국무부, 국적상실증명서(CLN) 행정처리 수수료 2,350달러에서 450달러로 인하

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Department of State.

Final rule.

This final rule adjusts the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services by reducing the fee for Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States from $2,350 to $450.

This final rule is effective on April 13, 2026.

Steve Jacob, Resource Management Unit, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State; phone: 771-204-4677; email: [email protected].

This final rule adjusts the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (Schedule of Fees) by reducing the fee for Item #8, Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States (CLN), from $2,350 to $450. This action is being taken to help alleviate the cost burden for those individuals who decide to request CLN services by returning to the below-cost fee that was in place from 2010-2014. The Department of State (Department) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on October 2, 2023 (88 FR 67687), with 30 days provided for public comment. This rule adopts the proposed rule as final and addresses public comments received by the Department.

As set forth in the NPRM, the Department derives the authority to set fees based on the cost of the consular services it provides, and to charge those fees, from the general user charges statute, 31 U.S.C. 9701. The President also has the power to set the amount of fees to be charged for consular services provided at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 4219 and has delegated this authority to the Secretary of State, E.O. 10718 (June 27, 1957). In the absence of a specific statutory fee retention authority, fees collected for consular services must be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3302(b).

The fee for administrative processing of a CLN (referred to as the “fee for CLN services” throughout this rulemaking) applies to U.S. nationals ( i.e., U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals) who request a CLN under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5) (taking the oath of renunciation before a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer abroad) as well as those who request a CLN under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1)-(4) or other applicable law administered by the Department. The fee for CLN services is remitted entirely to the Department of Treasury pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3302(b); revenue collected from the fee for CLN services is not factored into the budget of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) budget.

A fee for processing a request for a CLN under INA section 349(a)(5) (taking the oath of renunciation before a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer abroad) was first implemented in 2010. The fee was set at $450, which at that time represented less than 25% of the cost to the U.S. government. 75 FR 36529. Processing a U.S. citizen's request for a CLN based on the performance of a potentially expatriating act has always been a costly, time-consuming service for the Department. 80 FR 51466. Due to constitutional and other safeguards imposed by U.S. law, consular officers and employees overseas, as well as CA employees domestically, must ensure the would-be renunciant is a U.S. national who fully understands the serious consequences of renunciation and that the renunciation is both voluntary and intentional. See75 FR 6324; 79 FR 51250-51.

More specifically, processing a request for a CLN is a multi-step process that begins with the U.S. citizen contacting a U.S. embassy or consulate (“post”) to request the service. After post provides information on the process of renouncing U.S. citizenship as well as its consequences, the U.S. citizen must then complete two separate ( printed page 12297) interviews with a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer. If the U.S. citizen wishes to proceed after the initial interview, he or she must take the oath of renunciation in-person before a diplomatic or consular officer at the second interview. After completing the oath, the individual's CLN package, including a memorandum recommending approval or denial of the request for a CLN, is transmitted to the Department's Office of American Citizen Services in the Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services within CA (CA/OSC/ACS) for review and decision. This review is necessary to determine whether the applicant's burden of proof has been met and that a finding that the individual has voluntarily and intentionally renounced U.S. citizenship is warranted, and to ensure that the documentation of loss of nationality is correct. Once review is complete, post is notified electronically and, if CA/OCS/ACS approved the request, post prepares original documents for execution and issuance, and CA/OCS/ACS mails copies of the approved CLN to other federal agencies as mandated by statute and the Foreign Affairs Manual.

The Department set the fee for CLN services under INA section 349(a)(5) (taking an oath of renunciation of U.S. nationality before a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer abroad) at the below-cost amount of $450 in 2010 “in order to lessen the impact on those who need this service and not discourage the utilization of the service.” 75 FR 36529. That decision was consistent with the approach taken with respect to certain other fees for services provided to U.S. citizens overseas and was based on extensive consultations with experienced consular officers and senior Department managers. 75 FR 36527.

Between 2010 and 2014, however, the number of requests for a CLN under INA section 349(a)(5) increased dramatically, which meant that far more consular officer time and resources were consumed providing CLN services. As a result, the Department made the decision to set the fee at cost. In 2014, the Department issued an interim final rule raising the fee for CLN services under INA section 349(a)(5) from $450 to $2,350, as determined by the results of the 2010-2014 Cost of Service Model (CoSM), which incorporated improvements that better captured the actual costs to the U.S. government of providing consular services overseas. 79 FR 51251. The rule was finalized in August 2015. 80 FR 51465. In September 2015, the Department published an interim final rule with request for public comment giving notice that effective November 9, 2015, it planned to charge $2,350 for processing a request for a CLN under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1)-(4) also as a matter of “fee parity” insofar as the 2010-2014 CoSM indicated that documenting a U.S. national's relinquishment of nationality is extremely costly regardless of the subsection under which the request for a CLN is made. 80 FR 53704. The rule became final in 2018. 83 FR 4423.

