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Date: 11 Jan 1999 17:42:46 -0800
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Status: RO
REGARDING dual citizenship
Seems rather than getting information, I once again find myself in the position of distributing it ... :-)
To answer the questions from various swiss list members:
1) The US State Department has somewhat relaxed its attitude towards dual citizenship. For details see (just one of many sites) "Dual Citizenship FAQ: Dual Nationality and United States Law at http://www.webcom.com/richw/dualcit/
In any case, since I couldn't possibly get rid of my Swiss citizenship (even if I wanted to), it's not a question of "lying" to the US officials.
2.) Discrimination against permanent residents? To make a long story short, there are at least two areas, where I can see potential problems (but my main concern is that it might not stop there, and that the rights of permanent residents might be restricted further in the future. This may be of little concern to those of you who will only stay a couple of years in the States, but I AM a permanent resident):
a) reduced public benefits as part of the 1996 welfare reform. While I don't plan to be needing food stamps any time soon, this is problematic for many legal immigrants. I myself see it as an indication; since permanent residents can't vote, they make a good target for politicians looking for budgets cuts. In other words: we pay the same amount of taxes, but have no say in the way the money is spent.
b) the risk of deportation (see Christian Science Monitor story at http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/11/04/f-p3s1.shtml
Again, I don't expect to be declared a national security risk any time soon, but as a journalist, I tend to be slightly more paranoid than most people ...
Hope this is useful.
sp
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Received on Mon Jan 11 1999 - 13:27:00 PST
