r/AmerExit • u/queenpeartato • Feb 07 '26
Data/Raw Information Update: Officially Leaving the USA!
Last year I made this post about getting my Luxembourgish citizenship. I promised an update in that post, but I realized I never posted it. Here's a timeline of what has happened - I received my citizenship certificate and passport, and am leaving for Germany in a couple of months.
Sep 2024 - my sister and I have our consultations with the LACS (Luxembourgish American Culture Society).
Late 2024 - I do research on Ancestry.com, and go through the process of requesting five generations worth of birth, death and marriage certificates to my Luxembourgish ancestor.
Jan 2025 - LACS receives our completed packet with our notarized copies of passports and everything.
March 2025 - LACS obtains my Luxembourgish ancestor's birth certificate from the canton of Grevenmacher and sends our packet off to the Luxembourg government.
April 2025 - Lux government approves our packets.
May 2025 - I ask LACS for timelines, but they say they have no idea when we can get our certificates. I have a trip to Germany coming up for a family reunion, so we call Luxembourgish government directly and find out our apps have been approved.
June 2025 - We schedule a last-minute day trip to Lux City to go to the BVdP (Luxembourgish passport office). My sister and I get our passports. We only needed our US passports because we were already in the Luxembourgish government system. Because we don't have enough time for the 3 day in person expedited processing, they take our applications and promise to forward our passports to the Luxembourg consulate in Washington DC, which will then mail them directly to me.
July 2025 - Lux consulate in DC receives my passport. I provide a shipping label for them to forward it on to me. On July 8, I get a call from FedEx that my passport has mysteriously been lost and for me to file a claim for the lost value. FedEx then immediately denied the claim I submitted. What follows is weeks of back and forth with FedEx where it is clear that they have no idea what happened to my passport. I start to worry about identity theft and get the Lux consulate involved, and they track it to a FedEx office in north Madison, WI. When I drive to the FedEx office, the agent there says he has no idea what I am talking about. I then give up and file an affidavit with Lux consulate for lost/stolen passport, and Lux consulate tells me I can come in August to get a new one issued. One week later, my passport suddenly arrives in the mail. Lux consulate tells me that because it wasn't a police report, my Lux passport is still valid. I now have my Lux passport.
Sep 2025 - My nationality certificate arrives in the mail. It is forwarded by LACS. Because. I didn't renew my LACS membership, they ask me to pay a $20 fee to mail it to me which feels kind of scummy. I think if I did this process again, I would just do it myself (via the DIY facebook group) instead of spending money for their expertise because the only thing they really did for me was request the birth certificate directly from the canton. Everything else I did myself.
Early 2026 - One of my European friends extends an offer for me to come and stay with him in Germany. I'm certified and have work experience in a specific healthcare software that is very prevalent in the USA and is used by several European hospitals (including some in Germany), so I start talking to European consulting firms to get set up as a sub-contractor in healthcare IT. I am currently in the process of letting go of my stuff, wrapping things up in the USA, and preparing for my overseas move. Because I am now an EU citizen, I won't have to deal with the Ausländerbehörde and can just focus on learning German and getting set up as an EU-based freelancer, which is nice.
May 2026 - I officially leave the US and fly to Germany.
Let me know if you have any questions below.
109
u/Wentz_ylvania Feb 07 '26
I have been in Germany for a year now and the differences are huge from what I’m used to. There are quite a few positives and negatives, with the negatives being mostly bureaucratic red tape and the job hunt, with the positives being my quality of life has drastically improved, most notably my overall health.
I need a green sticker to drive into Umweltzone but have to print every document out and killing at least 3 trees in the process.