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Hello,
My father was an Indian citizen and US green card holder and my mother was an Indian citizen when they got married. Subsequently my mother also became a US green card holder. I was born in India in 1991, at which time both parents will still US green card holders. They got me my Indian passport and subsequently I too became a US green card holder. In 1994 my father became a naturalized US citizen. My mother and I continued to remain green card holders. We even had our Indian passports and US green cards successfully renewed and traveled to India a few times on our Indian passports and re-entered the US on our green cards. There was never any issues. In 2013, both my mother and I applied for US citizenship (N-400). My mother got her N-400 approved, but mine was denied. The reason for denial was that I was already a US citizen per the US Child Citizenship Act of 2000. They issued me a naturalization certificate which showed my date of citizenship as Feb 27, 2001 (the date the law went into effect). At that point I applied for my US passport. After receiving the US passport in 2013, I put away my Indian passport and never used it for travel, never renewed it or apply for any services using the Indian passport. I didn't travel to India after receiving my US passport. However, I recently bought tickets to visit India to meet my grandparents who live in India. When I applied for an Indian visa, they asked me for my Indian passport. After looking at my Indian passport and my US naturalization certificate, I was told that I was a US citizen since 2001 (which I wasn't aware of until 2013) and should have surrendered my Indian passport in 2001. Per them, all of my travels using the Indian passport since 2001, passport renewal were violation of Indian law and attracted penalties. I agree that in 2013 (as an adult), I should have surrendered my Indian passport and obtained a renunciation certificate upon learning that I was a US citizen (automatically conferred upon me by the child citizenship act of 2000). However, I never traveled or availed of any service with that Indian passport since 2013 and all my international travels were using my US passport.
The folks at the Indian Visa center (not the consulate) are calculating penalties since 2001 (when I was a minor age 10), and have come up with several thousands of dollars in penalties, which I am not in a position to pay. Has anyone here been in a similar situation or know anyone who had a similar experience? Would it help to meet an officer at the Indian consulate and see if they can do anything to lower, if not waive, the penalties? I never intentionally misused the Indian passport as all along until 2013 I believed I was an Indian citizen and the Indian passport was the only passport I had until then. Also, the fact that the US renewed my green card and I was able to re-enter the US on my US green card several time with out any problem never gave me any doubts about my status.
Any help or advice will be highly appreciated.
Thank you very much
Tom
My father was an Indian citizen and US green card holder and my mother was an Indian citizen when they got married. Subsequently my mother also became a US green card holder. I was born in India in 1991, at which time both parents will still US green card holders. They got me my Indian passport and subsequently I too became a US green card holder. In 1994 my father became a naturalized US citizen. My mother and I continued to remain green card holders. We even had our Indian passports and US green cards successfully renewed and traveled to India a few times on our Indian passports and re-entered the US on our green cards. There was never any issues. In 2013, both my mother and I applied for US citizenship (N-400). My mother got her N-400 approved, but mine was denied. The reason for denial was that I was already a US citizen per the US Child Citizenship Act of 2000. They issued me a naturalization certificate which showed my date of citizenship as Feb 27, 2001 (the date the law went into effect). At that point I applied for my US passport. After receiving the US passport in 2013, I put away my Indian passport and never used it for travel, never renewed it or apply for any services using the Indian passport. I didn't travel to India after receiving my US passport. However, I recently bought tickets to visit India to meet my grandparents who live in India. When I applied for an Indian visa, they asked me for my Indian passport. After looking at my Indian passport and my US naturalization certificate, I was told that I was a US citizen since 2001 (which I wasn't aware of until 2013) and should have surrendered my Indian passport in 2001. Per them, all of my travels using the Indian passport since 2001, passport renewal were violation of Indian law and attracted penalties. I agree that in 2013 (as an adult), I should have surrendered my Indian passport and obtained a renunciation certificate upon learning that I was a US citizen (automatically conferred upon me by the child citizenship act of 2000). However, I never traveled or availed of any service with that Indian passport since 2013 and all my international travels were using my US passport.
The folks at the Indian Visa center (not the consulate) are calculating penalties since 2001 (when I was a minor age 10), and have come up with several thousands of dollars in penalties, which I am not in a position to pay. Has anyone here been in a similar situation or know anyone who had a similar experience? Would it help to meet an officer at the Indian consulate and see if they can do anything to lower, if not waive, the penalties? I never intentionally misused the Indian passport as all along until 2013 I believed I was an Indian citizen and the Indian passport was the only passport I had until then. Also, the fact that the US renewed my green card and I was able to re-enter the US on my US green card several time with out any problem never gave me any doubts about my status.
Any help or advice will be highly appreciated.
Thank you very much
Tom
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