When I first moved to the United States, it was to work as a consultant on a new SAP project. One of the other consultants was a Cuban called Gil (the name stuck with me…), and during my first week there, he gained his U.S. Citizenship. The team organized a big hoopla to celebrate, decorating his office with the Stars and Stripes, getting in a cake, and so on. During the festivities, the consultant’s supervisor described how Gil had originally come over on a boat without a cent to his name x years ago, and now here he was, “living the American dream!”. I remember thinking at the time that if the American dream is to be working on an SAP project at an oil and gas multinational then something is horribly wrong. Nine years later, I am still working on an SAP project for the same oil and gas multinational, and I, too, have just gained my U.S. Citizenship. So yes, this does indeed appear to be the American dream.
It’s been a long, painful ride, and not something that I really started out with a plan of doing when I first moved over here. When the company asked me to move to the States, they hooked me up with one of their ‘preferred suppliers’ who could handle my visa application (the company won’t sponsor visas for consultants themselves – thanks for that!). This turned out to be RCG Information Technology, who kindly sponsored an H1B Visa for me. The H1B visa is for people who have very specialized skills, which I thought was a bit of a stretch, but hey, who am I to argue? As it turned out, on my application RCG made me look like a person without whom the entire U.S. economy – if not the time-space continuum itself – would disintegrate, so I guess I had stronger skills than I realized.
Anyway, after six months of being in the U.S., (and around the same time I started receiving ‘Pre-approved’ Credit Card Applications) I received a letter from RCG informing me that they would be submitting my application for a Green Card. I only thought I’d be here for a couple of years, so I replied “Uh, Okay…whatver you think best…”, and left them to it. Over the next three years I signed several forms, had a medical examination (and was tested for everything from Herpes to Aids), and submitted my fingerprints to the FBI (really), but eventually I did indeed get my Green Card (only to discover that it’s not actually green…very disappointing!).
Five years after you get your Green Card, you are eligible to apply for Citizenship. In the intervening years I’d been mulling this over, and reached the conclusion that I was never going to settle back in England again, so it made sense to Naturalize (as they have it) here. As it turned out, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
None of my children were born in England – One was born in Singapore, one here in the U.S. and one in Belgium. They only know England as where the grandparents live, and that’s about it. They’ve never spent more than a couple of weeks at a time there, and much as they enjoy their vacations there, I’m sure they wouldn’t thank me if I announced that we were going back to live there full-time.
For myself, I have now lived outside of England for longer than I have lived in England (six years in Germany courtesy of a father in the military, six years in Belgium, three in Singapore, and now seven in the States). It’s been a full 16 years since I left England, and although my accent is still there (much to the pleasure of the Americans), I don’t really feel connected to the place any more. I don’t know the TV programs, the politicians, or the music scene any more. I don’t think I’d be comfortable moving back, let alone the children.
So last September, almost exactly five years after getting my Green Card, I applied for Citizenship. This was faster than applying for a Green Card, but still entailed another round of FBI-fingerprinting, a Civics test (which I swear most Americans would fail) and oral, reading, and writing English assessments (which I’m glad I passed – that would have been embarrassing!). But six months later I received notification of my acceptance (see, they’ll let anyone in…), and a scheduled appointment at a court, to get sworn in.
The appointment was today, so I dutifully went down to the ‘court’ only to discover that it was actually an impromptu court set up in a school gymnasium suspiciously close to the airport (my paranoia had me convinced it was a ruse and we would be herded onto a plane and deported…). The letter said to be there at 7am, and to dress appropriately. I turned up at 6:45 in a suit; others were still arriving a couple of hours later, and wearing sweatpants and do-rags. That said, they didn’t really miss anything, as the ceremony didn’t actually start until 10 a.m. – I don’t know if the Judge overslept, or decided to fit in a quick nine holes before clocking in, but it was very annoying. I know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal, but those three hours seemed longer than the nine years it took to get to this point.
Thankfully, the ceremony itself was mercifully short (less than an hour). A couple of speeches, and then I and the 1,491 other nationalizing aliens promised to give up allegiance to any ‘foreign princes’ and pledged allegiance to America. We then collectively mumbled along to the Star Spangled Banner (because almost no-one there knew the words – but they are particularly obtuse…), gave ourselves a round of applause, and it was all over (and back to work by midday, ready for more of that American Dream!).
So now I am an official card-carrying American (or certificate-carrying one – I handed over my credit-card-sized Green Card on the way in, and picked up a letter-sized certificate – which I’m going to have trouble folding up and fitting in my wallet – on the way out). All I need to do now is pick up the Rosetta Stone version for Texan, and I’ll be good to go. Texan first, American second. Proud to be one of y’all!
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