Last week I became an American citizen. After 8 years of living in the US as a permanent resident, I filled out the paperwork, paid the fees, took the test (yes there is an actual test to become an American) and sat through the 5 hour ceremony to say the oath and get my piece of paper that says I am no longer an "alien", and get to file US taxes the rest of my life. Hooray for me!
For those of you who have never gone through immigration, here are a few interesting parts:
1. You have to "denounce" all loyalty to your former country (even though in the case of Canadians, they do now recognize your dual citizenship.) I truthfully think this is a little bit extreme, and something that deterred me from the process initially... but in the end I crossed my fingers and figured a little denouncing would be worth avoiding the headache of paperwork/visas we would will face if we ever move back to the US in the future.
2. You have to pass an English competency test and an American civics test at your interview. English I am good with. But American history I had no clue, AND It isn't even multiple choice... it is given orally by an immigration officer sitting across the table from you. I was nervous about this, but in the end really enjoyed learning about some American History, the Constitution and how the American government is set up. My interview test questions included: Who is the current Speaker of the House? What were the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called? What year was the Declaration of Independence signed? Who is the current president of the United States? What is one of the longest rivers in the US? Who were the first group of people on the American continent. (I thought about being flippant and saying the Nephites, but figured it was probably not the time or the place)
3. The entire application process only took me 4 months. You hear stories about it taking years, but not so for us. I was luckily an easy case, given that I have been a permanent resident through marriage for +5 years, and we bent over backwards to be present at the interview dates they assigned me. (Full disclosure: I had to fly back alone to Houston for 24 hours while we were at the cabin so I could take my test... not the smartest move when you are supposed to be on bed rest... but we didn't want to deal with rescheduling with the baby coming, and our upcoming move to Calgary.
4. During the oath ceremony you are herded into a huge auditorium and collectively swear a formal oath to a judge before it becomes official. (you can't opt out of this tradition and have them mail you your paperwork... I checked.)You have to get dressed up, listen to speakers talk about the gravity of your actions, and how immigrating will change your life. You sing the star spangled banner, pledge allegiance to the flag, and it is a big deal/special day for many. Maybe I am low key or have a stunted sense of pomp and circumstance, but I felt the same way as I did about my University graduation ceremony. "Just give me the piece of paper, let me take a picture, and lets get the hell out of here." Actually the best part of the whole thing was coming home to a decorated red, white, and blue house covered in streamers, signs, and balloons. My thoughtful mother-in law who baby sat Wheeler while Matt and I attended the ceremony made it a special celebration, and even baked me my own homemade apple pie! (Wheeler was sure it was a birthday party and sang me happy birthday the rest of the week and put up a fuss when it was time to un-decorate their masterpiece).
So now I am a Can-erican. Americ-adian?
I am glad I did it, and feel like it was a smart thing to get done after weighing all the pros and cons associated with being a dual citizen. Now I am ready to do what most people do after getting their citizenship... move home to Canada. I suppose this is as good of time as any to announce that Matt got a job transfer up to Calgary. He starts the middle of October, so once this baby is born and our house is sold, we are leaving the US indefinitely. How is that for irony. Oh say can you see you later USA.
 |
Taking my Oath/ waving goodbye to the USA.
|
