Am I eligible to get Duel-Citizenship? (American-German)?

Okay heres my situation:

I'm 17, born in America and lived pretty much my entire life in America. My mother is from Germany and my father is from America (Although both his parents are from Germany.) I've been to Germany a good few times and picked up a bit of the language...

I guess my question is more SHOULD I get duel citizenship...

Would I have to pay a portion of taxes to both countries?
Would I be eligable to be drafted by both counties/would I have to do mandatory military service for Germany?(I'm a male)
Whats the positive of having duel citizenship?

Also I heard something that I need to apply before turning a certain age (18 or 21 maybe?)

Any clarifications will be greatly appreciated!

-Thanks!-
~JakoB~
Additional Details
My mom has duel citizenship or has a German citizenship.
It seems like I could have one too then... How would I go about obtaining one?

Phil

EDITED RESPONSE SEE IMPORTANT BELOW

You can't get it, but you might already have it. I'll discuss whether you already have German citizenship, and whether you can keep it, then your questions.

"People born to a parent who was a German citizen at the time of birth are usually German citizens on that basis. It does not matter whether they were born in Germany or not. Nor does it matter if the parent is a naturalised German."

Germany does not generally allow dual citizenship (the US does contrary to anything in other answers, see link below) in general; if you acquire another nationality voluntarily you lose your German nationality. The exception that would apply to you is that you don't lose German citizenship if you gained your American citizenship by birth (and you did).

The key is whether your mother (and possibly father) still had German citizenship when you were born. If so, you might have dual citizenship now.

Germany requires you to renounce your American citizenship by birth: "If you obtain another citizenship by birth, you have to give up one citizenship between ages 18 and 23."

WAIT!

You know what? You can do that and still keep your American citizenship, see
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html

AND THEN SEE:

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html

The key here is that Germany can require you renounce it but America won't recognize that you renounced it unless you truly wanted to lose your citizenship, not if you merely did it in order to gain or keep your German citizenship.

The link to the German consulate is to an FAQ on citizenship with an emphasis on this very question.

FIrst stop though is to see when your mother became a US Citizen (or your father lost his German citizenship) vs when you were born.

- - - - -
Your other questions:

Would I have to pay a portion of taxes to both countries?
Generally no, the US taxes all income worldwide but exempts the first $85000 from taxation when you are living in another country and your income is from outside the US. Germany does not tax your US income.

Would I be eligible to be drafted by both counties/would I have to do mandatory military service for Germany?(I'm a male)
Technically either country could require service from you, but it's highly unlikely in the US since there is no draft at this time. Germany does have a 9 month requirement and you probably should talk to the consulate to understand that requirement if you get that far into the process. May not apply until you are living in Germany.

IMPORTANT:
When you are in Germany you will be treated as a German citizen ONLY by the German govt. and the same is true in the USA, you will be treated ONLY as a US citizen by our govt. If you have a problem in Germany the US Consulate cannot intervene with the German govt. to help you.

If you travel on a German passport to a third nation you may or may not be able to get assistance from the US consulate and vice versa. Typically in such a case the nation having the strongest claim to you based on residence and other factors will act as consul.

Whats the positive of having duel citizenship?
Ability to live and work in any EU state is the primary one. If you reside in the EU for a year you qualify for very low cost university tuition and medical care.

Also I heard something that I need to apply before turning a certain age (18 or 21 maybe?)
See above, 23 appears to be the limit but be sure you understand all the rules.

You need to take this to the next step yourself now.

ibu guru

Is your mother a German citizen? Was she at the time of your birth? Did she register your birth to a German citizen while abroad at the nearest German consulate at the time of your birth? You have to check this out and get more details from your parents. If both parents were US citizens by the time you were born, you have no right to German citizenship.

JSmith

The US does have dual citizenship, but Germany doesnt. There is no such thing as an EU passport.

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