AMERICAN CITIZENS ABROAD (ACA)
A non-profit association dedicated
to serving
and defending the interests
of US citizens world-wide.
News from ACA--30 October
1997--issue 29
(to return to the index, click here)
This is an archive, links may not work.
- "ALL ABROAD! A surge in Expatriate
Americans"
- ...was the headline topping
a front page article in the October 13th edition
of the International Herald Tribune. The article
asserted that the number of U.S. citizens living
abroad "is soaring in a time when travel is unblinkingly
routine, communications easy and instant, and tele-commuting a
serious option." According to the report, "the number of
Americans abroad has more than quadrupled in the last 30 years,
but no one is certain of the exact total --3.3 million by US
State Department estimates, or 4-5 million, as estimated by
organizations such as ACA which was one of several sources
quoted in the article.
ACA feels that the only way to determine the exact figure would
be to include overseas citizens in the US Census (see the ACA
position
paper "THE CENSUS: Stand up and be counted!"
on this website).
- Errare humanum est
- ACA wishes to thank the US State Department's Bureau of
Consular
Affairs, which recently drew attention to an
error in ACA's
publication Handbook for Citizens Living Abroad.
On page 28 of the 1990 edition is the question: "My spouse and I
are both U.S.citizens by birth, but neither of us has ever lived
in the USA. What will be the status of our child born abroad?"
The [wrong] reply printed was: "Your child will not
automatically be a U.S. citizen." The Bureau of Consular
Affairs has advised ACA that
the current correct answer to the question should be: "The
child is a U.S. citizen regardless of whether
the parents ever lived in
the USA."
- Helveti'ACA' newsletter launched in
Switzerland.
- ACA has published the first edition of
Helveti'ACA',
a periodical for Americans in Switzerland. Sponsored by
the International Herald Tribune (IHT), the issue
contains information on
- the revised US-Switzerland tax treaty
- recent regulations on long-term residence permits
- importation of foreign cars into Switzerland
- updates on recent changes in US citizenship laws and
regulations.
To receive your copy, contact ACA.
- Attention, all ACA members in ITALY
- It's not too late for Americans in Italy
to sign up for three events scheduled during
the weekend of 8 November 1997 at Sorrento, where they "can
share information on
the pains and pleasures of living in Italy," says ACA-Italy
Director Charles Manfredi.
- For those arriving early, the Board of Directors will host a
cocktail party for members and friends at 7:00 p.m. 7 November
at La Terrazza.
- The Saturday, 8 November, ACA-Italy meeting (11:00 a.m.) will
feature Ms. Barbara Cucinella, US Consular Agent from Palermo
and winner of ACA's Thomas Jefferson Award for outstanding
service by a State Department employee, and Ms. Marilyn LaTone
in Ruta, ACA representative from Palermo, who will discuss with
members how to cope with changes in new technology and budget
cuts that are forcing the US Consular Service to change the way
it provides services. The session is to be followed by a
luncheon.
- Saturday evening there is a Gala Dinner Dance beginning at
8:30 p.m. Honored guest and speaker at the event is to be ACA
Director Andy Sundberg, who helped found ACA in 1978. Mr
Sundberg will speak on programs affecting Americans living
abroad and relevant recent developments in Washington, DC.
For further information concerning the event, contact
Charles Manfredi at jcmanfredi@syrene.it
(or phone/fax: +39 81 8772695).
- US Embassy in MANAGUA cuts bureaucracy with a hot
online data service.
- Since 8 July 1997, the US Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua,
has been online with its economic and commercial reports,
providing comprehensive trade and investment information to
those interested in the "small, but potentially profitable,
emerging market." This new access to the reports resulted in a
ten-fold increase in their circulation, a phenomenal feat when
one considers that Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in
the Western Hemisphere and is number 75 on the list of US
trading partners. According to a progress report on the new
service, it had 8,000 hits in the first three months, the fifth
most visited (after those in Germany, Russia, Japan, and
Indonesia) of the 40 overseas sites hosted by USIA Washington.
The site can be viewed at
http://www.usia.gov/abtusia/posts/nu1/wwwhcom.html.
In addition to this online service, The Managua embassy's
economic and commercial section says it is "saving time and
money by responding to inquiries via
email [at amembmga@tmx.com.ni]."
- ABOUT THIS NEWS UPDATE:
- ACA's biweekly News Update
network offers news and views relevant to Americans
living abroad. Essential to the success of such a network
is feedback and input from recipients. This
News Update is, like ACA itself, of, by and for Americans
abroad. ACA is staffed entirely through the efforts of
volunteers, with its primary
income source being modest membership fees and donations
from concerned individuals. The News Update can be maintained in
the long-term
only if it justifies itself in terms of membership and
donation revenue for the organization. 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.
- THANKS FOR EDITING
- this issue of the ACA News Update are due to:
David M. Ferrell,
ACA Country Contact in Brazil.
This ACA page updated 1998-10-30
You are among the
visitors to this ACA page.
Access to this ACA page courtesy of
Internet Prolink Geneva