In the years since the fee was increased, members of the public have continued to raise concerns about the cost of the fee and the impact of the fee on their ability to renounce their citizenship. While there is no legal requirement for individuals to declare their motivation for renouncing U.S. citizenship, anecdotal evidence suggested that difficulties were due at least in part to reporting requirements imposed by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, Public Law 111-147, 124 Stat. 71 (2010) (HIRE Act) on foreign financial institutions with whom U.S. nationals have an account or accounts. The HIRE Act added chapter 4 of Subtitle A to the Internal Revenue Code, comprising sections 1471 through 1474 (chapter 4). Chapter 4 is commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.

After significant deliberation, taking into account both the affected public's concerns regarding the cost of the fee and the not insignificant anecdotal evidence regarding tax-related difficulties many U.S. nationals residing abroad encounter, including in part because of FATCA, the Department made a policy decision, as reflected in the NPRM, to propose alleviating the cost burden for those individuals who decide to request CLN services by returning to the below-cost fee of $450. This change will better align the fee for CLN services with fees for certain other services provided to U.S. citizens abroad, including, for example, applications for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which are similarly set significantly below cost.

In the 30-day period after the publication of the NPRM, the Department received a total of 910 comments, a majority of which appear to have been drawn in whole or in part from exemplars provided by various groups such as L'Association des Américains Accidentels,[1] Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation (SEAT),[2] and Democrats Abroad.[3] The Department will address the issues raised by the commenters.

The overwhelming majority of commenters (880), including some who did not comment on the proposed fee change at all, expressed frustration with the U.S. system of worldwide taxation of its citizens and the expense associated with compliance with U.S. tax laws. Many reported spending hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on tax professionals, even when they might have no U.S. tax liabilities. Some stated that despite being required to comply with U.S. tax laws, they received and/or benefited from few of the services for which their taxes were collected— e.g., free COVID vaccines, Medicare Part B, and improved U.S. infrastructure. A few also expressed political objections to the way their tax dollars were used.

In addition to frustration with the U.S. system of worldwide taxation (referred to as “double taxation” by many commenters), commenters took particular issue with FATCA, stating it has made it difficult for them to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds, obtain a mortgage, or open a bank account in their countries of residence. Some noted that they also faced difficulties investing in the United States, due to lack of a U.S. address and phone number. This significantly impacted their ability to save for retirement. Relatedly, commenters expressed frustration with the complicated reporting requirements imposed by FATCA as well as by Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR), Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC), and Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) rules.

The Department is acutely aware of the concerns expressed by the commenters, some of which prompted the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to task an interagency engagement in its 2019 report to Congressional Committees. ( See GAO 19-180 “Foreign Asset Reporting—Actions Needed to Enhance Compliance Efforts, Eliminate Overlapping Requirements, and Mitigate Burdens on U.S. Persons Abroad,” available at https://www.gao.gov/​products/​gao-19-180). GAO tasked the Departments of Treasury and State and the Social Security Administration to “establish a formal means to collaboratively address ongoing issues that U.S. persons living ( printed page 12298) abroad encounter from implementation of FATCA reporting requirements.” The Department of State engaged in good faith discussions regarding its possible contributions, and due to the coordinated efforts of the interagency, the GAO determined that the recommendation was implemented.

The Department, however, cannot alter U.S. tax compliance laws for citizens residing overseas, or otherwise address concerns related to worldwide or so called “double” taxation. The Department likewise cannot amend the user charges statute—which applies to fee collections government-wide and not just those charged by the Department of State for consular services—to exclude those without “sufficient residential connection to the United States” from the payment of the fee for CLN services, as proposed by L'Association des Américains Accidentels.

As stated in the NPRM, the proposal to lower the fee for CLN services took into account the not-insignificant anecdotal evidence regarding the difficulties that many U.S. nationals residing abroad have reported they are encountering. It is designed to help alleviate the cost burden for requesting CLN services, even though the fee of $450 reimburses only a fraction of the cost to the U.S. government of providing such services.

