American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has just become the newest member of the the Overseas Vote Foundation Strategic Alliance Program. OVF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nopartisan public charity dedicated to helping overseas American citizens and members of the military to regsiter faster, more easily and more accurately then ever before...(more)

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You can vote in your state's primary election by registering and indicating your political party of preference. Primary elections are being advanced to earlier dates. It is essential to regsiter NOW to be able to participate in the primaries...(more)

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The US Treasury has issued a periodic update of housing cost limitations for exclusion or deduction on US income taxes filed over 2007. See: www.treas.gov

Those living in locations not specifically mentioned on Treasury Notice 2007-77 will be limited to the standard housing cost limitation of $25,710. A glimpse at the list reveals how desperately necessary it is, given currently valid tax legislation. The limit for Hong Kong is $114,300, for the Paris area $87,200, Mumbai – $57,011, Seoul - $65,400, Moscow - $90,900, etc.

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In a short article of 25 September reporting on the updated housing cost limitations, the Wall Street Journal (article for subscribers) wrote: "At the time [of the passage of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act - TIPRA], Mr. Grassley characterized the change in the law as a matter of fairness. Instead it’s helping to drive Americans out of work."

Senator Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, responded with a letter published on 3 October entitled "Americans Abroad Should be Taxed," (copy for WSJ subscribers) (Complete copy here). He defended TIPRA, ending with the lines "These changes were a matter of fairness. An American in Peoria can’t exclude any salary or housing costs from taxable income. Why should an American in Paris not face reasonable limits?"

There was a barrage of letters which Senator Grassley’s remarks engendered, including ACA’s own response. The Wall Street Journal published an excellent response from Jack Maisano in Hong Kong (copy of letter). Other respsonses, including ACA's own letter and background info are here.

Don’t let this pass by in silence! Write your own thoughts and experiences with the effects of TIPRA to the Wall Street Journal, to Senator Grassley, and to your own Congressional delegates. If you copy ACA, your letter will be added to the collection on our website.

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Jane Bruno, the Florida-based tax lawyer who has collaborated with ACA for a number of years, has just reviewed and tweaked her full collection of articles on this ACA website. Hard to imagine for tax-related material, but these are actually enjoyable reading! Take a look at:

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The Center for Freedom and Prosperity’s video advocating reduction the corporate income tax to increase American competitiveness is now on YouTube (view). Lots of data to show where the US stands in this area relative to other exporting countries.

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The House Americans Abroad Caucus, founded by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Joe Wilson (R-SC), has recently welcomed three new members: Michael Capuano (D-MA), Susan Davis (D-CA), and Tom Davis (R-VA).

Do you see your representative’s name on the list? If no, ask him/her why not! Remember: your current representative in Congress is from the state district where you last resided before living abroad. A model letter is available on this ACA website.

Other members of the caucus, created to focus on issues related to overseas citizens are (in alphabetical order): John Boozman (R-AZ), Julia Carson (D-IN), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Kay Granger (R-TX), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Michael Honda (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Frank Wolf (R-VA).

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Overseas Americans in the voting districts of Americans Abroad Caucus members are beginning to find notices such as those on the websites of Rep. Maloney and Wilson:

"If you vote in my district but live overseas or serve in the military and vote absentee, please use your voting address when submitting a message. In your message please note that you reside at a different address overseas."

Such a simple gesture of outreach makes a big difference to American voters abroad. Check out your representative, and if this voter-friendly notice is not on her/his site, suggest it! (Both the Senate and House websites facilitate identification of your delegates; go to www.senate.gov or www.house.gov.)

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With many states having advanced their primary dates, it is important to take action already in 2007 ensure maximal participation in 2008. It is recommended to register annually to ensure that your mailing info is correct and current (see www.overseasvotefoundation.org for full information).

If you wish to participate in your state's primary, you must indicate a party preference when filling out the registration form. This of course in no way obliges you to vote for that party's candidate in November 2008, but it will permit you to help determine who the candidate will be.

OVERSEAS VOTE FOUNDATION UPDATES SOFTWARE

On 25 October 2007, the Overseas Vote Foundation will be unveiling its new look, with software designed in collaboration with PEW Charitable Trusts (www.pewtrusts.org) to make registration and voting easier for overseas absentee voters. The joint Making Voting Work initiative is aimed at "demonstrating innovative solutions to the unique issues faced by overseas and uniformed services voters".

