Am I a US person for this?
The trigger is US tax residency, not citizenship. You are a US tax resident if you hold a green card, or if you meet the substantial presence test: 31 days in the current year, and 183 days counting this year in full, a third of last year and a sixth of the year before.
H-1B and L-1 holders cross that line quickly. Certain students and teachers on F and J visas are excluded for a limited number of years.
Indirect ownership counts
Holding a PFIC through a partnership, a trust or another PFIC still makes you a shareholder for these purposes. A fund-of-funds structure can multiply the number of forms rather than remove them.
The de minimis exception
Where the aggregate value of your PFIC holdings stays under $25,000, or $50,000 filing jointly, a filing exception can apply.
It is narrower than it sounds. It is lost in any year you sell, or receive a distribution, or make an election.
What if I have held one for years and never filed?
This is the common case, not the exception. Indian mutual funds are the default savings vehicle for a family in India, and nobody mentions Form 8621 when a relative opens a folio for you.
The IRS runs Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for taxpayers whose failure to file was non-wilful. Whether you qualify, and how many years you would amend, is a judgement about your own facts. Take it to a US CPA or an Enrolled Agent before you file anything, including before you file the current year, because the order in which the filings go in matters.
What to do next
This page explains a rule. It does not work out what you owe, and it is not US tax advice. Take your fund statements to a US CPA or an Enrolled Agent, because the analysis runs per fund, per year.