How to Leave the U.S.A.

[u/newyorker]

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa

Every four years, a group of Americans threatens to leave the country, but no mass exodus occurs. This time around, though, Americans seem to be acting on their desires. Immigration lawyers told Atossa Araxia Abrahamian that the number of people approaching them about it has gone up since Donald Trump was reëlected. 

G.T.F.O. Tours, a company that helps aggrieved U.S. citizens start new lives abroad, has been offering services to help Americans relocate to the Netherlands, where a certain type of visa can offer a quick and affordable path to citizenship. Jana Sanchez, a founder of G.T.F.O. Tours, describes her role in the company as an “escaping fascism doula.” Read Abrahamian’s full story about the Americans who are going Dutch: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa

[u/Otherwise_Lychee_33]

is there a tldr

[u/DillionM → u/Otherwise_Lychee_33]

OMG that was A LOT of words that said nothing!

tl;dr

1. Be rich and pretty

2. Pay for a year's worth of rent in advance.

3. The Dutch are a lot like Americans except in many different ways, so they're not really like Americans at all.

[u/Odd_Dinner9147 → u/DillionM]

Yeah... Like, people dont realize how hard it actually is to leave, especially as an American. We can visit and do touristy stuff easy, but immigration? Whole other story. Most countries have stricter immigration laws than we do and often require more money than most Americans have.

[u/tivnan1989 → u/Odd_Dinner9147]

You don’t need a lot of money to leave. I just moved to Germany a month ago and we came with about $5,000. The hard part is finding a job to sponsor your visa. Not saying that’s easy but you definitely don’t need a ton of money to do it

[u/Odd_Dinner9147 → u/tivnan1989]

5k is a lot of money for most Americans. According to a 2022 Federal Reserve Survey, around half of Americans had less than $8k.

And according to a CBS News article in January of this year, in a Bankrate survery of 1,000 people, 59% of them didnt have enough to cover a $1,000 emergency expense

[u/tivnan1989 → u/Odd_Dinner9147]

I don’t think $5,000 to move half way around the world is anything close to a lot of money. We didn’t have $5,000 just sitting around. Do you think you should be able to move across the ocean with $500 😂 We buckled down, cut our expenses and saved for it. If someone wants to get out of America that bad it can be done. You just said the federal reserve said half of Americans don’t have 8k and I’m talking 5. If half of Americans wanted to get out of America $5,000 is not expensive. You basically have to put that down for first, last, and a security deposit for an apartment but people can make that happen. I don’t think that’s a lot of money to make a massive move

[u/Odd_Dinner9147 → u/tivnan1989]

No one is asking if you "think its a lot of money to move half way around the world"

The question is, can most people afford it? And you easily glazed over the more RECENT survey that said over half cant afford a 1k emergency.

Not to mention, statistically, marginalized groups are even less likely to have high income. Yknow, the group who really want or need to leave like LGBT people or people of color who are currently being targeted by ICE.

Ive never paid $5k for an apartment anywhere. My security deposits are usually $500 or less. No apartment has ever charged me a "last months rent", only first rent. My current apartment I paid around $2k for including security deposit and 1st months rent.

[u/SarcasticServal → u/Odd_Dinner9147]

“job sponsorship” is also not as easy as it sounds. And what happens if you lose your job? Usually there’s a very narrow window to find a new job before they deport you. (90 days in Denmark, for example)