#mobilitymeme Monday

The longer it takes you to exercise a benefit of a mobility asset, the less that mobility asset exists for you. —> Citizenships, semi-citizenships, residencies, visas, passports, substitute travel documents.

Getting a second citizenship means you can get: ✅Immediate, highest right of entry in a second country ✅Immediate, highest right of residency in a second country ✅ Another passport ✅ Another set of visa-free access ✅ Another government-issued national ID ✅ Another set of foreign consulates that can help you ✅ Access to another country's bilateral treaties ✅ Another soft national identity you can use ✅Another country in which you can apply for immigration benefits in third country consulates (the friendlier consulate springboard) ✅ Access to another set of countries for advantaged entry or residency terms (if the citizenship is part of the EU, CTA, MERCOSUR, or other freedom of movement bloc). Freedom of movement through #multiplecitizenship is the answer.

10 Freedom of Movement & Self-Sovereignty Actions 🎬for Americans Here are 10 actions you can pay a professional to do for you to immediately position yourself for better mobility and Plan B options (or DIY yourself, with possibly mixed effectiveness): 1. Find and order 3 certified copies of your important vital documents (BC, MC, DC). Apostille one certified copy of each. Store them in plastic sleeves in a Sovereignty Binder (I'll write more about the "Sovereignty Binder" later). 🎬 2. Research your family ancestry and get yourself and your family screened for citizenship by descent eligibility by a professional. 🎬 3. Get your FBI background check (identity history summary). See what's on it. Check that the information (name, birth date, citizenship, criminal information) is accurate. 🎬 4. Apply for a U.S. passport card. 🎬 5. Apply for a second U.S. passport. 🎬 6. Apply for a Palau digital residency & ID.🎬 ..... If you have any criminal record, including misdemeanors!.... 7. Get 3 certified copies of the final dispo./minute order. Apostille one certified copy.🎬 8. Get screened for post-conviction relief eligibility (expungement, vacatur, sealing, expunction, etc.). If you qualify for any post-conviction relief, get it done. 🎬 9. Update your FBI background check (identity history summary) to reflect any post-conviction relief you've obtained (if applicable). 🎬 Note: THESE UPDATES TAKE TIME AND DO NOT USUALLY HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY. Finally... 10. Book a consultation with a mobility lawyer to discuss your preferences, goals, eligibility issues, price-range and what citizenships & residency options are available and appropriate for you. 🎬🎬🎬

“The strength of a bureaucracy is measured by its ability to resist giving anyone special treatment.” -Citizen X

People don’t know they’re in a cage until they try to move without permission.

The guys out there with cameras doing #firstamendment auditing in the face of police intimidation are civil rights heroes in my book.

From the perspective of exposure to a country's laws... Light opt-in --> Travel to a country Heavy opt-in--> Get permanent residency or citizenship Light opt-out --> Leave a country Heavy opt-out--> Renounce residency/citizenship #freedomofmovement #extraterritorialjurisdiction

#mobilitymeme Monday

he "Titanic" is single sovereign dependence, whether in LATAM, U.S. or Germany. The focus should be from a mindset of moving from 1 to 1 to a mindset of moving from 1 to many (residency options). From high heel to snowshoe.

9 Common Immigration Predicaments for a U.S. Citizen with a Foreign Spouse "Mixed citizenship" couples have some unique issues that arise, such as: 1. How to bring the Foreign Spouse Permanently to the U.S. (Consular Processing vs. Adjustment of Status) 2. How to Deal with Non-U.S. Domicile of Sponsoring U.S. Citizen Spouse? 3. U.S. Citizen Needs to Spend 1-3 Years on Assignment in the U.S. How to make sure the Foreign Spouse Can Visit? 4. How to Determine if Child Born Abroad Will Acquire U.S. Citizenship at Birth? 5. How to Register Child's Birth Abroad (CRBA)? 6. How to Maximize Chances Foreign Spouse Can Visit the U.S. While Immigrant Petition (I-130) Is Pending? 7. How to Obtain and Apostille Vital Documents & FBI Report of U.S. Spouse Applying for Residency or Citizenship in Foreign Spouse's Country? 8. U.S. Citizen & Foreign Spouse Green Card Holder Spend 6-12 Months Continuously Outside of the U.S. How to Overcome Continuous Residence Challenge in Foreign Spouse's Forthcoming U.S. Naturalization Application? 9. U.S. Citizen & Foreign Spouse Green Card Holder Spend 6-12 Months Continuously Outside of the U.S. How to Deal U.S. CBP Challenging Foreign Spouse's Green Card? I'm going to break down some of the ways of dealing with each of these predicaments. I'll post them as stand alone threads in the coming days, and link them to this master thread. #citizenship #residency #greencard #dualcitizenship #freedomofmovement

