Why I Gave Up My U.S. Citizenship, Part II

     

P.T. Freeman is a pseudonym for a friend and business associate who is a former U.S. citizen. This is his story of how he reached the breaking point of giving up U.S. citizenship. In Part I, P.T. described the events that led him to consider giving up U.S. citizenship. In this segment, he describes the mechanics of doing so.

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After making the decision to give up my U.S. citizenship, I began looking into ways of obtaining an alternative citizenship and passport. I conducted some research on the Internet, but then, as now, many of the companies offering passports were thinly disguised scams offering unofficial or even stolen documents.

However, there were, at that time, a few Caribbean countries that offered legitimate "economic citizenship" programs. With the aid of an attorney, I began to conduct research into which program would best suit me. I looked at cost, the availability of visa free travel, credibility, and the desirability of that country as a residence.

After considerable research, I chose the Commonwealth of Dominica and visited it. While Dominica lacks some of the amenities of the United States, I liked the country and decided to possibly settle there, or at least maintain a residence or business presence. I paid the necessary fees to obtain economic citizenship and met with some government officials. Several weeks later, after an extensive background check, I swore an oath of allegiance to this country, was granted citizenship and subsequently obtained my passport.

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June 21, 2010