Son's Indian passport

E

eternal_labor

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

In my family of 4, I, my wife and my daughter have US Passport, but my son is still on Indian passport with US Green Card.

My daughter is a US Citizen by birth and has a PIO card from before. I and my wife recently got our US Citizenship, so we applied for OCI.

The reason we have not applied for our son's US Passport is because we want to wait an year to determine if he would be going back to India for high school. He might try for the Indian Civil Services, if he goes back to India. Only Indian Citizens are eligible to appear for the Indian Civil Services.

We will be traveling to India in October.

Could you please let me know if you foresee any issues regarding travel or otherwise?

Thank you for your time.

Regards
 
Depends on what issues are you trying to solve?

Technically he is already a USC, assuming he is under 18.
You just need to provide the right proof to the right authorities (department of state for passport, CIS for certificate of citizenship). However, if you see other threads on N600 vs N600K, the requirement of proof gets more and more painful as time passes by and you live abroad; as you need to prove that lived with you.

However, I do not see a way in which India or US can force him to surrender the green card and take the US passport. So if he travels on Indian passport + GC, I do not see an issue. However, at some stage (re-entry or renewal time) they are going to ask how he got the GC, what is the parent status (the odds of him being asked are NOT 100%) and might realize that he is not eligible for GC anymore ... that time you will need to decide.

It also brings some interesting questions ... GC holders need to maintain residency in US. If he travels abroad and lives there for a year or 2, the only way for him to return might be via US passport as he would have likely abandoned his residency and may not be eligible for a returning resident visa etc.

These are just my uninformed thoughts which might prod some thinking. Request others to chime in as this is a kinda outlier question.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Depends on what issues are you trying to solve?

Technically he is already a USC, assuming he is under 18.
You just need to provide the right proof to the right authorities (department of state for passport, CIS for certificate of citizenship). However, if you see other threads on N600 vs N600K, the requirement of proof gets more and more painful as time passes by and you live abroad; as you need to prove that lived with you.

However, I do not see a way in which India or US can force him to surrender the green card and take the US passport. So if he travels on Indian passport + GC, I do not see an issue. However, at some stage (re-entry or renewal time) they are going to ask how he got the GC, what is the parent status (the odds of him being asked are NOT 100%) and might realize that he is not eligible for GC anymore ... that time you will need to decide.

It also brings some interesting questions ... GC holders need to maintain residency in US. If he travels abroad and lives there for a year or 2, the only way for him to return might be via US passport as he would have likely abandoned his residency and may not be eligible for a returning resident visa etc.

These are just my uninformed thoughts which might prod some thinking. Request others to chime in as this is a kinda outlier question.
Click to expand...

I'm curious, are OCI holders allowed for Indian Civil Service?
 
BTW, I do not know how old your son is. If he is relatively young (say 14), you can take OCI and then within 5 years he has the option of taking Indian citizenship. This will make him eligible for IAS but lose his american citizenship.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Depends on what issues are you trying to solve?

Technically he is already a USC, assuming he is under 18.

However, I do not see a way in which India or US can force him to surrender the green card and take the US passport. So if he travels on Indian passport + GC, I do not see an issue.
Click to expand...

sanjoseaug20: If he is a USC, how can he travel with Indian passport + US GC? His Indian passport and US GC both are invalid at this time.

-RN
 
He has an Indian passport + GC. He is a USC because his parents naturalized, but no one knows that !!
Are they going to check on exit from USA and entry into India that he is USC. No way.
Are they going to check on the way back? Maybe.

The question of invalidity does not arise. There are so many citizens struggling to get US passport because they can not provide the right documentation. Check the threads about N600 vs N600K in the citizenship section. How is this case different from those people "assuming" the kid does not know whether he is a citizen or not. Why do we expect the parents also to know such information? Maybe they do not. I am not advocating lying, but there is a difference between being a citizen and the "state" recognizing that you are a citizen. The OP should tread carefully, and take many other advises beyond mine, but I see it is a harmless little lie (ignorance) if it comes to that.

[ADD] To add to the above: REPEAT - This person is at par with the people outside USA struggling to prove their citizenship. Those people are not being charged with a crime for using their green card and going out of USA. The only difference is "intent".
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My son is 13 yrs. old. Having seen the comments from everyone, I'm concerned if there would be any problems for him while entering the US.

Could you please confirm?

Thank you.

sanjose20:
Logically what you say makes sense, in regards to taking up US Citizenship + OCI and then giving it up after 5 yrs. But I was wondering if the Indian Govt. would be OK with allowing people who were non-Indian citizens sometime in the past to appear for the Civil Services Exam?

Regards
 
eternal_labor said:
But I was wondering if the Indian Govt. would be OK with allowing people who were non-Indian citizens sometime in the past to appear for the Civil Services Exam?
Click to expand...

Is there a requirement in civil services that goes beyond listing citizenship (if they ask that)?
 
eternal_labor said:
My son is 13 yrs. old. Having seen the comments from everyone, I'm concerned if there would be any problems for him while entering the US.
Click to expand...

Exit from the US should not be an issue.

Re-entry into the US can potentially be tricky. Border agents at airports sometimes ask if the traveller has any family in the US, esp in the case of younger travellers of school/college age. If they ask this, your son will have to answer truthfully. You can safely bet that they have both you and your wife in their database as being his parents (who are both US citizens). They can easily figure out your son's correct citizenship. They will let him in, I am pretty sure. He can plead ignorance, but only one time! Subsequent to such an 'incident', if it happens, you/he will be forced to get him a US passport.

Also, staying outside the US for extended periods on a GC can cause one to lose their GC.

As for those people outside the US who are struggling to prove their own US citizenship, maybe their situation is not as clear cut as the OP's.

Reg Civil Services exam, they do ask if the applicant is an Indian citizen or not. Nothing beyond that as far as I know.

Just be careful in whatever you decide to do. For the US immig stuff, you might want to check with a lawyer.

- RN
 
Sorry I wish more people had responded as I said this case is an outlier and more ideas would have helped you. Whatever you do, these are extreme steps and take wise counsel which includes speaking to a lawyer if you can.
 
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