Of the approximately 740 commenters who addressed the proposed change to the fee, 185 supported the fee change without qualification. Most of these commenters emphasized that the “real problem” was not the fee but was the U.S. system of worldwide taxation. Nevertheless, they supported the fee change because they felt the $2,350 fee was too high whereas the prior fee of $450 was a more reasonable amount. 543 commenters suggested that a $450 fee was still high, though a majority (312) of those commenters nevertheless welcomed the fee change as a “step in the right direction.” Most commenters in this group compared the proposed fee to the fees for other consular services provided to U.S. citizens, and many suggested that the fee for CLN services should be set at or around the cost of renewing a U.S. adult passport (currently $130). The cost to the U.S. government of providing services to renew an adult U.S. passport, however, is significantly less than the cost to the U.S. government of processing requests for Certificates of Loss of Nationality.

Of the commenters who did not support the change from $2,350 to $450, a group of 215 proposed a fee of $63.25, calculated using figures in the Department's Supporting Statement for the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Submission related to the DS-4079, submitted to the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in 2023. See https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAViewICR?​ref_​nbr=​202309-1405-004. That figure does not reflect the full cost to the U.S. government of providing CLN services. The cost estimate of $63 in the PRA submission only reflects the cost of reading the (substantially) revised DS-4079, Questionnaire—Loss of Nationality; Attestations, which incorporates most of the other required forms into one form, including the current DS-4080, Oath/Affirmation of Renunciation, and the DS-4081, Statement of Understanding. Unlike the PRA submission, the Department's Cost of Service Model, which is used to calculate the full cost to the U.S. government of performing each consular service, captures the cost of providing each component of the CLN service.

The same group proposed that the Department consider allowing renunciations by videoconference, to save would-be renunciants the cost of having to travel to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in order to obtain this service. The Department has given, and continues to give, serious consideration to remote interview options in the provision of many consular services, including CLN services. With limited exception for certain pilot programs, the Department still is of the view that, by and large, legitimate security and fraud concerns necessitate an in-person appointment for many consular services—including CLN services—to ensure the integrity of the service performed, help safeguard our borders, and enhance national security. In the context of providing CLN services in particular, it is also critical that the U.S. diplomatic or consular officer have the opportunity to assess whether the individual is acting voluntarily and with intent to relinquish U.S. nationality, including whether they fully comprehend the gravity and consequences of relinquishing U.S. nationality, which can most readily be done in person. At this time, the Department continues to rely on its authority under Immigration and Nationality Act section 104(a) to preserve the in-person appearance requirement for CLN services. See Farrell v. Blinken, 4 F.4th 124, 127 (D.C. Cir. 2021).

A total of 226 commenters, including the group of 215 whose comments are otherwise discussed above, stated that no fee should be charged for individuals who obtained U.S. citizenship by virtue of their birth but who reside overseas and lack meaningful ties to the United States. Finally, a handful of commenters (11) articulated a belief that no fee should be charged for CLN services regardless of ties to the United States while a few others thought the amount of the fee should be means-tested, with a waiver provided for those who are destitute.

The Department has reviewed and considered all of these comments. The Department declines to adopt a tiered approach to the fee for CLN services. Administrative processing of a request for a CLN costs the U.S. government the same amount whether the individual seeking to renounce citizenship currently has or has ever possessed meaningful ties to the United States. A $450 fee is a significant decrease from the current fee that, when adjusted for inflation, represents less of a financial burden than the same fee did when it was first adopted in 2010. Lowering the fee to $450 addresses the concerns raised by these commenters without requiring the Department to implement an unduly burdensome and time-consuming set of procedures by which to research an assertion of lack of ties to the United States.

In enacting this change, the Department is making a policy decision to help alleviate the cost burden for those individuals who decide to request CLN services. This change will better align the fee for CLN services with certain other fees for services provided to U.S. citizens abroad, including applications for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which are set significantly below cost.

The Department concludes that a fee of $450, although only a fraction of the cost of providing the service, balances the need for the U.S. government to recoup at least some of its costs with the objective of charging a fee that does not deter individuals from seeking CLN services. As set forth in the NPRM, the Department reviews its Cost of Service Model (CoSM) annually, to calculate the cost of providing all services, including CLN services, applying its standard activity-based costing (ABC) methodology. The Department also regularly assesses the CoSM itself, to determine whether modifications are needed to ensure the ABC methodology employed accurately identifies and assigns costs for each individual service. If, in the future, the results of these processes indicate that the Department ought to reevaluate its approach to the fee for CLN services and/or other services provided to U.S. citizens that are set below cost, the Department will engage its experienced consular officers and senior Department managers to help ( printed page 12299) determine the appropriate level at which to set the fee, again balancing the need for the U.S. government to recoup at least some of its costs with the objective of charging a fee for these services that does not deter individuals from seeking them.

