My wife became a US Citizen today.

[Researcher]

Well, I never really saw any reason for my wife to take any steps beyond having a green card but since she has been in college she has went to several job fairs and noticed opportunities that require he being a citizen. Also there are some scholarships that she could get but she has to be a citizen.  So We decided to go ahead and take the steps for her to become a citizen.

It is the same old thing. File papers, pay a fee, get biometrics done and go to an interview. After completing those steps which took only a few months she took the oath today in Atlanta at Turner Field in a special Constitution day celebration.

Over 500 people took the oath and with everyone's friends and family I would say there were at least 1500 to 200 people there. It reminded me of the interview we had at the consulate in Bogota. USCIS herded us like cattle to get in the stadium and after we were in we were herded to our seats. They called out all of the countries the people were from and it was 93 countries in all. Instructions were given as to what to do and how to obtain things like a US passport by using the naturalization certificate. My wife will need to let the Social Security folks know so they can make adjustments.

At least now she can get her driver's license without being checked out by ICE. Her license won't have the FN on it either. My wife registered to vote at the stadium. There were people outside the stadium signing them up. This was a good move and will probably benefit us more than we expect. Just like when my wife got her GED here. Even though she graduated high school in her own country, getting her GED here shows a proficiency in English so she did not have to take ESL classes in college. I also enjoyed the looks on people's faces when I told them my wife was graduating high school when she got her GED certificate.

[robert angel]

Well, I never really saw any reason for my wife to take any steps beyond having a green card but since she has been in college she has went to several job fairs and noticed opportunities that require he being a citizen. Also there are some scholarships that she could get but she has to be a citizen.  So We decided to go ahead and take the steps for her to become a citizen.

It is the same old thing. File papers, pay a fee, get biometrics done and go to an interview. After completing those steps which took only a few months she took the oath today in Atlanta at Turner Field in a special Constitution day celebration.

Over 500 people took the oath and with everyone's friends and family I would say there were at least 1500 to 200 people there. It reminded me of the interview we had at the consulate in Bogota. USCIS herded us like cattle to get in the stadium and after we were in we were herded to our seats. They called out all of the countries the people were from and it was 93 countries in all. Instructions were given as to what to do and how to obtain things like a US passport by using the naturalization certificate. My wife will need to let the Social Security folks know so they can make adjustments.

At least now she can get her driver's license without being checked out by ICE. Her license won't have the FN on it either. My wife registered to vote at the stadium. There were people outside the stadium signing them up. This was a good move and will probably benefit us more than we expect. Just like when my wife got her GED here. Even though she graduated high school in her own country, getting her GED here shows a proficiency in English so she did not have to take ESL classes in college. I also enjoyed the looks on people's faces when I told them my wife was graduating high school when she got her GED certificate.

Congratulations. Sounds like there was a good vibe going, other than maybe being 'herded'. Ours was smaller, but still lots of nations, USA little old ladies and men, with cookies, lemonade and USA flags, they handed out.

But it offers more options, some we didn't even know. A buddy of mine and his wife have three grown kids, all moving up in the military now. They were denied top security clearance because for 30 years, their Mom kept Japanese citizen status. When she got her USA citizenship, their kids got T.S. Military clearance.

You considering 'dual citizenship' if applcable? It works well for us.

[Researcher]

I haven't looked into dual citizenship yet but that is something to put on the list. We will probably work on her Social Security status and US passport next.

I work with a Chinese man who just got US Citizenship. Since China does not allow dual citizenship he was complaining that if he wants to visit China now he has to get a visa.

[fathertime]

Congratuations Mr and Mrs Archer!




Fathertime!   

[whitey]

Great news Researcher ... congrats!


My wife too got her GED and citizenship ... can only be a good thing for their futures (and ours) I think.

[Ray]

Congratulations to the Mrs.

Now, your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to see that she doesn't vote for a liberal... 

When my wife was naturalized, they also had Sate Dept people there to take passport applications on the spot...if you didn't mind sticking around for a few more hours.


Ray

[Researcher]

Thanks for the congrats guys.  We are planning on getting her passport soon. May take care of the changes at the Social Security office first.

[robert angel]

Thanks for the congrats guys.  We are planning on getting her passport soon. May take care of the changes at the Social Security office first.

By now you know the drill--make sure you've got the right copies of this, the originals if required of that, double check before you get in the car and if it's like it was for us--an almost two hour trip to Charleston for some stuff,  Georgia's 'Golden Isles' Fed. Office for other paperwork, maybe make a day of it.

We went to a nice restaurant after each step, celebrating and enjoying the day. Bet you have already, but take some pictures for sure. I imagine her family would appreciate that too--it somehow makes it seem even more 'real'. I think my wife wanted to pinch her self--it seemed sort of like a dream. Whitey and Nazly, did, so did we and those pictures will be prized for a long time.