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 Subject: Imporant Information About Dual Citizenship for Americans Living in De... 16/12/09, 13:36 
svatsa
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Subject:Imporant Information About Dual Citizenship for Americans Living in Denmark

The following email is about what the American embassy can to do to help with those Americans living in Denmark who want to acquire Danish citizenship but do not want to give up their American citizenship.
Virginia Holst and I were able to participate in a meeting with Robert Jachim, the consular section chief, of the US Embassy. This meeting could not have taken place were it not for the efforts of Virginia Holst and Larry Feinberg, so be sure to thank them for all their hard work in this area.

During this meeting, we spoke with Mr. Jachim about dual citizenship. We conveyed to him that many Americans feel they must attain Danish citizenship to secure their future in Denmark, but that are extremely reluctant to give up their US citizenship. Mr. Jachim pointed us to this document: http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html

He highlighted this section: the consular officer will simply ask the applicant if there was intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship when performing the act. If the answer is no, the consular officer will certify that it was not the person's intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship and, consequently, find that the person has retained U.S. citizenship.

According to Mr. Jachim, one can interpret that to mean that a consular officer will note if someone is in serious doubt about giving up their US citizenship, which will then result in a refusal to accept the renunciation of that person’s US citizenship. Mr. Jachim has indicated to us that he will interpret the law in this way.
As many of you know, according to Danish dual citizenship law, if a country refuses to allow a citizen to renounce their citizenship that person is still eligible to become a Danish citizen, in spite of still retaining their other citizenship.

Mr. Jachim is not sure what the reaction will be from the Danish officials if the US embassy begins regularly refusing citizenship renunciation. He cannot guarantee any specific action from the Danish officials. However, as stated previously, Danish law clearly states that if a person is refused citizenship renunciation, they may become a Danish citizen, as long as they fulfill all the other requirements to become a Danish citizen. You can find the details of this law here http://www.nyidanmark.dk/da-dk/Medborgerskab/medborgerskab.htm

In a case that Larry had mentioned before, an American woman who was refused renunciation from the embassy was granted Danish citizenship. It is our hope that the Danish authorities will do the same thing in future cases in which the embassy denies renunciation.

If any of you have reached the point of the application process to become a Danish citizen in which they ask you to renounce your US citizenship but you are having serious doubts, please write to CopenhagenACS@state.gov Explain your situation and stress that you feel strongly about retaining your US citizenship but that you feel you must acquire Danish citizenship. You could also write a hand-written letter to Mr. Robert Jachim of the US embassy.

Mr. Jachim asked that we share this information with the American community. He would also like you to know that he is working on a fact sheet on dual citizenship that he would like to make available to all US citizens living in Denmark. Right now he is in the information gathering stage. That is why Larry requested the list of the countries that do not allow their citizens to renounce their citizenship. If anyone has access to that list or may know how to get it, please contact us. Unfortunately, the Indenrigs Ministry will not release it to us because they say it is an internal document.

We hope you found this information useful. We will be sure to let you know when Mr. Jachim has the fact sheet ready.

Best regards,
Larry and Suchi

Suchi Vatsa Jensen
svatsa @ gmail . com

Larry Feinberg
jflarry @ hotmail . com
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