The press event in Washington will also present new analysis from www.electionline.org on problems and potential solutions related to voting from abroad.

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Americans abroad are receiving steadily increasing attention from potential presidential candidates who are after both their votes and their funding. Initially, London is the place to go, in good part due to the concentration of Americans there. See, for example, www.yubanet.com.

An additional windfall from this may be that these influential politicians will be sensitized to the wealth of international experience and expertise available via citizens based in all corners of the world.

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On 24 September 2007 the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) issued its 2006 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) Report, a collection of data from the states about UOCAVA voting ( www.eac.gov).

Although hampered by uneven – or nonexistent – reporting from the various states, findings were often surprising. For example, of the almost one million requested votes, only about one-third were actually cast or counted. Ballots returned as undeliverable accounted for 70 percent of the remaining two-thirds. This constitutes strong reinforcement for the principle of annual registration to vote. Brian Knowlton's article in the International Herald Tribune provides a good overall review of the report (www.iht.com).

The EAC is an independent, bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. EAC is operating the federal government's first voting system certification program (www.eac.gov).

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With a quick phone call to your hometown election officials you can immediately double-check whether your previous votes from abroad have been received and counted. While anyone whose vote was not counted is supposed to be notified, one sometimes wonders...

Check for contact information via www.overseasvotefoundation.org or www.fvap.gov, and give your local officials a heads-up that you are concerned. It's another small signal that brings home that while absentee voters may be distant, they also feel involved.

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ACA seeks to update its information concerning current "on the ground" experience with facilitated naturalization procedures under Section 322 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. If you have recently been down this road, please share with us (so we can share with others) specifics of note. Comments can be sent to: email:

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In early September, the State Department announced it had restored passport service to the standard six to eight week processing time for routine passport applications, and no more than three weeks for expedited service.

State issued over 16 million passports in fiscal year 2007, compared to 12.1 million issued in fiscal year 2006, in large part due to new requirements for use of passports for travel within the Western Hemisphere.

The Department plans to expand passport facilities and continue to hire more passport specialists in order to increase production capacity and meet rising passport demand expected in coming years.

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Siskind’s Immigration Bulletin of 26 September 2007 (see: www.visalaw.com) gives an excellent summary of residency requirements for individuals seeking US citizenship. What initially sounds straightforward is, like a good cheese, full of holes.

For example, under section 319(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, spouses of US citizens who are employed abroad by a qualifying organization also benefit from an expedited naturalization process. Siskind reports, "Unfortunately, many USCIS officials are not familiar with this rule and we have received numerous reports over the years of people who encountered difficulties as a result of USCIS officials failing to grasp the actual law on this subject."

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See us at (and buy "So Far Yet So Near"):

WORK WITH US:

In Geneva:
*** Volunteer Job Opportunity ***
ACA is looking for a volunteer to do the organization’s accounting in Geneva, Switzerland. This is a good way to help Americans Citizens Abroad and to get to know the people working actively to promote the interests of Americans overseas. It is a fun group. Time commitment: approximately 1 - 2 hours/month. Location: 5 rue Liotard, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland.
Job requirements: experience in bookkeeping and accounting. Simple and straight-forward accounting program used. Training: backup and support of the person currently doing the accounts.
Please contact us email: email: or dial Swiss phone number: +41 22 3400233

Or in Washington:
Sign up early for Overseas Americans Week in Washington DC –
Week of 14 April 2008 (contact ACA for further details). ACA is looking for early sign-up of interested participants from a broad range of backgrounds and geographical locations. No expenses paid, but a tremendous learning experience!

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International Living has just issued its annual report, which vets various countries in terms of cost, stability, comfort, health services and other criteria of interest to retirees. And the winner this year is: Mexico! Plenty of other locations worldwide discussed in "The World's Top Retirement Havens in 2007" www.internationalliving.com

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Take a look at: online.onetcenter.org and see a full page-plus description of what skills are essential to being a dishwasher, janitor, engineer, surgeon ... whatever. You can also see an analysis of whether there is a demand for people in the profession, and even check national and state pay scales. Great fun.

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is being developed under the sponsorship of the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) through a grant to the North Carolina Employment Security Commission which operates the National Center for O*NET Development.

Find books for kids on the US government and how it works on the US Senate website at: www.senate.gov

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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. Next year's auction will be held on Friday 11th April 2008 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$50 a year (CHF 60). 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!