At ports of entry Reed Amendment (immigration)

passport control @ john f. kennedy international airport. u.s. customs , border patrol officers decide whether former u.s. citizens arriving in u.s. inadmissible based on reed amendment. have found 2 people inadmissible in past 15 years.

according retired irs international tax counsel willard yates, former immigration , naturalization service , irs office of associate chief counsel (international) worked in effort create procedures work around 26 u.s.c. § 6103 limitation. under proposal, customs service (now customs , border protection) have been required check names of aliens appearing @ u.s. ports of entry against list of former united states citizens published irs under health insurance portability , accountability act of 1996. identified former u.s. citizens required sign waiver of rights under § 6103; customs fax waiver irs irs provide customs tax information relating former citizen, in particular whether former citizen met asset thresholds of 26 u.s.c. § 877(a)(2), , private letter ruling regarding whether or not former citizen had tax motivations giving u.s. citizenship.

however, there various practical difficulties these proposed regulations. notably, 1 irs agent have been assigned handling such requests; if former u.s. citizen arrived on weekend, or might have detained until monday in order border agents make required determination of tax motivation, no irs staff might available respond request information on weekend. additionally, irs had large workload drafting other guidance former citizens , green card holders under newly passed tax laws. furthermore, dhs later indicated if department able obtain tax information on former citizens, agents lack[ed] expertise , resources review tax filings meaningfully or engage in complicated tax liability analysis, involving both domestic , foreign tax law . in end, proposed regulations never issued.

in june 2014, reed used position on senate committee on appropriations insert language senate report on 1 version of department of homeland security appropriations act, 2015 (s. 2534) directing dhs report, within 90 days of act s passage, on steps undertaking enforce reed amendment, including schedule issuing guidance or regulations, if necessary. dhs report, submitted congress in november 2015, stated there no advisable options altering enforcement of inadmissibility ground against persons not affirmatively admit renouncing u.s. citizenship purpose of avoiding u.s. taxation . dhs considered implementing reed amendment presuming former citizen seeking entry had renounced u.s. citizenship purpose of avoiding taxation if or failed pay expatriation tax, obtained windfall shortly after renunciation, or established residence in tax haven, , placing burden of proof on individual rebut presumption; however, department concluded procedure have both many false negatives (failing identify people renounced tax avoidance reasons) many false positives (incorrectly denying entry people had other reasons renouncing u.s. citizenship).

according dhs report, 2 individuals denied admission united states on grounds of reed amendment between 2002 , 2015, while 5 individuals identified possibly inadmissible on basis not removed. joel paget of ryan, swanson & cleveland states 1 such denial (against person renounced before enactment of reed amendment) reversed after renunciant s lawyer submitted legal brief cbp.