It's all an insane mess. I do feel for US expats that have to go through this, when no other expats have to (the US and Eritrea are the only countries that practice citizenship based taxation [1]), but I'll bring to this thread another group of people that I haven't seen mentioned so far in this thread. Again, I'm not trying to detract from US expats. Your problems are real enough, and you are unfairly treated, but here's a rant about another group of people:

Some of us are US citizens born abroad. We are the children of one or two US parents, born outside the US. We have lived our entire lives as citizens of another country, and our ties to the US may be as slim as having been there on vacation a couple of times. We are still subject to all of this. And while it is true that most (all?) won't be double-taxed, the reporting requirements are so complex and so strict - and made all the more complicated by incompatibilities of the tax codes of our native countries and that of the US - that it's almost impossible not to make a mistake. And mistakes are punished severely - at least in theory. Even trying to evaluate whether university scholarships in my country is taxable by the US (an obscene idea on the face of it) seems to take a lawyer or accountant. Where does it end? What about child benefits? Pensions?

Yes, we could renounce our US citizenships when we turned 18. In my case, however, I was not told I was a US citizen. It's now more than a decade on, and I've never filed with the IRS because my US parent did not tell me I was a citizen until recently. What on Earth do I do? So far, I've frozen in place and not dared do anything. I am not a US person in any common sense of the word, but I feel entirely trapped by that foreign country. The benefits of a US citizenship that have come up in this thread have an entirely opposite sign for me: I'm a researcher, and would love to spend significant time at US institutions, but now I can't - I can't stay beyond a tourist visa as a foreigner because as far as the US is concerned I'm not a foreigner. And I can't travel on a US passport because I don't know what will happen to me if I get one and do. And I can't fix things with the IRS (which I'd love to do), because I have no idea how many laws I've accidentally and unknowingly broken. I'm sorry that I have, and I wish I hadn't, but how could I possibly have known? You might say that my parent should have told me - and I agree - but that didn't happen. While ignorance of the law is no excuse normally, I certainly am not going to do anything that places me in danger (financially or otherwise) from a foreign nation - so here I am, frozen in limbo. As for any social service the US might provide, I can tell you that every one of these is provided better and more generously by my liberal European homeland. I don't want anything from the US - I only want to either be let go and leave the club, or be treated fairly. Either one is fine by me, but the current situation is not.

Incidentally, any pointers from HN would be much appreciated. I know my status quo of "do nothing, sit still" won't be good in the long run, but I also have no damn idea on how to approach the matter.

Let me summarize again: I've never earned a dollar in the US. I've never received a dollar from any US entity, save the odd birthday present from relatives as a kid. I've never been to the US for more than a couple of weeks at a time - and only as a tourist. I've never voted in the US. I've never brought money into or out of the US - except ordinary tourist amounts. I pay (comparatively) high taxes where I live - in my country, my home, which is not the US. I never knew I was a US citizen. Now all of these benefits that people bring up apply to me with a negative sign. I'd gladly give up my US citizenship - but you can't unless you've proven that you're good with the IRS going back 5 years, and that you're not renouncing for tax reasons. As for that latter part - some might say I am... I am, afterall, trying to avoid being haunted by a foreign nation's tax collecting agency for the rest of my life. Is that renouncing for tax reasons? God knows...

(Sorry for the rant - this has just constanly occupied 10% of my head for a while, and it's not like there's a lot of people nearby in the same situation to talk to... any pointers from you guys would be great).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation#Citizen...