Tag Archives: AARO

AARO To File Amicus Brief To Support Argument That FBAR Penalties May Violate 8th Amendment Prohibition On Excessive Fines

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The AARO brief is for the benefit of ALL Americans abroad. Please support AARO by completing their survey!

Call for Member Input – FBAR Case (Amicus Brief)

AARO to file an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit Court

AARO is working with a major U.S. law firm on an amicus brief (“friend of the court” brief), which it plans to file in May 2026, in the case United States of America v. Tuncay Saydam. Mr. Saydam was assessed penalties, now exceeding $500,000 with interest, for not having filed FBAR reports during the years 2013-2017 for his overseas bank accounts. Our amicus brief will support Mr. Saydam’s argument that these penalties are unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the imposition of excessive fines.

Your answers to the questions below will help AARO describe in our amicus brief the difficulty for ordinary Americans to navigate the complexity and burden of compliance with the FBAR and other financial reporting requirements.

Here is the link:

https://aaro.org/issues/fbar/call-for-member-input-fbar-case-amicus-brief

John Richardson – Follow me on X.com/ExpatriationLaw

The Unknown Ambassadors: A Saga Of Citizenship – Phyllis Michaux

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I just read “The Unknown Ambassadors: A Saga Of Citizenship” by Phyllis Michaux.* Phyllis Michaux was an American citizen who married a French citizen/resident. She lived her adult life in France. By any standard, she was an impressive and effective advocate for the rights of Americans abroad.**

I recommend the book (if you can find a copy) to all Americans abroad. As diverse as the community of Americans abroad is, what unites them is far greater than what divides them. What unites all Americans abroad is the horrible discriminatory treatment they suffer at the hands of the U.S. government. (As the distribution of vaccines in the covid pandemic demonstrated, the discriminatory treatment is NOT limited to taxation.) In this respect the United States is practically unique. Ireland honours and celebrates its diaspora. France gives it expats representatives in the legislature. The United States does (in 2024) and always has (as documented in “The Unknown Ambassadors”) mistreat its citizens abroad. U.S. citizens abroad are examples of the “discrete and insular minorities” contemplated in Justice Stone’s infamous Carolene Products footnote 4.)**** U.S. citizens, more than the citizens of any other country are in need of a second citizenship.

Phyllis Michaux’s achievements from the 20th century offer lessons for the many individuals and groups who are advocating to achieve justice for Americans abroad in the 21st century.

“The Unknown Ambassadors” provides an account of Ms. Michaux’s recognizing discrimination against Americans abroad as a matter of fact, identifying the laws responsible for that discrimination, identifying the appropriate U.S. government agencies to lobby for change and finally executing that change. Advocates for Americans abroad in the 21st century should read this book. A testament to her achievements is that the “Phyllis Michaux Papers” are found in the “Georgetown University Archival Resources”.

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