# US expats still paying taxes to the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195 "2010-04-15T12:18:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![edinbourgeoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@edinbourgeoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edinbourgeoise)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/61 "2010-04-19T17:03:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Looks like you won’t be renewing your passport outside the US anymore anyway.](http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/news/news_860.html) Yes, you can, it just means that the issuing agency is no longer the embassy. So, because all renewals have to go through the US, it will take longer, but I don’t remember it being dramatic. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/62 "2010-04-19T17:04:14Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Looks like you won’t be renewing your passport outside the US anymore anyway.](http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/news/news_860.html) > [@](#): > > This new procedure will increase processing time at U.S. embassies and consulates, but the Department is committed to ensuring that American citizens receive secure documents in a timely manner. American citizens overseas are encouraged to apply early for renewal of expiring passports. It looks to me like the passport itself is _issued_ out of New Hampshire, but will still be _distributed_ via the expatriate’s local embassy or consulate. It’d be ridiculous to demand that expatriates fly back to the US for this purpose: not even the US government is that stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/63 "2010-04-19T17:08:41Z")
You’d be surprised. 😉 I stand corrected, though - I just skimmed over the piece. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/64 "2010-04-19T17:18:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Looks like you won’t be renewing your passport outside the US anymore anyway.](http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/news/news_860.html) Of course you can renew your passport outside the U.S.! just as I did last year. You download the forms, send it in by mail or courier service (I used FedEx) and the your passport comes in the mail. I didn’t have to set foot in the U.S. to do it. However, what _used_ to happen is that you could take your paperwork to the embassy and they would process it. Now it’s processed in the U.S. at a national center. I actually found it a little bit _faster_ renewing my passport by mail this time than I did renewing it at the embassy the last time. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/65 "2010-04-19T17:28:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You’d be surprised. 😉 I stand corrected, though - I just skimmed over the piece. To be fair it was titled in a pretty obfuscatory way. Whoda thunk it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/66 "2010-04-21T17:16:14Z")
Here’s an article about this exact subject and people giving up their US citizenship because of it. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983238,00.html?hpt=T2](http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983238,00.html?hpt=T2) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195/67 "2010-04-21T18:03:22Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > However, what _used_ to happen is that you could take your paperwork to the embassy and they would process it. Yes, my previous passport was processed by the embassy in Budapest, and it tended to get me extra scrutiny at borders. The photo was not laminated into the page–just kinda glued on top. The main security measure on the photo was two stamps: one ink, and one a raised seal. The photo was also on a page on its own, separate from the vital stats. It totally looked fake to me. On the plus side, it took about two or three days to get, and it contained 48 pages, so I didn’t need to add pages to it at any point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-expats-still-paying-taxes-to-the-us/536195.md?page=3)