An attempt to renounce US citizenship, Part 1

This may not be the most helpful blog post in the history of mankind, since my first attempt to renounce my US citizenship today was more or less a failure...but since there seems to be a real lack of concrete information and personal experiences out there (Debito's is the only thorough account I've been able to find publicly available, and it's eight years old by now), I figure that "What not to do" may help some of you...at least more than nothing at all will.

The US Embassy's webpage is, in my humble opinion, ridiculously difficult to navigate. It takes a good four or five clicks from the main page (assuming you don't take any wrong turns along the way) to find information like the address, operating hours, and the fact that apparently you are now required to make an appointment for citizen services.

Don't worry, though, apparently (though it's not written anywhere on the website), renunciation doesn't fall into the same category as everything else. Apparently I was supposed to call and make an appointment for that.

Long story short, I showed up for the only appointment I was able to figure out how to make, half an hour early no less, only to be made to wait ANOTHER hour...and at the end of that hour was told that the person I needed to talk to wasn't in. I also got a sticky-sweet lecture in a tone of voice that you kind of expect to come from an older lady in the American South, to the effect of "Oh, you don't really want to do that, honey."

I get the feeling that this is going to be a long process. I'm not a very intimidating person, either in terms of looks or in style of speaking or anything else, and that coupled with the fact that I do want to make it clear that the reason I want to renounce is not political (I've never even voted in a US election) or tax-related (I'm a housewife who didn't make enough money to owe US taxes even when I was working!), I tend to give Japanese-style "well, yes, of course I see your point, but..." kind of answers to those kinds of lectures. Which is helpful in Japan, but possibly not at the US Embassy.

So, some preliminary advice to at least prevent any readers from making the same mistakes I did:

1. Call the embassy to make an appointment. Don't use the automated online system.
2. DO bring both passports and a copy of your Japanese koseki. I did that right, at least!

My next immediate step will probably be to attempt to turn in my Japanese 国籍選択届 {kokuseki sentaku todoke} without actually having renounced my US citizenship. Finishing the process before the two-year deadline (granted, I did wait almost a year and a half before attempting to begin) may not be possible at this point. It obviously depends on where you live, but between getting to the embassy, getting home again, and all of the waiting and eating lunch and bathroom breaks and whatever else, I ended up losing a good seven hours and 5,000 yen for nothing today.

I'm not quite sure why the US would want me. Not rich enough to be taxable, not male enough to be draftable...but it definitely seems that what I've heard so far is true. They don't want to let any of us go.

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