From: ff76@vaxb.acs.unt.edu (Jhinuk Chowdhury)
Subject: Child of green card holders - travel documents
Organization: University of North Texas
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 22:53:50 GMT

My wife and I are citizens of India and permanent residents (resident 
aliens with green cards) of USA.  Our son was born eight months ago in 
the US.  This summer, we plan to visit India for a couple of months. 

What kind of travel documents should I get for my son?  I could get an 
US passport for him as well as an Indian visa (from the Indian 
consulate in the US).  In fact, this is what most people do.  I wish I 
could follow this beaten path and not have second thoughts about it.  
It so happens that I have my preferences - ideally, I'd like to have an 
Indian passport for my son with whatever documentation he may need to 
enter the US when we return from our vacation.  

Unfortunately, most of the suggestions I received (from my earlier post 
in alt.us.visa and soc.culture.indian) indicate that the Indian 
consulates in the USA will most probably not issue a separate passport 
for a minor; however, his name could be "endorsed" (that is, appended) 
to my wife's passport.  (One individual, however, wrote me to indicate 
that he obtained a separate passport for his three-year old daughter 
and had her affix a thumb impression in the place of a signature.) 

Many individuals (have informed me by e-mail that they) have had their 
minor child's name appended to the mother's Indian passport.  These 
folks travel with their child's birth certificate (to present to the US 
immigration official at the port of entry).  With this arrangement, 
they claim, they have never had any problems re-entering the USA.  I 
was all set to follow this procedure when I decided - stupid me! - that 
it may be wise to have this corroborated by the INS office here in 
Dallas. 

After being put on hold forever and then attempting to explain my 
question to two INS representatives, I was transferred to a third 
individual who told me that the child could not be anything but an US 
citizen and insisted that the proper course of action would be to get 
an US passport issued. 

When I explained to her that we (his parents) would like the child to 
assume Indian citizenship for now (and that he may - if he wishes - 
change his mind as an adult), I was told that the child would *not* be 
allowed to enter the US without either (1) an US passport or (2) a 
foreign passport *and* an US visa.  She indicated that since the child 
was born here, it was likely that he would be considered ineligible to 
enter with a visa. Her suggestion was that it may be worth an attempt 
to obtain both (the US and the Indian passports) for him!  (Mind you, 
both US and Indian passport application forms clearly require you to 
declare that you are abjuring any other citizenship you may currently 
have.)  I was told that the US officials would not consider it a 
transgression for a minor to have two passports (she, obviously, could 
not speak for the Indian authorities).  In spite of her assurances, I 
remain *very* skeptical.  It would also be incredibly unethical, if 
nothing else, and perhaps illegal. 

This lady was thoroughly annoyed when I told her about the many parents 
who have entered the US with the child's name on the mother's passport 
and a birth certificate (which showed that the baby was born in the 
US). She would not comment on that scenario because - it seemed - she 
doubted its veracity.  She almost dared me to try this option with the 
veiled threat that it would result in blocking my child's entry to the 
US.  I asked her to provide me with written references to the 
regulations she seemed to rely on.  Of course, I got nothing from her. 

Now, I may be making too much of ill-informed, under-trained, and over-
worked INS clerks who are trying to interpret an impossible maze of a 
bureaucratic bog-land.  What, then, is the recourse?  It's hard to 
believe that I cannot have my son assume the same citizenship as my 
wife and myself without major hassles.  If, at the port of entry, I 
show them my son's birth certificate, will they ask us all to return to 
India (after nearly ten years of residence in the US), or are they 
going to put only my son (who will be about a year old then) on an 
India-bound airplane?  Sarcasm aside, I wouldn't want to fool around 
with them.  (It's not in very good taste, but a friend of mine jokes 
that the N in the INS stands for "Nazi.") 

Do I have a hope of getting a hold of the actual regulation(s) that may 
be pertinent to this case?  I would perhaps be advised to contact an 
immigration lawyer.  But, a quick look at a few of them in this part of 
the country has more than convinced me that most of them are completely 
tied up in the business of getting green cards for confused and panic-
stricken non-resident aliens.  I am glad I chose to do ours myself. 

I request your pardon for the length of this post.  Any advice, 
direction, pointer, reference, or anecdote would be much appreciated. 

Best regards, 

- Jhinuk -

+--                                --+--                               --+
| Jhinuk Chowdhury, Ph.D.            | Internet : chowdhur@cobaf.unt.edu |
  Assistant Professor                |            - or -
  College of Business Administration |            ff76@vaxb.acs.unt.edu
| University of North Texas          | FAX :      (817) 565-3837         |
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