US Citizen with a Green Card?

[JohnFemti12]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but it seemed the most pertinent.

I have two questions, and I'll give a little bit of background. I was born in India. I came to the US at 5.

My father became a citizen this summer of 2012 while I was still under eighteen. My parents are together, and I was born while they were married. My mother is not a citizen. I turned 18 about a week after my father obtained citizenship.

Am I a US citizen?

If so, I still have my green card, and my valid Indian passport. I'm leaving to India the first week of January and I do not have my American passport still. I'm crunched for time, especially with traveling between college and home, and I don't know if it'll be possible to get my American passport and apply for an Indian VISA in time. I have to renounce my Indian citizenship and give away my passport which requires me to first have my US passport and that's going to take more time than I have. Hypothetically, I could enter India with my Indian passport, and enter the United States with my US Green Card. Are there any reasons I should expect to run into trouble if I attempt this tactic?

If I'm not a US citizen, well ****. I was informed I am and have claimed to be so in some forms. I might be in a whole other load of shit.

And yeah, I know this is illegal. If it's a fine, I can deal with it. Jail time in India, though, I can't. I am also capable of doing this as a last resort, it seems: "Provided that any such child may, within one year after attaining full age, make a declaration that he wishes to resume Indian citizenship and shall thereupon again become a citizen of India." I'd rather not give up US citizenship and have to re-apply for it if that's the case, however.

 

[cafeconleche]

If you were in your father's custody when he became a citizen, and you turned 18 AFTER he took his oath, you ARE a citizen. You can apply for a passport at a regional passport office with proof of travel and proof that you need to renounce Indian citizenship and apply for a visa.

In a crunch, you can travel on your Indian passport and GC. This is a short trip, right? Well, the system has probably not been updated to show you are a US citizen, since that's what the N600 process is for. You are unlikely to get in trouble for doing this, as many people have done so without realising they were US citizens already.

Finally, if you will be in India for a couple of months, you can also apply for your passport there by claiming you only found out you are a citizen AFTER you left the US as a US citizen, and with your GC. But, I'm not sure whether or not the US consulate/embassy will return your GC, as it would be best for you to leave India the same way you entered- with your Indian passport and GC, and enter the US with your US passport.

You're not going to jail. Calm down.