They are preparing to move this month to France, where Terry's husband is a citizen. The couple's decision to expatriate was validated for them when Trump named Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court last month, he said, because of the possible impact on same-sex marriage.
That's what worries Terry, an East Coast consultant who started the emigration process with his husband months ago. "No matter who wins the election, the problems won't be solved right away." "It takes a lot to pry oneself away from their neighborhoods, their homes, their families," he said. Wade Davis, an anthropologist at the University of British Columbia who recently wrote an essay headlined "The Unraveling of America" for Rolling Stone, said that, even compared with the tumultuous 1960s - with antiwar protests, assassinations and riots - "what is happening now has no precedent in American history." Americans are choosing between being emotionally exhausted in their own country or potentially feeling alienated abroad, he said. "Quieter, more stable countries start to look appealing," he said.
He attributes the unprecedented jump to political divisiveness, uncertainty about health care, and the rising visibility of "militarized hate groups" in the United States. The embassies declined to give specific numbers or comment on visa applicants' motivations, citing privacy and diplomatic concerns.ĭan Prescher, senior editor of, said traffic related to "how to move out of the U.S." has surged 1,676% over the past five months. The German, French and Australian embassies in Washington said they have experienced noticeable increases in American citizens applying for visas, too, largely those married to citizens of their countries. But immigration lawyers and groups catering to aspiring expatriates say the jump also mirrors a surge they've seen in recent months related to the national turmoil. It includes people who gave up their citizenship or residency for a wide variety of reasons changes to tax laws for citizens living overseas are also a major contributor to the increase, experts say. Such data is often delayed by months and can include people who left the United States in earlier years.
In the third quarter, the numbers dropped dramatically to about 800, as embassies curbed services because of the pandemic. residency soared to 5,816 in the first six months of 2020, compared with 2,072 in all of 2019, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service. The number of Americans who were recorded as having given up their citizenship or U.S. "People start telling me their stories, saying they feel unsafe, exhausted, like they are almost pleading their case." "I had call, after call, after call - so many that one day I felt like an immigration attorney in 1939 Germany," Segal said. Heather Segal, a Canadian immigration attorney, said inquiries to her Toronto office became relentless after President Donald Trump hesitated in condemning white supremacists at the first presidential debate in late September. But 2020 has been unprecedented in the number of people following through on that pledge or taking the steps to leave even before polls opened, experts said. Vows to flee the country amid contentious elections are a well-worn threat among American voters. They're largely Americans with financial means and the ability to work virtually, and some are dual citizens and their spouses. The exodus has been led by parents looking for countries with open and safe schools and by members of marginalized groups fed up with institutionalized racism, shaken by the visibility of white supremacists and worried about what a Supreme Court swing to the right will mean for their civil liberties. (Mason Trinca for The Washington Post)Īmericans are leaving the country or seeking foreign visas in record numbers, according to immigration lawyers and expatriate organizations, during an oppressive year of political violence, racial strife and an uncontrolled pandemic that has kept families locked in their homes for months - with no clear end in sight. Michelle and Marc Reeves with their children, 5-year-old Camilla and 8-year-old Ransom, at their home in Portland, Ore., in July.
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