Well. It’s now official. Last week (Feb 6th) I became a citizen of the United States of America. I figured I should share how the day went.
The ceremony this morning took place at 9am. I was joined by Sarah, her brother Stephen (who happened to be in town) and our friend Adam (who is also the pastor at Embrace Church).
I knew very little of what to expect. The notice I got in the mail basically said “Please arrive promptly at 9am.” That was it. No indication of what was to come, or whether or not anyone could join us.
Although we live only 4 minutes from the building, by way of a malfunctioning parking garage gate, we almost arrived past 9am. However, when we got to the second floor of the Federal Building, there was a line up both those becoming citizens and their friends/family.
After a somewhat lengthy process of checking all 31 applicants in to the ceremony, we simply say and waited until the 10am start time. To keep us occupied, and to remind us why we were there, a DVD played in a seemingly endless loop of “Proud to be an American”. I could have done with only hearing that song once – if that 🙂
Once the ceremony began things went really well. The judge shared a few words, we said our oath and he announced us citizens. Then, representatives from various local organizations came up and talked about how their club. They all encouraged us to participate in our cities. My favorite part was when one women highlighted the fact that many of us came from countries where they were oppressed, could have been killed for what they believed and now were living in a new country where they didn’t speak the language and needed to live in an entirely new culture. “Unlike those from Canada…” she said. She certainly didn’t mean anything negative by it, but it made me laugh none-the-less. Also, considering I was the only one from Canada in the room, I felt very special and unique 🙂
There ceremony concluded less than an hour later. We each had our picture taken with the judge and mayor and were sent on our way, now with absolute certainty that our immigration travels were over.
Outside the courtroom doors, there was a group of ladies who were present to get us to register to vote. I diligently took my form and filled all the required questions out except for one. When I handed it in, the lady told me I needed to fill out the question that asked what political party I wanted to join. I told her I was undecided. She said “so, independent?”. No… I was undecided. Apparently, that’s not an option. I can see why American politics are so divisive. You have no choice but to firmly place yourself in some camp. I got a kick out of that.
Later in the day, after I returned to work, the gang at the office held a small celebration for me. It was really a lot of fun and I certainly appreciated it.
But the party didn’t stop there. In the evening, Sarah and I had an open house for people to come by. A handful of our new church friends, a couple of co-workers, as well as a few others, came by and hung out. It was a great time. I was really thankful that after only being here for 6 months we’ve been fortunate enough to find such a great group of friends.
The most common question I receive is whether I’m a dual citizen or not. While some countries will recognize someone holding multiple citizenships, the US does not. In the ceremony you are asked to verbally denounce any other citizenships you may hold. From that point on, you are seen as only an American. However, they do know that you still maintain other citizenships in your home country unless you physically choose to denounce it with your original government. In my case, I will continue to hang on to my Canadian citizenship, with no intention of giving it up (unless the Canadian government makes hockey illegal).
So, there you have it. My exciting day becoming a US Citizen. It’s true what they say: the moment you become an American, you’re immediately overly-patriotic.
Here are some other photos from the day (web album link):