US citizenship :Tricky question on Dual citizen

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rajapkp

Registered Users (C)
I am an indian citizen and applied for US citizenship.

My daughter ( minor 6 years ) is a us citizen.

If I take US citizenship and subsequently "take overseas citizens of India"
then if my daughter wants to become citizen of india ( not "overseas citizen of india" ). Can she get indian citizenship based on person of indian origin.

If my daughter's father, grand father etc were indian citizens at some point in time, is she eligible to get Indian citizenship evey if her father,grandfather is not alive at the time of application.

I know this is a complicated question.

The reason I am asking this is me and my wife want to take us citizenship and we are contemplating one of us still keep the Indian citizenship so that my daughter might need it in the future.

Thanks for your guidance

-Sameer
 
When you and your wife become US citizen, then Indian citizenship will cease to exist for both of you. Assuming that the OCI become a reality soon, both of you can become OCI. If your daughter is already a US citizen by birth, then you can also get her OCI. If she ever goes to live in India and wants to stay there for a long time, then after a specific period of time, she will have a choice to apply for FULL Indian citizenship, but that would mean renouncing her US citizenship at that time.

India does not confer a full citizenship to the children by having indian heritage, i.e. father, mother, grand father, were Indian citizens at some point.

So basically there is NO FULL DUAL CITIZENSHIP. All the talk at this moment is conceptual, until you see the law and the final rules that India implements concerning OCI.
 
Dual citizenship

Well, me and my wife got interview date for US citizenship.

Now I am really thinking that one of us not take the citizenship coz my daughter who is minor ( us citizen ) might want to take citizenship of india eventually ( you never know just in case).

Is there a way we can postpone the interview and request a new date ?

What reason can we give for postponing the interview and how many days can we ask for postponement. Can we postpone it for 6 months ?

-Sameer
 
At this point, it is worth consulting an immigration attorney and get proper advise.

A child born to Indian Citizen's before 3 December 2004 can apply for Indian Citizenship when he/she is of full age.

Please check Indian citizenship rules at http://mha.nic.in/citizenship/acquisition.htm

" A person born outside India on or after 10th December 1992 but before 3rd December, 2004, is considered as a citizen of India if either of his parents was a citizen of India by birth at the time of his birth. In case either of the parents was a citizen of India by descent, that person shall not be a citizen of India, unless his birth is registered at an Indian Consulate within one year from the date of birth or with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period."

As per the Indian Citizenship rules, she can always apply for Indian citizenship if she chooses to. Another option, you can also get her OIC now and she can apply for Indian Citizenship by registration after staying in India for 1 Year later if she chooses to (after 5 years of OIC).

"Indian Citizenship by registration can be acquired (not illegal migrant) by: -
(g) Persons of full age and capacity who has been registered as an OVERSEAS CITIZEN OF INDIA (OCI) for five years and residing in India for ONE YEAR before making application under section 5(1)(g). Application shall be made in Form III-C."

In any case, my understanding is that you taking/ not taking US citizenship will not make any difference when it comes to your child. Please reconfirm this with an immigration attorney having knowledge of Indian Citizenship rules.

The only thing you may want to think about is restrictions of an OIC (restrictions on govt jobs, agriculture land/plantation aquisition etc.,)

After having made long journey for US Citizenship, I would suggest do not postpone your Interview date (if you doughter's citizenship is the only concern), because you may never know when it will be scheduled again. It may be a very long wait to get your interview date again.

By choosing not take US citizenship, you will be unnecessarily loosing immigration benefits and freedom to travel and stay abroad for a longer period. (as you know, if the stay is more than six months on a greencard your entry back into US is not guranteed). More than anything, if your child needs your support when she grows up, both of you having US citizenship and OIC, will give you lot of flexibility and you will have several options open ( either in India or US), you will never have to worry about US immigration.

I hope this information is helpful or atleast give you pointers to understand the Citizenship rules before making final decision. I believe understanding the issue to its completeness is a must before deciding, especially in these kind of situations when lot of your time/money/energy is already spent to achieve a specific goal.
 
rajapkp said:
Well, me and my wife got interview date for US citizenship.

Now I am really thinking that one of us not take the citizenship coz my daughter who is minor ( us citizen ) might want to take citizenship of india eventually ( you never know just in case).

Is there a way we can postpone the interview and request a new date ?

What reason can we give for postponing the interview and how many days can we ask for postponement. Can we postpone it for 6 months ?

-Sameer
Click to expand...

Sameer,

You are unnecessarily tying yourself up in knots. Let's get some perspective here:

1) Getting Indian citizenship is not very difficult, especially for people of Indian origin.

2) India does not allow for true dual citizenship, so the only way to get Indian passport (at least currently) is to give up US citizenship (or not apply like in your case)

3) Once you renounce US citizenship, it is very difficult to get it back. USCIS is not the most friendly organization to immigrants.

So, my advice to you: Go ahead and get US citizenship for your wife and you. If, in the future, you feel it is absolutely essential for either you or your daughter to get Indian passport, you can always get it. But getting US passport is likely to become more difficult in years to come.
 
Dual citizenship

Sameer,

Although its not surprising that Indian govt started the dual citizenship process all wrong. They should have started with allowing people to have mutiple citzenship and not loose going forward and then look at people who already lost and then expand the circle.

But no matter what..after coming so long into the process, they would have to allow dual citizenship and then you can have both.

So, as everybody suggests, don;t worry.

WORLD IS GETTING FLATTER EVERYDAY.
Soon all will be citizen of the earth :-)
 
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