Americans Abroad: US Emigration Policy and Perspectives

Abstract

The United States is a self-described ``nation of immigrants'' and is home to more foreign-born people than any other country in the world. Although emigration from the United States has not occurred in any great waves, it is nevertheless a significant and growing phenomenon, with as many as 2 % of all US citizens residing abroad. Like many other industrialized nations, the United States does not have a systematic emigration or diaspora policy framework and its civil leaders do not face great public demand to develop one. Instead, the United States has a patchwork of laws and policies that specifically apply to Americans residing overseas which govern this population's benefits (such as voting rights and social safety nets) and obligations (taxation of assets earned abroad, for example) of US citizenship. This chapter attempts to identify and discuss these laws and policies as well as outline the role that non-state actors play in helping American expatriates maintain their patriotic identities. It first describes the US general policy framework towards its emigrant population and then analyses the prevailing public discourse on emigration.