Noah built the arc before the rain. #dualcitizenship

Dear American Citizens, ❌You're not allowed to leave the U.S. without a valid U.S. passport or substitute besides under limited exceptions (8 USC 1185; 22 CFR 53.2) ❌And the executive has fairly wide discretion to deny you a U.S. passport (Haig v. Agee). That's a nasty combination. ✅You'd be well justified if learning of this mobility vulnerability shocks you and pisses you off. Regards. #mobilityamendment

Old grandpa with his theories. #mobilitymeme Monday

What's the difference between a CITIZEN and a NATIONAL? Answering that question requires an inquiry into statehood, conquest and colonialism. To that end, I recommend anyone interested in this topic, especially in the U.S. context, check out: "How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States." by historian Daniel Immerwahr The book explores how Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, Hawaiians, and others were all U.S. nationals (but not citizens) at one point. Also why do so many Americans remain hazy, if not, outright uninformed on this point? Some of those U.S. nationals were entitled to, and GOT U.S. passports. Also that phenomenon of a "non-citizen U.S. national" still exists today for those born in American Samoa, Swains Island and U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. Those modern day U.S. nationals also get U.S. passports, despite not being U.S. citizens (another reason to be sharp in the distinction between concepts of "citizenship" and "passport"). Anyway, check out the book. #citizenship #nationality #USA #empire #colonialism

Amazon

Amazon

The magic of a 2nd #passport isn’t the addition of visa-free access. It’s the new extinguishment of any one country’s monopoly on your ability to travel internationally.

So I go to Iran and I announce “I’m back - I’m here to help with your brain drain problem.” They say “Help? You just made it worse.” I tell ya I get no respect.

Six Benefits of Canadian Citizenship for Access to the U.S. Market Does being a Canadian citizen offer unique benefits of access to the United States market? https://www.malakoutilaw.com/six-benefits-of-canadian-citizenship-for-access-to-the-u-s-market

What's On Your "Criminal Record"? For the globally mobile person, whether and to what extent you have a "criminal record" is actually not that simple. In my my experience, most people have a woefully distorted mental model about how criminal records work. The most common mistake is visualizing your "rap sheet" or "background check" as one single centralized document. it is not. What 1) charges, 2) arrests, 2) convictions, and 4) dismissals are on "your record" depends on what entity is providing the background check, for use under which jurisdiction's law and for what purpose. The reality is that the record is messy, decentralized and loosely linked between different government agencies. ..... For example, there are variances in how criminal records appear according to different background check generating entities: 1) In the U.S., what shows on a private background check (corelogic, goodhire, etc.) may not show on a state-level government background check (sometimes you can sue for that). 2) What shows on a state-level government background check (California DOJ, Ohio BCI, etc.) may not show up on an FBI background check. 3) What shows on your court records (for example an order of dismissal) may not show up on ANY private, state-level or FBI background check. You may have to go through steps to get the background checks updated, if you want them changed. 4) You may have a sealed juvenile record that does not show up on your state-level or FBI background check. Or it may show up contrary to state law. ...... Then there are differences in how the very same "criminal record" data may have different EFFECT depending on the purpose its being evaluated for: 1) A person might NOT have a criminal record for the purposes of private employment in a given state, but they do for a professional licensing application (Ex: a California rehabilitative expungement). 2) Or they may have a dismissal for the purposes of state and federal law in the United States, but not for the purposes of a foreign residency application. That foreign country may want to know whether a person was EVER convicted, regardless of what happened after the conviction. 3) Or the person might not have a conviction according to one state (perhaps they call it a "juvenile adjudication") but a foreign jurisdiction calls that a conviction. ..... Understandably, this level of messy complexity is unsettling for most people. Here's a rule of thumb that some may find useful: The general question "what do I have on my criminal record?" in order to be meaningful must usually be followed with the qualifiers 1. According to who? (which entity is providing the records- a county, a state, country, a private background company, etc.) 2. To be evaluated under what law? (state law, federal law, foreign law, etc.) 3. For what purpose? (private employment, government employment, foreign citizenship application, domestic criminal sentencing, etc.) ..... The first step in wrapping your head around a messy, complex concept like "your criminal record" is to reject the simpler comforting but erroneous mental model. At least then, you're in the advantageous situation of KNOWING what you don't know, so you can research further or seek out a specialist. #backgroundcheck #criminalrecord #FBI

Lessons in saying nothing: Start your sentences by saying "With everything happening nowadays..." to get instant agreement.