A high consular affairs official in the State Department qualified ACA’s choice of 2006 Thomas Jefferson Award winners as “two incredibly good choices.”

David W. Abell, consul general in Baghdad, and Rita Bittner, consular chief in Amman, Jordan, both provide exceptional support to overseas Americans in their respective countries, and render it under exceptional circumstances. They also work closely together, as the Amman consular section provides an array of consular services which cannot be offered by the consular section in Baghdad due to security concerns and other “Baghdad unique” circumstances.

Mr Abell wrote ACA: “I feel certain that this award is ACA’s way of expressing appreciation to all the State Department people serving in Baghdad and I accept it with that in mind.” Arrangements for presentation of the Award plaques to the co-winners are pending.

ACA presents the Thomas Jefferson Award on an annual basis to State Department employees who offer outstanding service to Americans abroad. The full announcement concerning the 2006 winners, a list of past winners, and details on how to nominate individuals can be found on this ACA website.

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"Stop the double taxation on Americans working abroad” is a new, extensive and comprehensive ACA paper available on this ACA website. Written by a group with extensive theoretical and practical experience in the area of taxation of overseas Americans, the document gives an overview of historical background and current status, an examination of effects of current policy on individuals living abroad and on the trade position of the United States, and a proposed course of action.

An excellent reference source, made necessary by the fact that the United States is the only industrialized nation that taxes its citizens on both a citizenship and residence basis. Ask yourself why. Better yet -- ask your members of Congress why!

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Thanks to the American Club of Sweden, which has recently voted to join other US groups worldwide advocating that overseas Americans have non-voting representatives in Congress. Groups in Spain, Portugal, the Gulf countries, Panama and Malaysia are already on board.

“The American”, a UK monthly newspaper aimed at the overseas American community, published an article in its January 2007 edition labelling a delegation in Congress for overseas Americans as “an idea whose time has come.”

An estimated four million Americans reside overseas, yet there is no office anywhere in the federal government that has an overview of issues specific to them. Directly elected non-voting Congressional delegates could fill this gap without depriving the 50 states of voters for their voting members of Congress.

Now’s the time to make our collective clout felt! Full background details and proposal on this ACA website. ACA contact person is Andy Sundberg (andy@sundberg.com)

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The American Physical Society (APS) had an exchange with the State Dept which clarified that one does NOT have to leave one’s passport with a consular office when applying for a US visa. The passport will have to be physically presented for the visa to be entered, once granted, but if it is important for the applicant to retain her/his visa while the application is being processed, this is possible. (www.aps.org)

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The new entry site for accessing information concerning federal government services, www.usa.gov has an “Americans Abroad” listing in its home page “by audience” box. Clicking on this leads you to a wide variety of topics relevant to citizens residing abroad. An excellent initiative!

… OR NOT?

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published in late December 2006 a document entitled “Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade: Key Issues for the 110th Congress.” The 80-page document is brimful of facts, analyses and recommendations as to how we as a country can best achieve our national goals amid the complex mutations taking place in our rapidly globalizing world.

NOWHERE in the document is there a mention of overseas Americans and the role they do, can, or should play in these areas. No mention of a “level playing field;” no mention of how other countries promote and protect their citizens living and working in other countries and why they do so.

Had we already had Congressional delegates, they could and should have pushed for emphasis of the actual/potential contributions of the overseas American community.

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April 20th may seem a long way away, but ACA is already moving into full stride to prepare for its annual auction, to be held at the Ramada Park Hôtel (formerly Penta) Geneva (75-77 av. Louis-Casaï, No. 10 bus). Cocktails begin at 7 pm, the auction starts at 8 pm.

While ACA always emphasizes the “fun” part of the FUNdraising event, it is also serious business for us, as proceeds from the auction constitute a major segment of the association’s annual budget. Remember, ACA has the independence – and the budget constraints – of a group which has no major corporate or government underwriting.

A successful auction needs interesting items to bid on, and interested bidders. We solicit your help on both counts. Readers too distant to attend are requested – heartily encouraged – implored – to add to the list of goods and services to be auctioned off. Attendees are from Geneva’s large and globe-trotting international community, and favorite categories include travel, entertainment, hotel stays, gourmet restaurants – all located almost anywhere. But unleash your imagination, and contact the ACA office with your ideas and any questions: email:

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BUY OURS! “So Far Yet So Near” can be purchased directly via this ACA website. It can also be bought – as any other item the firm offers – by clicking on the Amazon USA or Amazon UK links in the book section of this ACA website. Make a policy of sending a copy to anyone who comes at you with ridiculous simplifications as to reasons why Americans reside abroad.

REVIEW/OFFER FOR REVIEW books. There are several items listed as available in the book section. Or perhaps you know of a book which would be of particular interest to Americans abroad? Send us a copy, or send us details about the book, and we’ll take action to get a review posted.

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The website www.snopes.com has an exhaustive collection of urban legends – and you would be surprised how many of those messages you receive which recount something which happened to a cousin of a friend of a friend ARE urban legends. Before passing on such messages, check the Snopes site. It is also fun reading the legends for themselves, and there is always a factual refutation which is interesting in itself.

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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, email:

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO ACA'S FINANCIAL SUCCESS:

1. ORDER YOUR PUBLICATIONS THROUGH THE ACA WEBSITE and we get paid for your business - at no extra cost to you. Go to the Book Review section and click on any link to amazon-com (USA) or amazon-UK. Any purchases you make when you have entered through the ACA portal, whether of items reviewed on the website or not, will generate a small revenue for ACA; Please make this extra click-to-give gesture to help us continue to help you. You can also order our new ACA book So far and Yet So Near directly from www.amazon.com USA or from www.amazon.co.UK and add your other orders.
   
   
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. This year's auction is scheduled for Friday 20th April 2007 at the Ramada Park Hôtel in Geneva. Be there!
   
   
3. IS YOUR MEMBERSHIP CURRENT? Renew by secure online payment or contact the ACA office email: . Membership is only US$40 a year (CHF 50). 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. Secure payment using PayPal^®, or send a check to: ACA, 5 rue Liotard, 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.

JOIN US!