Written November 13, 2024
Hello Dear Readers,
Today is a very exciting day. It is the culmination of my wife’s journey to become a US citizen. In less than an hour, we’ll depart for the federal building in downtown Nashville, and eventually, she’ll go through the citizenship oath swearing ceremony. She’s been excited about this final step for quite a while now.
My wife is uneasy about losing her immigration cards, both current and expired, which must be surrendered after being awarded citizenship. She told me that it is pretty expensive to get a new card.
Since coming to the United States, she planned to get citizenship. She made sure not to leave the Country, as she said she would add more documents to submit to the immigration office. She wanted to make sure she could apply for citizenship without any sponsorship to satisfy all the requirements.
A few years after we moved to the United States, I got a brain stroke. We talked about many things, and we decided to move to Tennessee. She wanted the same job and exact address for 5 years to make the process easier. So she delayed the process. She thought it would be ideal to wait for 3 years and did not see any big problems. She decided to get another professional designation and a graduate degree while working full-time. She wanted to ensure she could contribute something of value to the United States.
Everything she does is part of a long-term plan. While her goals may span several decades, she reevaluates them weekly. I initially thought she acted quickly and impulsively when I didn’t know her well. Then, I realized many unscheduled items were on her list, and she inserted them into the schedule like a puzzle piece whenever the opportunity presented itself.
I know she has been preparing for a long time. Our entire citizenship process was much shorter than we thought. She already had an interview a few days over six months ago and received a letter for the ceremony less than seven days after the interview. Unfortunately, it was scheduled in the middle of her interim audit. She had to work around her schedule to make time for the ceremony. She looked swamped, trying to get things done in time.
She looks delighted. She has been dutifully carrying her immigration documents as instructed for several years. It will take some time for her to grow accustomed to being unencumbered by documentation, as she soon will be. She’ll need to acquire a US passport and then have travel rights again.