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| Subject: Questions about Nexus program |
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Hi! We have some questions about the Nexus program.
Our newborn daughter is an Indian citizen with an Indian passport, who was born in the U.S. (thus under U.S. law she is considered to be a U.S. citizen too).
The problem we are trying to solve is our daughter´s travel between the U.S. and India. If we get her a U.S. passport, she will lose her Indian citizenship, a result we are trying to avoid. Unfortunately, U.S. law requires her to use a U.S. passport when entering and leaving the U.S., and also there is no way under U.S. law to express a choice in the matter of her citizenship at her young age.
So, we are considering getting her a Nexus card and a Canadian visa in her Indian passport. The idea would be: we fly from India to Canada, she enters Canada with the visa in her Indian passport, we drive from Canada to the U.S., she enters the U.S. with the Nexus card. Voila! She doesn´t need to lose her Indian citizenship to make the trip to India!
We have carefully read all announcements and instructions on the Nexus program and have not seen anything specifically forbidding this plan. However, the designers of the Nexus program probably never foresaw this kind of use, so we really wonder whether it´s going to work.
Can anyone give us a pointer to more detailed information about the Nexus program? Our questions are:
1) From Canada´s point of view is it acceptable to enter using a visa and leave using a Nexus card?
2) From the U.S. point of view, is it acceptable to travel from a third country to Canada and then enter the U.S. using a Nexus card?
3) What is the Nexus interview process like? We expect the officer to ask us what´s the purpose of our travel to Canada. Is there much chance our application would be denied because of the unusual nature of our travel plans?
This is no joke. We have talked to three different Indian diplomatic staffers and five U.S. State Department officials, and so far none of them have found a legal way for our daughter to make a trip to India without losing her Indian citizenship!
Thanks,
Tamtom
[07-04-2006,02:48]
[**.164.10.9]
tamtom |
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(in reply to: Questions about Nexus program)
We ran to the same issue and finally to avoid all issues got our little one US passport and PIO card. So no issues with travel or stay at either countries. Now you have the option of India Overseas Citizenship also. The kid has the option to choose Indian citizenship anytime anyway.
[07-04-2006,03:00]
[**.246.221.38]
Harry |
(in reply to: Questions about Nexus program)
Harry writes:
<>
The issue with PIO card is that she will have to live as a foreigner in India and will not have a sense of fully participating in Indian society in the times when we are living there.
The so-called "overseas citizenship" is actually little better than PIO card. An overseas citizen lacks most of the rights that distinguish a citizen from a foreigner. The main slight advantage is the symbolism of the word "citizenship" in it, but the illusion is lost when the person is required to enter India on a foreign passport and even keep renewing the foreign passport whenever it is expiring.
<>
It is not "anytime", she would have to establish a certain period of residency in India first and then it is only by application. In that sense, she would be no better off than any foreigner who can establish residency in India and eventually apply for naturalization. Also, we feel she is about as likely to think of doing that as any other natural-born U.S. citizen is.
Moreover, if she applies for Indian citizenship while still a child, the U.S will STILL consider her a U.S. citizen and we´ll have the problem again whenever we need to travel between the two countries. The U.S. will only let her renounce citizenship when old enough to understand what that means.
The bottom line is we think Indian citizenship has real value for her and shouldn´t be given up lightly.
Now, can anyone answer our questions about the Nexus program? ;-)
Thanks,
Tamtom
[07-04-2006,03:30]
[**.164.10.9]
tamtom |
(in reply to: Questions about Nexus program)
It all depends on when the child was born. If it was before 07th January 2004, as is our case, child is an Indian citizen if either of the parents is Indian citizen. Question is only of acquiring the passport/travel document, which can be done anytime.
When you said "The bottom line is we think Indian citizenship has real value for her and shouldn?t be given up lightly", if that is about the feeling/emotion/culture, it is a matter of heart and I am with you. If it is about holding which travel document one holds, I prefer to think more practically.
[07-04-2006,04:23]
[**.246.221.38]
Harry |
(in reply to: Questions about Nexus program)
Harry writes,
>It all depends on when the child was born. If it was before >07th January 2004, as is our case, child is an Indian >citizen if either of the parents is Indian citizen. >Question is only of acquiring the passport/travel document, >which can be done anytime.
The above is true only BEFORE the child gets a foreign passport. AFTER the child gets a foreign passport (even if born before 7th Jan. 2004), he or she will LOSE Indian citizenship and can no longer get the Indian passport "anytime", but will have to meet all conditions for naturalization just like any other foreigner. That´s exactly the situation we are trying so hard to avoid.
>When you said "The bottom line is we think Indian >citizenship has real value for her and shouldn?t be given >up lightly", if that is about the feeling/emotion/culture, >it is a matter of heart and I am with you. If it is about >holding which travel document one holds, I prefer to think >more practically.
Definitely, depending on personal situations and feelings etc., we understand that some people might have reasons to give up Indian citizenship and keep only an emotional connection with India. For us, the goal is for our daughter to be in a position to make an equal choice between U.S. or Indian citizenship when she reaches adulthood. If we decide to make her be a sole citizen of the U.S. for most of her childhood because it´s more practical, this idea will be lost.
Our question about the Nexus program remains open....
[08-04-2006,22:30]
[**.164.10.9]
tamtom |
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