Faisal Shahzad
- Thread starter Huracan
- Start date
The probability that he was a participant of this forum is extremely small given that hundreds of thousands of people get naturalized every year and only a few dozen participate in this forum. In any event, we cannot but assume good faith when people come here for help and advice.
I had the same thought earlier this morning.
All his native country folk who are in the process of being naturalized probably are now very worried that their applications will get extra scrutiny or review (more than they do now). It is sad and a shame how the misguided few cause so much trouble for the honest ones out there.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
It's unlikely that he was on this forum. And even if he was, he probably would have gotten through naturalization anyway, even if it took him longer to figure things out. He also didn't need to become a citizen to be in the US and plant that bomb; he already had a green card.
However, what we do have to worry about is that DHS and politicians will be emphasizing how to toughen the naturalization background checks so guys like this don't get missed again. Which means we might go back to having multi-year FBI name checks being commonplace.
I understand. Even in the unlikely case that he was in this forum and we gave him some advice he was probably approved on the merits of his application. Naturalization can only look backwards, it is almost impossible to predict future behavior. I agree that I am worried about politicians trying to tighten the screws even further on naturalization.
I agree. Things don't add up. He gets Green Card through marriage, but gets the GC before he announces his marriage in 2008. I think it is lousy reporting. I don't know what they mean by reporting the marriage in 2008. It's also not clear how the wife got her citizenship. Hopefully someone will get the facts straight.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
Something is wrong with their facts. Either he got a green card via another route and then obtained citizenship via the 5-year rule, or he got married earlier than October 2008. I think it's the latter.
Definitely sloppy reporting. The Telegraph states he married in October 2006, and naturalized the following year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...Times-Square-bomb-Faisal-Shahzad-profile.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...Times-Square-bomb-Faisal-Shahzad-profile.html
I am pretty sure that by "announced" they meant his N-400 form: he submitted it in late 2008, claiming eligibility for U.S. citizenship under the 3-year rule, based on having been married to a U.S. citizen for 3 years.
I agree, this worries me too. There tends to be a panicky knee-jerk reaction to such episodes by politicians and bureaucracies. One can only hope that it does not happen this time and that they actually take their time to think and analyze the problem before introducing various changes. I was stuck for over 2 years in the FBI Name Check during my N-400 process (for no earthly reason that I can think of), and I don't wish that sort of experience for anyone else.
On the other hand, I do feel that many parts of the N-400 process are fairly arcane and could do with a modernization. The N-400 form still asks the Cold War era questions about the communist party affiliations and about Nazi war crimes. The form could instead ask something more intelligent and more relevant to the modern times. Also, the civics test is a bit of a joke, IMHO. Even in its revamped form, the test seems to be designed for someone with an intellectual level of a 9-year old. They could make it a wee bit more challenging and meaningful.
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I agree with most of your point. But the civic test is just fine in my opinion. This test is to just check your basic knowledge on US history/civics, they don't expect you to have a Ph.d in civics and also not to test your IQ.
Of course, this is a matter of opinion. However, there is a lot of room between the knowledge of a 3-d grader in an elementary school and that of someone with a PhD in American history. I think it is not unreasonable to require than an adult applying for a U.S. citizenship display a slightly deeper knowledge and understanding of civics than an elementary school student.
I think that the English comprehension test needs to be revamped as well. I know a few naturalized citizens who absolutely cannot express themselves in English. However, they somehow passed the test.
Who takes English comprehension test? I never heard of that test during citizenship process. I only know Civics test/reading&writing test.
It vwon't make much difference. If the test became harder and many people could not pass it, they would still be on GC.
It won't make much difference to the society.
I guess you didn't "comprehend" my post.
Comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret. Reading and writing would fall under comprehension.
I am afraid the media might also start talking about the wife and the children. The children are most likely US citizens and are most likely going to grow up in Pakistan in an environment of hatred towards the US. I hope Congress is not forced to pass "knee jerk reaction" laws to address these few cases that might adversely affect the majority of cases.