Everything is Indian and yet they are called Americans

America is a melting pot. Once you get citizenship, for all intents and purposes, you become an American. It doesn't matter what you eat, how you dress or how you speak, you ARE Americans.

That’s a really interesting observation, and something I’ve thought about as well. It's true—not just for Indians, but also for many of us Filipinos. We have friends and relatives who have moved to the U.S., gained citizenship, and are now officially “Americans.” And yet, in almost every way—how they speak, what they eat, their mannerisms, values, and even how they raise their kids—they remain deeply Filipino. Citizenship, after all, is just a legal status. It grants rights, protections, and responsibilities within a country, but it doesn’t necessarily change who we are culturally or emotionally. Many Filipinos who have become American citizens still cook adobo, speak Tagalog or their local dialect at home, go to Filipino church services, watch Filipino soap operas or drama series, and follow news from the Philippines more closely than American current events. In a way, it highlights the difference between nationality and identity. Legal documents may say “American,” but the heart still says “Filipino.” And that’s not a contradiction—it’s part of the complexity of migration and identity in today’s world. At the end of the day, I think it just shows how strong cultural roots really are. You can move countries, change passports, adapt to new systems—but who you are deep inside often stays the same. That’s something to admire, not question.

Some are called Chinese American or India American depending on what country they are from. Three of my grandchildren have duel citizen ships and they are called European Americans.

America is a very diverse country, made up of people from all over the world. Once citizenship is obtained, the person now has the right to be identified as an American. Sometimes, people may be referred to as Indian-American, German-American, Mexican-American, but in the end they are all Americans.

This is an interesting question - what is an Indian? What is a citizen? It is nice that people retain their culture but at the same time when they immigrate to another country there is a risk that they never truly adopt that new nationality and if it happens enough then the host country will fragment into many small communities with no connection between them.

I would say that they are Indians. But Indians here who were born here say they are Scottish and Indian. That does make sense. Naturalised Scots but Indian.

I am Italian and I have always been Italian even when we lived in the south of France and Switzerland.

I have to add that they may think they still do things in the same way, and yet they will probably find that they change subtly over time without even realising it, until they go back to visit their country of origin and then their friends will notice they are becoming Americans! I know I didn't want that - and especially I didn't want any children I had to be American. I had to choose between becoming an American or returning to the UK and I chose to return.

I had two friends that were Indians. One had moved to the US when he was five.

They are Indian Americans as they have got the citizenship. However they can't forget their Indian culture.

Once you become a citizen, you are, by law and by definition an American citizen, and therefore, an American. Seems pretty logical to me. One can be from anywhere, but legally and on paper...they are American.