Eight commenters who had already paid $2,350 for CLN services requested a refund of the $1,900 difference between the current fee and the proposed fee once the fee change is implemented. After careful consideration, the Department declines to offer a refund. The user charges statute directs agencies to set user charges at a level that enables the relevant service to be “self-sustaining to the extent possible,” 31 U.S.C. 9701(a), and the Department's rulemaking adequately demonstrated that a fee of $2,350 accurately reflected the cost of providing CLN services at the time it was implemented. See L'Association des Americains Accidentels v. United States Dep't of State, 656 F. Supp. 3d 165, 177-78 (D.D.C. 2023), appeal filed, No. 23-5034 (Feb. 16, 2023). (L'Association des Americains Accidentels filed an appeal at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 16, 2023, which remains pending as of the date of publication of this rule.) Moreover, as explained in the NPRM and throughout this final rule, a fee of $450 is and always has been a fraction of the cost of providing CLN services. The decision to lower the fee to $450 was a policy determination designed to alleviate the cost burden for those individuals who decide for whatever reason to request CLN services. Because the fee of $2,350 was properly charged, a refund is not warranted. See22 CFR 22.6(2) (providing for refunds of consular fees only if “the collection was erroneous under applicable law”).

A few commenters requested that the fee reduction be made retroactive. Agencies generally do not have the authority to enact rules with retroactive effect unless that authority is expressly granted by Congress. See Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital, 488 U.S. 204, 208-09 (1988). Neither statute from which the Department derives its authority to charge and collect fees for consular services, 31 U.S.C. 9701 or 22 U.S.C. 4219, expressly provides for retroactive fee changes. Even if one or both of these statutes did permit retroactive fee changes, as noted above, the prior fee accurately represented the cost to the Department of providing CLN services when implemented.

The Department published this rulemaking as a proposed rule and provided 30 days for public comment. It will be effective 30 days after publication, in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d).

The Department has reviewed this rule and, by approving it, certifies that it will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6).

This rule will not result in the expenditure by state, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any year, and it will not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501-1504.

This rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Executive Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563, as amended by Executive Order 14094 (“Modernizing Regulatory Review”), direct that each Federal agency shall propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify the costs. The Department has reviewed this rule to ensure its consistency with the regulatory philosophy and principles set forth in these Executive Orders. This rule is a “significant regulatory action” as defined in section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866.

This rule adjusts an existing fee in the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services. The fee for CLN services is charged pursuant to the general user charges statute, 31 U.S.C. 9701, as well as 22 U.S.C. 4219, which provides the President—and by delegation, the Secretary of State—with the power to set the amount of fees to be charged for consular services provided at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. The user charges statute and the implementing policy found in OMB Circular A-25 [4] stipulate that services provided by the government should be self-sustaining to the extent possible, and that user charges therefore generally should recover the full cost to the U.S. government of providing the service. In lowering the fee from $2,350 to $450, the Department has made a policy determination not to recover its full costs in response to concerns expressed by U.S. citizens residing overseas who seek to renounce their U.S. citizenship, but believe the current fee is prohibitively high or otherwise is unfair. The fee reduction balances the need for the U.S. government to recoup at least some of its costs with the objective of charging a fee for these services that does not deter individuals from seeking them.

The following table summarizes the impact of this final rule:

Table 1—Changes to the Schedule of Fees

The Department's CoSM is updated annually, and the Department aims to update the Schedule of Fees biennially unless a significant change in costs warrants an immediate recommendation to amend the Schedule. If, in the future, the results of the CoSM indicate that the Department ought to reevaluate its approach to the fee for CLN services and/or other services provided to U.S. citizens that are set below cost, the Department will engage its experienced consular officers and senior Department managers to help determine the appropriate level at which to set the fee, balancing the need for the U.S. government to recoup at least some of its costs with the objective of charging a fee for these services that does not deter individuals from seeking them. See, e.g.,31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (“The head of each agency . . . may prescribe regulations establishing the charge for a service or thing of value provided by the agency . . . based on . . . the costs to the Government.”).

