02/17/2012
My 2,450 Alien Days are over!
It's been 6 years, 8 months, and two weeks from the day we filed the first piece of paperwork, a form I-130 petitioning for my immigrant visa, until today when I was sworn in as a new US citizen.
Everybody is an alien most everywhere in the world, but being an alien in the country where you happen to live is a challenge. There is, of course, the language - which you can learn - but more importantly there are the laws - which you have no control over.
Some countries go easy on their immigrants, some others are very strict. The USA is somewhere in between the two extremes, leaning a little to the 'strict' side. There were two things that I personally found intimidating: the process of being admitted as a resident, which is almost impossible to accomplish for 'average' people - and the process of coming home from a vacation abroad, where they take your fingerprints every time.
It's all over now, and I will be allowed to participate in this year's presidential election!
17:35 Posted in 08, Making Progress | Permalink | Comments (3)
Comments
Congratulations!
Posted by: Pit | 02/19/2012
Welcome to citizenship, Karin.
Posted by: Carol Jackson | 02/21/2012
Hi Karin,
Congratulations! Hope we get our passports soon. :-)
Posted by: NotBonJovi | 03/11/2012
The comments are closed.