The annual ACA fundraising auction is planned for Friday 20^th of April 2007 at the Ramada Park Hôtel (formerly Penta) in Geneva. The bar opens at 7 pm and the auction starts at 8 pm. Check here for the list of fabulous prizes all graciously donated to help ACA.

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Persistent follow-up by Americans abroad on a concept introduced during Overseas Americans Week last June has led to the creation of an "Americans Abroad Caucus" in the US House of Representatives by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC).

In a letter dated February 22, 2007, addressed to their House colleagues, Representatives Maloney and Wilson said:

(begin text)

We are writing to invite you to join the Americans Abroad Caucus, dedicated to the estimated 4 to 6 million American citizens living and working overseas.

Although they live overseas, many of these Americans continue to vote and pay taxes in the United States. Whether or not they work for American businesses overseas, they help increase exports of American goods and services because they traditionally buy American goods, sell American goods, and create business opportunities for U.S. companies and workers. Their role in strengthening the U.S. economy, creating jobs in the United States, and extending American influence around the globe is vital to the well-being of our nation. Moreover, they are unofficial ambassadors, often the first contact many people around the world have with "America" and are our very informed "antennae" on the world.

Because they live abroad, sometimes we here in Washington forget them. Lacking good statistics, we have only a vague picture of whom and where they are. When considering electoral reform, we may forget that some Americans live in distant deserts and jungles or serve in dangerous combat zones, lacking access to voting technology that we in America take for granted. Additionally, because their votes are distributed across all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories, they have no single, strong presence on Capitol Hill when legislation is introduced on citizenship, census, voting, or taxation. It is as if an entire state with a population the size of Colorado, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, or Alabama had no one to represent it in Washington.

The Americans Abroad Caucus will provide a forum for discussion of those issues and a means for utilizing the on-the-ground experience of overseas Americans so that we can better work with and for this important and growing constituency. This is a population loyal and vital to America. They need and deserve a group of legislators sympathetic to their causes and open to dialogue with them.

If you would like to join the Americans Abroad Caucus, please contact Jennifer Keaton with Representative Maloney at 225-7944 or Paul Callahan with Representative Wilson at 225-2452.

(end text)

As of 1 March, three additional Representatives had joined the Caucus: Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Frank Wolf (R-VA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Is your Representative not yet on the list? Write her/him and suggest that s/he join ! Write your Senators as well, pushing for a similar Americans Abroad Caucus in the Senate.

Hats off to all those who pushed for this long-needed group of Capitol Hill supporters during the 2006 Overseas Americans Week, and ACA particularly thanks Lucy Laederich, Washington representative of FAWCO (Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas) and Andy Coyne of AARO (Association of Americans Resident Overseas) for their efforts.

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AARO (the Association of Americans Resident Overseas www.aaro.org), a French-based sister organization representing interests of Americans abroad, has generously offered to share with ACA its annual tax update, prepared by Norman Reuter, a tax return preparer. In the document, Mr Reuter provides some concrete examples of how the changes in the tax laws affecting overseas Americans will influence your 2006 tax returns as well as practical tips for filing. For the full text prepared by Norman for AARO members click here. Mr Reuter also produces for AARO an update specific to Americans residing in France.

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The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department recently issued an updated list of adjusted limitation on housing expenses, based on high cost of living in various localities worldwide Notice 2007-25 (pdf) or on the web at irs.gov. These specific limitations are in lieu of the otherwise applicable limitation of $24,720 per year. Notice 2007-25 modifies and supplements the earlier Notice 2006-87 (pdf).

The imperative need for adjustments for high cost localities is evident by some of the listings: Moscow's limitation is $75,720; Bermuda is $72,000. In response to comments received on the earlier notice, new cities have been added, including Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai, Zurich, Taipei, Dubai and others.

American Citizens Abroad coordinated with the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, Democrats Abroad of Switzerland and Republicans Abroad of Switzerland to jointly sign a letter addressed to the IRS pointing out the inadequacies of the list with regard to Switzerland ( www.aca.ch/jointlet.pdf), in particular the non-inclusion of Zurich, now on the updated list. The organizations also emphasized that the need for a list of exceptions only highlights the aberration of the law enacted in May.

