Why be a U.S. citizen?

As the world has become more inter-connected through globalization, it seems almost anachronistic that a country would insist that its citizens hold only one nationality.

South Korea was like that, but it has eased up in recent years, having realized the benefit to extending dual citizenship to emigrants. My children are permitted two passports; in the future, if my son completes his South Korean military service he'll be able to keep both into adulthood.

Unfortunately, that freedom doesn't extend to my wife. As Korean law currently reads, she can't become a U.S. citizen without sacrificing her Korean citizenship. Though this is a necessary step if I want to be a Foreign Area Officer, I'm loathe to ask her to do that. In her case, do the benefits of citizenship really outweigh the costs?

It's not so bad being a legal immigrant. With 40 quarters of contributions, my wife can get Social Security. Having endured more than two years of marriage with me before we came to the U.S., she doesn't have a "provisional" green card -- she's here to stay.

But there are some serious costs to becoming a U.S. citizen. If I get assigned to Korea, she'd be covered under the Status of Forces Agreement, but she wouldn't be covered by Korea's national health insurance system. If I were unable to secure command sponsorship, she have apply for a work visa.

And though she'd be able to pull her pension money out of the Korean system, that's not something that's optional -- if she were to ever want to return to Korea (like if I die, for example) that would be problematic. When faced with these issues, does the right to vote really have that much appeal?

Contrary to our historic position as a haven for the world's "huddled masses," emigration to the U.S. doesn't sound so great anymore, especially compared to nations with comprehensive health benefits. It almost seems a bit backwards.

How embarrassing for us, then, that citizens from supposed "developing nations" really have to consider whether citizenship here is worth it.

In addition to issues with health benefits and visas, there are also tax issues. The Economist pointed out we have a strange tax code:

"America's policy of taxing its citizens wherever they live seems especially perverse; it is an accountants' charter." [Source]

Yes -- the first $90,000 or so is excluded, and there are other rules, but is the duty to file really worth the trouble, just so you can vote? It's almost as if the U.S. should pay legal immigrants the $700 application fee rather than demand it of them.

The State Department has a good idea: grant wives of Foreign Service Officers citizenship automatically. In such a case, the Korean government may consider it an involuntary acquisition due to marriage, and permit the spouse to retain home country citizenship.