Moving Away From the United States

Why people leave

Americans relocate abroad for many of the same reasons anyone does — a job transfer, a partner or family already overseas, retirement, or simply wanting a different pace of life — but two trends stand out in recent coverage. The Association of Americans Resident Overseas puts the US diaspora at roughly 5.5 million people, with more than 180,000 relocating abroad in a single recent year, and reporting on the trend consistently points to rising US living costs and the spread of remote work as accelerants: more people can now work from Lisbon or Mexico City as easily as from a US metro, and a growing number are choosing to. This is a general trend, not one single dominant cause.

Departure checklist

1. If you're not a US citizen, confirm the formal wind-down of your status — abandoning lawful permanent residence (a green card) requires filing Form I-407 with USCIS/CBP, not just leaving the country
2. US citizens and green card holders: understand that moving abroad does not end US tax filing — federal tax on worldwide income continues indefinitely unless you go through formal expatriation, which has its own separate exit-tax rules
3. Set up USPS mail forwarding and update your address with banks, the IRS, and any US accounts you're keeping open well before departure
4. Check your departing state's rules on establishing non-residency for state income tax purposes — this varies significantly by state and can affect your final state return
5. Start pet export paperwork early with a USDA-accredited veterinarian: your destination country, not the US, sets the actual entry requirements, and they can change at any time
6. Cancel or transition US health insurance coverage and confirm you won't have a coverage gap during the move itself
7. Decide whether to sell your vehicle or ship it — a US-spec car doesn't automatically qualify for import everywhere, so check the destination country's rules before committing to ship one
8. Confirm your mover is filing Electronic Export Information via the Automated Export System for your household goods shipment, as US export regulations require for most international shipments of this kind
9. Book your container shipping slot (FCL or LCL) at least 4-8 weeks ahead of your target departure date, since popular routes fill up

Container shipping corridors from here

• Shipping a container to United Kingdom
• Shipping a container to Australia
• Shipping a container to India

Exit tax and customs

The US doesn't have a residency-based tax exit the way many countries do — US citizens and green card holders remain taxable on worldwide income indefinitely, no matter where they live, unless they go through formal expatriation (renouncing citizenship or abandoning a green card), which can itself trigger a separate exit tax under IRC §877A for certain higher-net-worth 'covered expatriates.' On the customs side, most international household goods shipments require an Electronic Export Information filing via the Automated Export System, typically handled by your mover. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.

This is general orientation, not tax, legal, or immigration advice.