Celebrating 6 yrs of US Citizenship :)

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Well done!
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I wish they had given it to me 30 years ago but they wanted money from me and i wasn't going to pay and still wont.
Now i am no longer interested, i just keep my "green" card.
 
Thanks uch for all the nice comments !
to clarify: The photo is from 6 yrs ago, taken during the ceremony when I FIRST became a US Citizen....
 
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Thank you for legally becoming a citizen and the naturalization process is not easy, I know from sponsoring my wife.


Congrats.. I agree, thanks for doing it the right way, even though it's probably a nightmare process.
 
Just an additional but of info:
My wife was born and raised in Oak Ridge, TN. Sometimes when I post that pic, due to us having first met in Germany, people think we both became US Citizens on that day
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The Process of becoming a citizen: It really was quite taxing, I must admit; but we never had any fears, because from the start, we knew our intentions were honest, and knowing that does help a great deal, and I must say, INS (now USCIS) process was not "easy", but every step from applying for marriage, green card, conditional permmanent resident, then permanent resident and then finally US citizen - EVERY step went without a hitch, not a single problem, and we did it ALL ourselves, preparing all the documents in every step, NEVER even thought about lawyers.
(and those days it was almost ALL paper - USCIS had not started offering a lot of online applications; towards the end of the process a few steps were online based)

Being able to speak the language well, working hard and getting an education and give back to the country as much as you can, and KNOWING that your cause is honest, gives one a great deal of confidence, and the officers that interview you can somehow "smell" it. My final interview for approving citizenship lasted a whole 10 minutes; The officer had already gone through my whole US file, from the moment I entered the country, and he said, I really don't have anything to ask you anymore. (Just wanted to see tax papers, had a word with my wife before entering the interview room, and just checked basic ID stuff, and the tests for English and US history, etc. That was it.

I felt SO strange about people who had been living in the states for decades but who failed the simple English test. That blows my mind - my English is not 100% perfect, but [censored] if you want to live in a country and become a citizen how can you NOT know it at least at a basic level? How can you FEEL American? (I know i don't agree with some things in the US, but I do feel very American among my new family, friends, and work colleagues, and everywhere I go... How would I feel that if I couldn't speak basic English at least??)

And my cousin, almost 30 yrs in the US, and well established and is a big shot engineer - but still green card, NOT a citizen! No US passport. - IDK why, but I just can't understand...
 
Originally Posted By: bvance554
Wait... I didn't think we had immigration laws and processes.
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That's because most people (including those in our own government) choose to ignore them...
 
I am coming up to my 10 year anniversary soon (passport is expiring, that is how I know!) Unfortunately I had no fancy photo taken during the oath ceremony!
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
And my cousin, almost 30 yrs in the US, and well established and is a big shot engineer - but still green card, NOT a citizen! No US passport. - IDK why, but I just can't understand...
Two possibilities .. some countries would make you give up your native citizenship and any related benefits. Also once a US citizen you are subject to full US income tax on all but wage income if you later choose to live overseas again.
 
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