Process to become a US citizen
Decisions a person make affects the success of his or her life, those were the wise saying of my dad. This paper entails the encounters I came across in my quest for greener pastures in United States of America. I came to the United States as a refuge from Bosnia and as required by the law I started the process of registering as a citizen. The process of registering through naturalization involved spending a lot of money, time, and emotional stress from frustrations. There are certain steps of one follows before he or she becomes a fully registered citizen in the United States.
When my family and I arrived to Croatia from Bosnia, my first step is to register ourselves with the Red Cross. Interview with the nice people in Red Cross go very well, and because we already had a papers, sent to us from my father-in-law, they offer to us few countries where we can go. Our choice is easy, we are choosing USA, my husband family is here, and we will have someone to guide us when we come.
Our next step is to make appointment with the Interfaith Refuge Ministry, located in Split, Croatia. This time we were still refuges in an Island called Obonjan, about 85 miles from Split. After registering with the Interfaith Refuge Ministry, we had to travel to Split where we started the initial process of naturalization. The transport expenses are costly and the journey from the island to Split is long and tiresome. Upon reaching Split, we started the process of naturalization. There are three steps, that one undergoes before he or she becomes legally registered as a US citizen. These steps include verification of my papers, completing the application for naturalization form, fingerprint process, the interview process, and the final process. All these steps took place in a small church.
Verification process, this is the checking of one’s papers to verify if he or she meets the requirements for application of the citizenship. Our papers were approved and the officers in charge cleared us to fill the forms. After verification, we received appointment letter on where and our fingerprints were taken. We had to wait for the verification of the fingerprints by the officer in charge.
The next step after the approval of is the interview process. Where the USCIS engaged each one of us in a face-to-face interview placing each individual under oath to ensure he or she adheres to the US constitution. This process is to ensure ones character and background does not pose any threat to the peace of the US citizens and government. The final step was the handing over of citizenship through a ceremony of oath allegiance to the United States of America. My husband and I passed the interview. The officers issued us with white cards bearing our images and our alien numbers. After this, we had to wait for our flight and flew to the United States of America. Once in the US the law requires one to stay in country for nine months before applying for the green card.
Conclusion
From the personal experience I underwent in acquiring the citizenship, it is evident that the process is tiresome, expensive, and time-consuming. The fact that one has to stay in the country for a certain period is time wasting. One should therefore prepare both physiologically and financially before embarking on the process to acquire the citizenship of the US.