Processing requests for a CLN is exclusively within the purview of the federal government; an individual seeking a CLN cannot turn to state or local government agencies for assistance. None of the changes requested by the commenters, aside from those related to changing the fee or CLN process, are within the Department's direct control or ability to address via rulemaking or otherwise.

The Department has considered available alternatives to the proposed fee, which include: continuing to set the fee at cost, which would result in a fee substantially higher than $450; lowering the fee to some other amount; or charging no fee for CLN services. As discussed above and in the NPRM, the figure $450 was chosen because this is the level at which the fee was set previously, from 2010-2014. At that time, the $450 was fee was designed “to lessen the [financial] impact on those who need this service and not discourage the utilization of the service.” 75 FR 36525. Implementation of this fee generated no comments or concerns from the public and, as noted above, when adjusted for inflation a $450 fee represents even less of a financial burden than the same fee did when it was first adopted in 2010.

The Department assesses that a lower fee or no fee at all would not be appropriate because the provision of CLN services is one of the costliest sets of services that the Department provides. A $450 fee effectively balances the statutory and policy directive to ensure that U.S. government services generally are self-sustaining to the extent possible with the objective of charging a fee that does not deter individuals from seeking CLN services.

As discussed above, a downward adjustment to the fee for CLN services will provide a benefit to the public by lessening the financial impact of the fee on those who seek this service without discouraging the utilization of the service. See also75 FR 36529. The costs will be felt primarily by the U.S. government, in the form of lower revenue. A U.S. citizen may choose to renounce U.S. citizenship for a variety of reasons. According to the comments on the NPRM, it appears that many U.S. citizens who seek to renounce their citizenship do so because their U.S. citizenship has created obstacles that impede their lives and livelihoods overseas. Aside from self-labeled “accidental Americans”—individuals who acquired U.S. citizenship by virtue of their birth in the United States but who lack meaningful ties to the country of their birth—most commenters expressed a desire to remain a U.S. citizen but a concern that the benefits of U.S. citizenship no longer justified the costs of tax compliance and/or the administrative hurdles U.S. citizenship presented when trying to open a bank account, obtain a mortgage, or invest for retirement. Although this regulation does not and indeed cannot remedy those concerns, it benefits U.S. citizens seeking to renounce their citizenship by lowering the fee for seeking CLN services. In this way, it makes this service more accessible to all U.S. citizens who seek to renounce, including those with limited means.

The rule is not subject to the offset requirements of Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation. According to OMB Memorandum M-25-20, dated March 26, 2025, an “action that establishes a new fee or changes the existing fee for a service, without imposing any new costs on net, does not need to be offset” (Q16).

This regulation will not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with section 6 of E.O. 13132, it is determined that this rule does not have sufficient federalism implications to require consultations or warrant the preparation of a federalism summary impact statement. The regulations implementing E.O. 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on federal programs and activities do not apply to this regulation.

The Department has determined that this rulemaking will not have tribal implications, will not impose substantial direct compliance costs on Indian tribal governments, and will not preempt tribal law. Accordingly, the requirements of E.O. 13175 do not apply to this rulemaking.

This rule does not impose any new reporting or record-keeping requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

( printed page 12301)

Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, 22 CFR part 22 is amended as follows:

1. The authority citation for part 22 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101 note, 1153 note, 1183a note, 1351, 1351 note, 1713, 1714, 1714 note; 10 U.S.C. 2602(c); 11 U.S.C. 1157 note; 22 U.S.C. 214, 214 note, 1475e, 2504(a), 2651a, 4201,4206, 4215, 4219, 6551; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Exec. Order 10,718, 22 FR 4632 (1957); Exec. Order 11,295, 31 FR 10603 (1966).

2. In § 22.1, amend the table by revising entry 2(g) under the heading “Passport and Citizenship Services” to read as follows:

§ 22.1

Schedule of fees.

* * * * *

Schedule of Fees for Consular Services

John L. Armstrong,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State.

1. https://www.americains-accidentels.fr/​page/​1503405-lawsuit-against-state-department.

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2. http://seatnow.org/​2023/​10/​31/​seats-submission-to-u-s-department-of-state/​.

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3. https://www.democratsabroad.org/​jeffsteiner/​share_​why_​you_​shouldn_​t_​have_​to_​renounce_​your_​citizenship.

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4. https://www.whitehouse.gov/​wp-content/​uploads/​2017/​11/​Circular-025.pdf.

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[FR Doc. 2026-04931 Filed 3-12-26; 8:45 am]

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