citizenship for kid

Nsight / Eng
Tesla4

Nsight Eng

Tesla4
Jul 16, 2020 61 Comments

we recently had out first Kid in the US. both of us are Indian citizens and are contemplating whether to go for US citizenship or Indian for our kid. our near long term plan (5-7 years) is to move back to India. Given that there are no attractive benefits of being a US citizen like free or subsidised health care, education ( like some european countries or canada) is it worth getting a US citizenship? also the attitude towards immigrants is turning hostile each year. as parents we dont have hope getting a GC anytime soon given the backlog.

my thought so far is to go for indian citzenship given the lack of benefits of being a US citizen especially when we are in India. also dont want to bother with all US paperwork for kid when we are not in the US.

hqve any of you been in a similar situation? if so, can u share ur thoughts.

TC- 200k

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TOP 61 Comments
  • I would recommend going with US citizenship . He can stay in India for any duration as long as he has OCI. there are no additional benefits of being Indian citizen (just like US citizen). You two are already Indian citizen so why not get him US citizenship so that if your long term plan changes, he can avail public schools etc. Secondly, since neither citizenship provides direct benefit, US passport is much stronger than Indian passport. Hence the recommendation.
    Jul 16, 2020 4
  • Gap
    FBYe34

    Go to company page Gap

    FBYe34
    If your kid is already born in US then doesn’t he automatically become a us citizen? Is there a choice to take indian citizenship?
    Jul 16, 2020 4
    • Facebook / Mgmt
      FANG4EVER

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      FANG4EVER
      The kid is a US citizen by birth even if you do nothing. I think they would have to renounce their citizenship as an adult to not be. You can also establish them as an Indian citizen. They will be dual citizens and this is what you should do to give them the most options later in life.
      Jul 22, 2020
    • Google
      vik23

      Go to company page Google

      vik23
      I dont think dual citizenship works with india. As far as i know, once u take indian citizenship you will loose other country citizenship
      Jul 24, 2020
  • I am not Indian or American, but assuming that it's easier for him to get an Indian citizenship later on in life than to get an US citizenship (hard for Indian folks), wouldn't it make sense to get the baby an US citizenship now?

    While I agree that there aren't huge education or medical advantages for citizens, the right to work at all times is worth it. I am on the H1B and the uncertainty and stress are a big mental burden to work with.
    Jul 16, 2020 1
    • Veritas
      hXkY05

      Go to company page Veritas

      hXkY05
      If you are truly set on traveling back to India, get an Indian passport. Saves you hassles when crossing borders into India or getting access to rescue flights like we saw for Covid. My friends whose kids has US passport has a lot of challenges getting their kid entry into India.

      Since the child is born in USA, they can switch over to a USA passport at any point later in life.

      Although as someone else said on this thread, USA passport has more travel freedom globally. Your cold wouldn't need to apply for as many travel visas to international destinations.
      Jul 16, 2020
  • Canadian working in the US here. I thought there was subsidized education for public universities here if you were a resident/citizen or whatever. If you want to send the kid to a school here when they're older that could be an option. I did my schooling in Canada so I'm not actually well versed in this.
    Jul 16, 2020 10
    • Apple
      pogues

      Go to company page Apple

      pogues
      Thanks a lot for the link! Nowhere in that link says that the parents have to live in state for 5-10 years. As long as the parent is staying in the state at application time, it should be good enough. Generally this should be more than 1 year for better documentation, *not* 5-10 years.

      Nothing personal against you, but I feel like information like this confuses 1st gen parents who didn’t go to school here but trying to make decisions for their kids in long term. And hence I am trying to point out to the right information.
      Jul 16, 2020
    • It doesn’t point to that number anymore specifically you’re right,but it did a few years ago when I went to college there. That’s basically the reason I didn’t qualify for resident tuition. The supporting docs they request are for 5 years. Specifically for UMich. I went to a different school in a different state as well, theirs was 3 years.

      You must’ve gone to school in California, most of them are 1 yr residency
      Jul 16, 2020
  • Oracle / Mgmt
    0c1

    Go to company page Oracle Mgmt

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    0c1
    Chinese come all the way to America just to drop a baby, sign papers and then fly home with the new American baby citizen. Don’t make the mistake of not making your child an American citizen; Indian passport won’t give your child the same opportunities.
    Jul 25, 2020 1