Overseas Americans Week (OAW) brings together FAWCO and its coalition partners each year for a five-day “door-knock” campaign in Washington to bring our issues personally to the attention of lawmakers, agencies and their staffs. Our traditional partners include the Association of Americans Resident Overseas [www.aaro.org].

DC Advocacy

The first “Overseas Americans Week” was in May 2002, although FAWCO and its...

Lucy Stensland Laederich, 1944-2019

One of the brightest stars in the FAWCO firmament is no longer with us. Past FAWCO President (1999-2001) and longtime FAWCO US Liaison, Lucy Stensland Laederich, left us peacefully on February 1, at her home in Bordeaux, surrounded by her family. 

Lucy was an institution, an icon, a role model, mentor and inspiration to countless people. She was a...

Dealing with agencies and administrations is never easy, and trying to do it from overseas only complicates matters!

One example is needing to contact the Social Security Administration for help in obtaining a Social Security number, creating or managing a personal Social Security account, changing your information on file with the SSA, etc.

Two of the most common questions that...

Background – Revocation of passports of “delinquent taxpayers"

On December 4, 2015, HR 22, the “Highway Bill”, became Public Law N° 114-94.  Title XXXII, Subtitle A, “Offsets”, contains provisions for the denial of issuance or revocation of the passport of any individual who has a “seriously delinquent” tax debt of over $50,000.
It states that if notified by the Secretary...

FAWCO has written to those responsible for advancing the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to its ratification by the U.S. Senate, pointing out that since Somalia managed to finalize its ratification process on October 1, the United States is now the only outlier in the world.  FAWCO’s letters to President Obama (who must submit the treaty...

On July 15, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney introduced the Commission on Americans Abroad Act of 2015, a slightly simplified version of her earlier bill (H.R. 597) in the last Congress.  As for the earlier bill, Congressman Mike Honda is an original co-sponsor.  Both Representatives are long-standing champions of overseas Americans and understand the problems we face.

H.R. 3078 would create a...

In a letter to their colleagues in the House of Representatives, Americans Abroad Caucus Co-Chairs Carolyn Maloney and Mick Mulvaney are urging the Treasury Secretary and the IRS Commissioner to adopt the recommendation of National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson regarding simplifying FATCA reporting requirements for Americans abroad.

On April 13, the Taxpayer Advocate recommended eliminating from FATCA reporting all accounts held...

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, or TAP, is comprised of approximately 80 members from across the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and now an international representative, who volunteer to serve a three-year term.

Shelby Lyon is the new TAP member for international taxpayers and can be contacted at . Volunteers generally spend between 200 and 300...

On March 8, International Women's Day, two members of the Americans Abroad Caucus, Co-Chair Carolyn Maloney of New York and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, introduced a Resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the ratification of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Said Maloney, “This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the...

We have learned to our distress that the last of the international offices of the Internal Revenue Service will be closed before the end of this year.  This means that all overseas Americans (and non-Americans residing abroad) who are under the obligation to file a U.S. tax declaration (whether or not they owe taxes) will have to contact the Philadelphia...