Last week, it was revealed that British Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill had received her second formulaic and non-committal response in two months to specific questions she had asked the UK government on behalf of one of her “accidental American” constituents.

As reported, the response was seen by many in the American expat community in Britain and elsewhere as an indication that the UK was strongly disinclined to rally to the support of the country’s “accidental American” citizens, presumably out of concern for what it might do to U.S./UK relations at a time when the UK might need all the friends it can get, as it faces a possible no-deal Brexit.

Here, Tom Carpenter, a former “accidental American” who lives in the UK, after having come here as a 18-month-old, describes how he finally lost hope last year that the U.S. would ever make it any easier for its expats. With a mixture of fury and resignation, he stumped up the requisite US$2,350 and renounced his U.S. citizenship – an act some have taken to calling “citizide,” because of the reluctance with which it is typically undertaken…

When the Hollywood version of Kevin Kwan's 2013 novel, Crazy Rich Asians, hit the world's cinemas recently, English-language commentators familiar with the multi-cultural Singaporean dialect took note of the "Singlish" words used in the film – such as "lah", which Singaporeans like to add to the end of a phrase for emphasis.

 In 2015, Congress enacted a law that would revoke the passports of U.S. citizens who were “seriously delinquent” on their U.S. taxes. The enforcement threshold was set relatively high, however – at US$50,000 in outstanding tax, interest and penalties. (A provision was included to adjust annually for inflation going forward, so the amount now stands at US$51,000.)