Why do people get so exited about having US citizenship and feel proud of their new..

J

Jelexy

Registered Users (C)
Why do people get so exited about having US citizenship and feel proud of their new status?

Be honest and answer the question. Here is my take on the subject
Foreign born People want the usa citizenship roughly for the following reasons.
1.Traveling, using the us passport will be much less stressful (no visa for most western European countries and a few other)

2. for employment purpose with in a us government organization

The following fact will remain true regardless of whether you acquired a new citizenship or not.
You will always be looked at as an outsider.
You still gone have your foreign accent and because of your hard accent, Americans will always ask you where do you originally come from? unless of course you come to the state at a young age and don’t have different accent …in that case the question will be about your parents not you.
You will always look for your background culture to associate with (Indian, Morocco, turkey, Iranian , African, chines etc), this is due to that fact that you can’t intermingle with people who were born in the USA ..ahhh that strong accent again!!
I can see that acquiring a us citizenship can have some benefit as describe above, but what I can’t understand is some people uttering a word such as “proud American” really? Do Americans see it that way too!!
 
Been wondering about that too.
When I posted my thread about "Why people file for N-400" I didn't get much of a feedback.

I also don't quite know whether I would be proud - seems a big word. Not even sure if I would be proud with the citizenship I currently hold - for any number of reasons.

I think as in any civilization, the ability to question the leaders, is something to really enjoy and is part of the political process. After all, one benefit is the right to vote. And more over, especially in a democracy, leaders should never be given a free pass for any reason. That's the very meaning of democracy.

So, proud? Not sure - happy, much more likely. Relieved? Defnitly.

As per accent, I have almost none and since I am western european, I fit in pretty easily other wise.

Though, I happen to agree - there is always *some* level of discimination. Knowingly or not. To assume that not being the case would be day dreaming.
 
Irrespective of your accent, color, origin, religion etc.. you get basic respect in this country. At least, people don't bother your business here and the rules are not bent for anything. You are treated as human being here. Even if I have heavy accent, I get the right to speak here. I don't feel threatened to express my opinion on anything here. My children have same oppotunities as any other child in this country. His/her opportunities are not based on his religion or caste or race or wealth or color of the skin.

Thanks,
Newbie001.
 
For the most part, people are glad because it is the end of the nasty road of immigration processes and hassles. No more renewing of visas or cards just to be able to live and work here, and no more worrying about whether they will renew it before the previous one expires. No more rude or time-consuming interviewers at the port of entry. No more proving why you traveled for a long time or worrying about whether you'll be let back in. No more filing AR-11 and that bureaucratic nonsense.

But feeling like a true American? Won't happen as long as I am banned from running for president (not that I'd ever actually plan to) and they still have back-door ways of revoking citizenship. If you're not a born citizen, you have second-class citizenship.
 
Many times the happyness originates in the fact that gaining one's citizenship shortens the amount of time some families will need to remain separated due to immigration limitations. That in itself is an undeniable joy.
 
Before 2005, US citizens cannot be deported. But with new law passed in 2005, Naturalized citizens can be deported with just a court order. So this advantage is no more there.
 
Where would you deport a US citizen to? Since that would need to include revocation of citizenship and thus making him/her stateless it's against the UN charta.
 
When the national anthem is played do you remove your hat and stand up ? Do you look at the Flag and if you are naturalized don't you feel some kind of pride ? Naturalized or not don't you get the chills and feel happy to live in a country where there is freedom of speech ?
I am not even a citizen yet and have from the very beginning felt pride to be part of this country. Whether as a immigrant or starting March 3rd as a US Citizen.
All of my children are natural born citizens, my Husband is, his Family is. Did I ever felt like an outsider .... no. Has anyone ever made me feel this way .... no. Is it because we are military and military has quite a few foreign people meaning Soldiers getting married to women/men from other countries. I don't know.

My heart lays in the United States of America.

I didn't apply so I can have a blue passport and make my traveling easier. I haven't left this country ever since I first stepped in it. I didn't apply so I don't have to worry about even being involved in some kind of crime that can get me deported.

I applied after thinking long and hard about it whether I am willing to give my one nationiality up to obtain another. I talked to my Mother, Father and Sister about it and that is why I never made a change in my Name. I could of added a middle name to be more "american" but I didn't want to disrespect my parents because they gave me my name for a reason. My Sister has a middle name ...

If others apply for reasons of easier traveling or something ... who cares. It is their life, not yours. It is their money spent, not yours.

We all have different reasons.

Just because we have a certificate that says we are US Citizen's we will never forget where we came from, we will never lose our ties to our old country. We will never forget ... deep inside we are still german, english, chinese or whatever. A piece of paper will never change that.
 
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Naturalized citizens can be deported with just a court order
Click to expand...

But can't Naturalized Citizen's ONLY be deported if you have lied between on your N-400, your Interview or between Interview and Oath ?

Or are the other reasons a Naturalized Citizen can be deported ?
 
newuscitizen said:
Before 2005, US citizens cannot be deported. But with new law passed in 2005, Naturalized citizens can be deported with just a court order. So this advantage is no more there.
Click to expand...

If I may add my 2 cents :)

IFAIK, even earlier (before 2005) you could be deported if they could prove you lied on your application and that lie would have stopped you from getting the citizenship in the first place. What changed in 2005 is, they can do this without a judge being involved. (revoking administratively), that is, if they find that with in two years of getting citizenship. As time goes by, it is very hard for them to do that.

