Stateless Persons

John E Westerlage (jewesterlage@juno.com)
Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:34:24 -0600


Since Extropians are spread out around the globe, perhaps I can obtain
several
perspectives on these questions.

Now that the assets of a citizen of the U.S. may be confiscated in
retaliation for
changing his citizenship to that of another country (Health Insurance
Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, HR3103, Sections 511-513, Public Law 104-191,

Effective 21 August 1996), I have begun to wonder about other strategies
for
emmigration from the U.S.

The most obvious course of action is to become a stateless person. But I
know
nothing of the consequences of this, not to mention the procedure for
accomplishing it.

Does anyone have any ideas on how one goes about becoming a stateless
person?

Is statelessness merely a lack of any citizenship? Or is it an
officially recognized
status?

How does one go about becoming a stateless person?

How does doing so affect international travel? With no country of record
to
issue a passport, what sort of documents does one produce at borders? Or

does some agency, such as the United Nations, issue passports to
stateless
persons?

Are there (m)any legal or tax consequences of becoming stateless?

Any answers or suggestions for further investigation would be
appreciated.

Ciao for now,

jw