With Liberty and Passports for all.

Here in Israel we have an expression, "you just discovered America" -- which the Israeli way of letting someone know that they just realized the obvious.

The Wall Street Journal just "discovered America" as well.

Their method: Report that something widely-known is really "obscure".

A swelling number of Israelis are flying to the U.S., armed with tattered U.S. high school diplomas and faded marriage certificates, to try to tap into an obscure clause in U.S. immigration law that enables some grandparents to pass citizenship to their grandchildren.

Go to any neighborhood in Israel where there are more than two immigrants from America, and ask them how does a child born in Israel to American parents, obtain US citizenship.

"I am not quite sure how this group of people caught onto this section of law, but they all seem to know about it," says Michelle Tolbert, an officer in the Chicago branch of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes applications.

How would they have "caught onto this obscure section of law?" For the totally clueless who aren't "in the know", there's the top-secret US Embassy in Tel-Aviv's web site, which states the law very clearly.

First you click on the section "US Citizen Services", from there to click on the "obscure" section entitled:

The following information will assist you in determining whether or not your child is a U.S. citizen and will provide assistance in the steps you are required to take to register the birth.

To determine if the child’s U.S. citizen parent(s) were in the U.S. long enough to transmit citizenship, please follow this link.

After reading the simple instructions in English, the web page states:

If you are unable to confer citizenship to your child, your parents may be able to apply for expedited naturalization for your child if they are both American citizens. See here.

In easy to read block letters, the information is available to anyone who is capable of using a mouse and reading English:

IF YOU AND THE CHILD ARE RESIDING ABROAD, THE CHILD MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR EXPEDITIOUS NATURALIZATION IF YOUR PARENT, THE CHILD'S U.S. CITIZEN GRANDPARENT, WAS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES FOR A PERIOD TOTALING 5 YEARS, 2 AFTER THE AGE OF 14. THE GRANDPARENT CAN BE LIVING OR DECEASED AT THE TIME OF THE APPLICATION. IF DECEASED, THE GRANDPARENT MUST HAVE BEEN A CITIZEN PRIOR TO THE CHILD'S BIRTH AND AT THE TIME OF THE GRANDPARENT'S DEATH.

Yet the Wall Street Journal spins the story as follows:

In the first nine months of the 2006-2007 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2006, the U.S. immigration agency processed nearly 4,000 applications for citizenship through grandparents, compared with about 2,000 for all of fiscal 2003-2004. Parents of any nationality can avail themselves of the law, but Israelis comprise 90% of those taking advantage of it, Ms. Tolbert estimates.

Even more interesting is the reasons given for applying for citizenship:

• Some of those Israelis are seeking to give their descendants a safe haven from Mideast strife. "The world keeps changing," says Amy Katz, who recently flew to Chicago with her toddler and 3-month-old daughters to secure U.S. citizenship for them. "There could be a horrible war. There could be no Israel one day."

• "This gives my daughters more options in life," says Amy Katz, who says her U.S. passport enabled her to see Jordan before Israelis could travel there. "They may want to study in the States."
  

• "Everybody who can is applying," says his mother, Yecheved Robin. "It's like the Roman Empire and citizenship. Everybody would like to be a citizen of the United States if they can."

No, those aren't the major reasons why people apply for US citizenship for their children. I'm not worried about war. I would prefer if my kids studied here in Israel (far cheaper here as well).

The real reasons are very simple.

1. Ease of travel to the US instead of waiting for a VISA as an Israeli.
2. US citizens must file with the IRS annually. If you follow the law and file with the IRS, there's a possible benefit for you. The "Jewish Worker" blog wrote this up 2 years ago (it's not obscure either).

A number of years ago, the US introduced a refundable child tax credit which started at $600 a child and is now $1000 a child. American citizens who live, work, and pay taxes in Israel, report their Israeli income to the IRS, but, because taxes are higher in Israel then in the US the taxes paid in Israel more then offset any tax that would be owed to the US government (by treaty there is no double taxation).

Using the "Alternative Minimum Tax" one could end up owing no taxes to the US government at all, and because the tax paid in Israel offsets the tax that would have been due in the US, one could end up receiving a refund of up to $1000 per child.

There are many reputable tax accountants in Israel that can help you with this process.

My advice; make sure they are reputable and sign the return (that they filled out for you) -- that's the easiest way to ensure they take responsibility for the filing.

If you want more info, drop me an email.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael