, under a new law enacted on Jan. 7, donors who itemize are allowed to claim on their 2004 tax returns charitable donations made during January 2005 for the relief of the tsunami victims. Although contributions to foreign charities may be deductible from foreign income taxes, they cannot be claimed for U.S. tax purposes. Contributions that are allowable against foreign income taxes may actually increase the U.S. citizen's abroad tax by reducing the foreign tax available for credit against his U.S. tax.

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In the aftermath of 9/11, when investigations showed that some hijackers had entered the country legally, the U.S. government decided to review and revise the visa system to deal with the new security realities. The new procedures require that more applicants undergo personal interviews before receiving a visa to enter the United States. The driving force behind this change was a congressional requirement that visas issued by the State Department include biometric identifiers no later than Oct. 26, 2004. By Oct.27, 2004 all 207 posts handling visa matters were collecting two finger scans and a digital photo from each applicant, a process that adds seconds to the visa interview. Once the interview takes place, 97 percent of applicants will learn within a day or two whether the visa is approved. Because of possible delays in how rapidly an applicant can receive an appointment for a visa interview, predicted waiting times are posted for each embassy. The Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov has become user-friendlier, said an official in the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, and provides applicants with information they need to know about applying for a visa. According to the official, fewer than 3 percent of visa applicants encounter a lengthier process with additional security reviews that must be conducted in Washington. Such applicants might include those engaged in certain scientific fields that use technologies with dual uses or of national-security concern.

However revamping the Washington-based security review clearance system has led to significant complaints about months-long delays from the U.S. research and academic communities in 2002 and 2003. Considerable progress has been made lately and all U.S. embassies and consulates have been directed to give priority processing to students or other travelers involved in academic and professional exchanges in order to ensure that they will be able to arrive in the United States in adequate time to begin their programs.

The State Department has increased the number of personnel working on v isa-processing functions, and recruits are being trained to treat every applicant with dignity and fairness. In the words of one official to her recruits: "the impression that you give, will be the impression that someone has of the country, the government, the State Department and [other] Americans."

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Ordering books, CDs, DVDs via amazon.com ? With an extra click or two on your part, you can contribute to ACA's work on behalf of all Americans abroad. Enter this ACA web site (www.aca.ch); go to the book section; then click on any amazon.com logo there. By accessing amazon.com via the ACA web site, ACA will get a small sales commission on every purchase you make during that visit--at no extra expense to you!

Thanks for your help in covering the overhead of our nonprofit, nonpartisan association run by overseas Americans like you, devoting hundreds of volunteer hours to help YOU.

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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 thru PayPal^®, 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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