Nine years ago, I accepted an invitation to visit a family I taught for the year they spent in the States. Since then, in several Latin American countries, I’ve re-connected with the relaxed way of life I enjoyed while growing up in the USA. And, English is so widely spoken, I’ve never had communication problems. Also, opening bank accounts\corporations in the ‘offshore’ country where you live, is easy, fast and inexpensive. Given the current conditions in the US, I have even more reasons to stay ‘offshore’…
Hey bro. Are you in VA ?
No I am not.
eS
Others may note that Americans traveling/living abroad often have foreign accounts.
So I do not think that the U.S. will care much about those (other than that taxes are paid and FBAR filed) as they have no idea why they were opened.
Trust me. I share your sentiment over the BS in the US. Not sure when I can leave though, as I am having to help out a family member. Wish I was doing better.
Investors Europe appears to be more beneficial at this time, since they accept individual applications from US customers. Forming an offshore corporate entity has both costs and more paperwork involved.
I do not think it is necessary to leave the U.S. at all.
At the very most, one can spend some time abroad and open accounts then. You do not need to be a citizen of the foreign country - the U.S. regs exempt Americans residing abroad from Dodd-Frank.
But for now even that is not necessary as some foreign brokers will still accept U.S. accounts.
By the way European regulators are retaliating against U.S. restrictions on foreign investment by U.S. citizens by threatening to block investment by Europeans residents into the U.S. There is a good chance this will all be settled because the U.S. is a hedge fund capital and wants foreign investors. So things may get better for a while.
Note though that a form of capital controls is scheduled to take effect in 2013 (the HIRE Act) in the form of 30% withholding on amounts passing out of the network of banks cooperating with U.S. regulators. This also could be modified but might be a reason to start getting money outside the U.S. I would prefer to have it in Asia than Europe but something like investorseurope will do for now.
Wow, good & bad news, huh? Thanks for the info. on the HIRE Act, which I was unaware of.
Hm, depends on what you like best. I’d go with solution 1. Then I’d have more choices of brokers. Gibraltar? What would I do if the broker says he stated already on his website he doesn’t accept US customers when I want to get my money? Food for thought!
I do also not believe it needs 2k to found an offshore entity. I’d just need a mailbox and it needs to be registered. In the EU there are a lot of new regulations now which makes is possible to start companies with just a buck capital and a hundred bucks for registration fees. For example in UK a Ltd.
If you have done this then you have something out of the US what gives you all options and you would never have to change the broker again just because he changes his mind about accepting US customers or not. Plus then as I said, if you chose a tax haven, you might additionally save some tax. No, not you. Your company.
AAAFx can also be taken off this list. This is what I got earlier this week.
Dear AAAFx customer,
We would like to inform you that due to the Dodd-Frank regulation imposed on US accounts, from 16th of July 2011 AAAFx can no longer accept accounts with US residence and will have to suspend trading on its existing such accounts.
In its effort not to interrupt the level of Services provided to its Users, AAAFx has arranged for your account to be transferred to the NFA regulated Broker FXDD.
As a result, as of Sunday the 17th of July 2011 your account will be operating under FXDD, with a leverage of 50:1 for all major pairs and 25:1 for all exotic pairs.
All other account properties remain unchanged.
FXDD will be in contact with you for your new MT4 credentials.
ZuluTrade will be in contact with for your new ZuluTrade credentials.
Please note that any trades left open on Friday the 15th of July 2011 at 12:00 UTC will be automatically closed, so you are advised to manage any open trades prior to that time.
Has Investors Europe ever done that or ever stated anything like that on their website?
They state that they don’t accept US customers on their website. The other thing is just what I think could happen. I would anyways not go with a broker which is regulated just by a Gibraltarian authority. I don’t know enough of this country to trust in that. It’s at the border of North Africa and not in the center of the EU. North Africa is a region where I would not park any money. Personal opinion, though. 
Here is what they write at their homepage:
“U.S. Persons : Products and Services not available to you”
Could you, please, provide me with a direct link where this is stated?
My pleasure:
Just what I thought. It’s their old site, the new one is at investors-europe.com (note the dash in the domain name).
Here’s also some info on Gibraltar for you: Gibraltar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . In particular, it mentions the Iberian peninsula. It’s the same peninsula of the European continent where Spain is located, not Africa.
Thank you. Okay, that with the website then is not an issue anymore. Where I still think why they wrote that at their old website. It doesn’t look convincing to be welcome. Anyways, I looked already at Wikipedia. It’s sort of a british colony. Africa is right south of it. Gibraltar is a focus point where Africans try to escape via there to Europe. As I said, just personal opinion. I wouldn’t park money there. I have been in North Africa for a while and I know what I am talking about. Spain is the last country south there where I would maybe think of parking money. I would also not go with a broker in Cyprus. Those regions are not that stable and regulated like say Europe or the US. If you look just at the surface, the picture is different. If you have deeper insights, it is not all that pretty anymore. To withdraw money could become a problem. The risks are higher there and even in the US and Europe you can have problem with that. So, I do definitely not need additionally issues to what could arise already here.
It’s however everybodies individual decision. As I stated above, that is just what I think about. 
Looks not pretty, no?
lol. How many Africans have managed to bypass the British coastal guard in Gibraltar during the recent turmoil in North Africa? That’s right: none.
If you have any doubts about the acceptance of US customers by Investors Europe, why not contact the broker directly but actively speculate instead? I did and received a clear response from them. Moreover, they will take you step by step through the account opening process.
What conclusion should I draw from this incident? Has it impacted the financial stability of Gibraltar?
If I read the article right, it seems Spain apologized to Gibraltar…