Never the less, it is still hard for them to deport. They have to start the process (They just can not pick you up from your house a night and drop outside the border, though there may be 0.01% cases) If the case goes infront of judge, you can hire attorney and fight your case. All those rights are not available for H-1B visa holder or even GC holders. So having citizenship helps.

It also helps that you get in trouble with law (may be somebody framed you) you will not be deported (and won't have to worry about that affecting citizenship application) With H1/GC, you can be and are deported quickly with no court/judge oversight.

I agree that there will be racial/ethnic issues but those are there for some of the US natives as well.

Accent issue is similar. Just recently I met a person from rural part of country. His accent was very different and people in my office (Born here Americans) had hard time understanding him.

Now about being proud, I guess that has to do with feeling belonged, feeling an integral part of a group. Did you feel proud of you native country? If yes, why do you think it was? Is it just because you were born there or because you lived there for so long? In the same way, one can feel proud if you spend 10-15 years here before getting citizenship. Now, if you do not feel proud, that is fine too. After all, world population today is lot more fluid and boundaries between countries are not as rigid as they were long ago.
 
To feel like a "Proud American" or not is the question!

Obviously the reasons for everyone may be slightly different but they will come from a bigger basket of 10 - 20.

No matter what, your original roots, culture & feelings to your original country will never change. But don't you feel proud of your achievements? Don't you feel happy and excited about the results, when you have put in efforts at something? Some may disagree with me that getting a USC is NOT an achievement... but it is. This path started when you came to this country on an F-1, H-1, B-1 or as a fiancee. Then you went thru the agonizing GC process (may not be agonizing for "some" lucky ones). Finally, you felt a sigh of relief that you cannot be deported if you don't have a job. Now, after living here for 5 more years, I want to be able to Vote on the issues that matter to me most... I pay federal/state/local city taxes and want to make sure that these dollars are spent properly on the schools.

I also want ease of travel which comes with a USC and it may come in handy when travelling a third country and an emergency situation arises, you could get help at a US Counsulate. How many countries "really" provide that service to their citizens and value them?

Last but not the least, when I retire and there is "still" money left in the Social Security, I want my share! I have been throwing money into this hole for my whole lifetime. Obviously the USC will get the share first, followed by GC holders.

Even, getting a USC is not easy for some... I know some people on this board have waited for 1 - 3 years, when most people get it in 1 year. Isn't getting a USC an achievement looking at what all you went thru?
 
I disagree on my part. I am from the Netherlands. I have been married to my US Citizen active duty soldier for over a decade now. People do not even realize I am not American when I talk to them. As a matter of fact I even feel American for the most part. I knew when I married my husband and I was going to live in the US and be part of the military life I could kiss my life as I knew it goodbye. I LOVE living in the US and do not particularly miss my home country. Yes of course there will always be a bond, heck I spent my childhood and most of my life in Europe. But this is my new home now and as such I embrace and very much look forward to becoming a US Citizen. I have to add my country allows for dual Citizenship if you obtain your spouses Citizenship, so I am not losing my Dutch passport when I get my US Citizenship. America always has and will be a melting pot of all different backgrounds. I do not think it is fair for someone to be called an outsider just because of their accent. Plus I do not feel people do not feel American just because they were not born here.
 
I am with JoJo .... I have been married to my active duty soldier hubby for 10 years and I moved here a little less than 3 years into the marriage.
I also knew that sooner or later I would have to say either good bye to my country or good bye to my marriage.
Well it is obvious what I chose.
 
ditto for most of the things said here. i am one of those people without an existing country and even the one that existed once was not my home country. so giving up my passport was the easiest thing i did in my life. in fact it isn't even valid anymore :). my children are american and i am proud of that. even though this process has been painfully slow and at times :) frustrating in the end that will bring that relief, joy, and a sense of accomplishment. of course easier travel will come in handy. have you ever applied for visas? haha you pretty much have to submit your entire life to prove you can afford that 150 dollar hotel room in zurich :0
also the right to vote. i feel this is my country and the issues here i feel are my issues and things my kids will have to deal with in the future. so of course voting is an important part of this all.
i have an accent and i think it's pretty cute although americans think i am Russian :). i have stopped correcting them. when i am told I am russian i smile and say yeah somewhere around there. do i feel discriminated against? do i really care? lifelong friendships are created in teens and twenties. once you're pass there you get aquitances (sp?) and smile about it. my only problem is talking to doctors. i guess my english sounds harsh with my "russian" accent and they feel as if i am 'blaming, or accusing them' of not knowing a thing. hahaha.
i come to this site every day, many times a day. i guess being in this process for 9 years has proven i have patience :)
oh, where does time fly?
 
I've applied for US citizenship because, for me, married to a US citizen, it seems like the right thing to do - to underline my commitment.

I'm English, and will retain dual-citizenship, but to be honest , as to feelings of pride - I don't feel it's approriate as regards any nationality. Place of birth is random, we have no say in the matter, how can one be proud? I'm proud of some of the achievements of my fellow-countrymen, and will always feel a bond with the country of my birth, but pride doesn't come into it. I hope I'll feel the same about US citizenship - proud of achievements of fellow citizens, and I'll easily have love of the very beautiful land in which I now find myself.

Pride comes into it because I'll have scrambled through the maze that is USCIS and come out, hopefully, with a smile on my face. :cool:
 
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