We lightly appreciate the spirit of this statement within certain immigrant communities: "My kids can study anything in college after they get the medical or engineering degrees out of the way."

According to the IFS - Institute of Family Studies research, immigrant parents have even higher expectations that their kids will not only get their undergraduate degrees but will go on to get graduate and professional degrees. 

In other words, the kids are expected to attend college; ideally, it should be an Ivy League school. The question is, how do we pay for this education?

According to migration policy data, the highest number of immigrants are trying to get to the US. For those wanting to become Americans, it's a stressful situation, and the process can last for years.

But then there is another group of people who live outside the US, some of whom have no idea they are Americans, especially because they don't have a US passport. For the record, not having a passport does not determine citizenship.

This group somehow acquired US citizenship because they were born to US citizens outside the country (probably on deployment), were born to non-immigrants in the US, or were born to US parents but left the US at a very young age. They may not be aware of it, but they are "American." in all ways possible.

We call this group "Accidental Americans."

In today's "shortie" episode, we discuss the implications of being an accidental American and the tax and financial implications of being an American overseas and make suggestions on how to deal with them. Ignorance is no defense, and you can't really ignore it.

The US taxes you on your worldwide income, regardless of where you live. If you live in the US and have foreign income, or live abroad, you have to report your foreign income on your US return.

The other country in the equation is also very interested in your income, especially if you live there. And so the fear of being double taxed is real and justified.

We are going to talk about Avoiding Double Taxation.

In this episode, we'll discuss the two main ways of mitigating this issue.

FEIE - Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Foreign Tax Credits

Foreign nationals on work visas are very keen to take advantage of the U.S. Tax code when it comes to investing and saving for retirement and other financial needs.

They are looking to save for retirement, their kid's college funding and other financial goals.

Like American citizens, they would like to take advantage of the tax-advantaged accounts like 401k plans, 403b plans, Roth IRAs, 529 college savings plans as well as health savings accounts.

Unfortunately, due to the temporary nature of the work visas (they are all nonimmigrant visas), they face unique challenges that make it very difficult to accomplish these goals.

In this episode, your co-hosts Jane Mepham, CFP, and Manasa Nadig, EA, discuss the challenges that range from brokerages that won't open accounts to the lost benefits of some tax-advantaged accounts when moving overseas due to tax-treaties amongst other issues.

In this episode of the International Money Café Podcast your cohosts Jane Mepham CFP® and Manasa Nadig, EA discuss how to go about building US credit history in the country when you are a brand-new immigrant.

A light-hearted episode, of the “International Money Café Podcast". Listen in as Manasa Nadig, EA, and Jane Mepham, CFP® describe their incredible journeys to the US from different continents.