Q536. Renounce US citizenship

and return to India

Question: Hi I am a GC Holder in USA and my daughter is US Citizen here .I am planning to go back to India with my daughter for ever. Can I cancel my Daughter's US Citizen Ship and get Indian Citizenship since we will be staying in India. I am not planning to take my Citizenship also. we want to close everything here and go back to India. Thanks Prashanti Answer: To answer your question as to whether you can cancel your daughter’s US citizenship, Parents cannot renounce citizenship on behalf of children. You have not mentioned how old your daughter is. In case your daughter is eighteen years or older, then she has to renounce her US citizenship in person. Here are a few things many people may not be aware of when it comes to renunciation of US citizenship: Section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5)) is the section of law governing the right of a United States citizen to renounce his or her US citizenship. Under this section, the law states: "making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state , in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State" Note the words: ‘in a foreign state’ • Going by this, US citizens cannot renounce their US citizenship from within the United States! they have to do this at a US embassy/consulate in a foreign country. • US citizenship also cannot be renounced by mail, it must be done by a personal appearance in front of a consular officer. Generally children who are more than fourteen years old and less than eighteen, must be able to convince US diplomatic or consular official that: 1. They do indeed wish to renounce their citizenship, 2. hey understand what they are doing. 3. are doing so, voluntarily of their own accord. There is a provision also that anyone under the age of eighteen who renounces their US citizenship, can within six months of becoming 18 years of age, reclaim their US citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance. Your options, if indeed you wish to return to India would be to get a Indian visa for your daughter, preferably a PIO card. Once you are in India, then you will have ample of time to decide if your daughter should renounce her US citizenship and if she wishes to, she can do go through the renunciation process in India at the US consulate. Many NRIs consider returning to India at some point of time, however such a decision should not be taken hastily. I always tell people, if they do indeed wish to return to India, they should not burn their bridges. Things in India are certainly not the same, as they were ten, twenty or thirty years ago. Go live in India on a trail basis and then decide if you can adjust, for many this is not an easy decision.