As the IRS and the Treasury Department intend to provide guidance for housing expenses for 2007 as soon as possible, any additional input from taxpayers should be sent to the IRS rapidly.

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The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2007-16 (see also related press release IR-2007-32), waiving penalties for overseas taxpayers who may have underpaid their estimated taxes as a result of changes to the foreign housing allowances. (Thanks to the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce for having passed on this news.)

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In an Update issued 27 February 2007, the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advises those who have filed I-130 petitions with an American embassy or consulate since July 2006 NOT to re-file the petition. USCIS is working with the Department of State to process these petitions.

As of late-January 2007 consular officers at United States embassies can no longer accept I-130 petitions for family-based immigration to the United States. As a result of the Adam Walsh Act, all family-based immigrant visa petitions (I-130s) must be screened to ensure the petitioner has not been convicted of specified sexual criminal offences against a minor. Consular officers by law do not have access to the necessary criminal history records. Thus, all I-130 petitions for family-based immigrant status must now be filed only with the USCIS.

Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Harty assured ACA, "The impact of this change on Americans living overseas, although important, is perhaps more limited than you may think. For instance, family-based petitions for fiancé(e)s, siblings, and adult or married children are already filed directly with USCIS. The cases affected by the new procedures involve spouses, parents and minor unmarried children of American citizens, for whom petitions will now also be approved by USCIS."

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The fees proposed for categories most likely to affect families of Americans abroad would sharply increase under the proposed schedule. The I-130 Family-based immigration petition application fee would increase from the present $190 to $355; N-400 Naturalization applications from the current $330 to $595; N-400/N-400K Naturalization applications for adopted children and biological offspring of Americans abroad would jump from $255 to $460.

USCIS justifications can be found on their site (uscis.gov); a thorough analysis by immigration lawyer Gary Endelman is available at www.visalaw.com

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USCIS is piloting a new naturalization test for aspiring citizens (Test).

The 140 questions depart from the traditional test for which one must memorize historical facts to focus on the concepts of democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The final version is due to be implemented in spring 2008.

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American Citizens Abroad has recently received an encouraging letter from Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), assuring ACA that when the Working American Competitiveness Act is re-introduced in the Senate this spring, he will once again be among the original cosponsors of this legislation, which would exempt all foreign earned income from taxation.

Senator Hagel wrote, "I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to make sure that U.S. citizens abroad can compete on a level playing field with foreign nationals." Write YOUR Congresspersons to alert them to the importance of supporting overseas Americans on this issue. A wealth of information and a model letter can be found on this ACA website.

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The interesting new website of Watching America (watchingamerica.com) has a frequently-updated compendium of news articles related to America written by media around the world, translated into English. They state, "It is not our purpose to find favorable or unfavorable content, but to reflect as accurately as possible how others perceive the richest and most powerful country in the world. We have no political agenda."

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The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has recently released its third study of other nations' tax systems, featuring this time Switzerland (freedomandprosperity.org). Previously studied were the systems of Sweden and Slovakia. The Center for Freedom and Prosperity (CF&P) is a non-profit organization created to lobby lawmakers in favor of market liberalization.

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The Department of Homeland Security issued on 1 March 2007 its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to minimum standards to be applied for State-issued driver's licenses and ID cards (www.dhs.gov). These standards are written in accordance with the REAL ID Act of 2005. The proposed standards are open for public comment for a period of 60 days following their appearance in the Federal Register.

The guidelines would be effective as of 11 May 2008, unless the individual state requests an extension, which could be maximally until 31 December 2009.

Individuals will have to prove who they are, their date of birth, legal status in the US, their Social Security Number, and provide proof of address via documents issued within the last year. Implications of this for Americans resident abroad are not clear at this time.

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Go to the Washington Post website (washingtonpost.com) and search for "Style Invitational". The site has free but required registration. Inveterate word-players are encouraged to give themselves free reign for the weekly contests. Horrid puns? Word quips? Go for it!

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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. See our Donors List of fabulous prizes.
   
   
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!