Today’s the day I turned American. Earlier this afternoon, the ceremony at Pomona, California, marked the day I officially became a US Citizen. It’s a milestone that I’ve been waiting for since I first filed for permanent residence in the year 2000.
The event itself was quite an experience. It wasn’t all fun. We paid $9 for parking. We spent most of our time waiting in line. We were herded from one line to another. Once it was all done, we got stuck in traffic for at least 30 minutes.
But there were moments of joy. There were about 2800 people, mostly Chinese and Spanish descent, and they brought their family and friends to witness the ceremony. My wife and I showed up with our daughter, who’s already an American by birth. Everyone used their photo and video cameras. There were shouts, hollers, and cheers. We were given small plastic American flags, and waved them proudly. We watched the judge pronounced us American Citizens, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and cheered some more.
For all of us, it has been a long journey to get here. The process to get a green card had been difficult for new immigrants since 9/11/2001. We were just happy to finally get our certificate of naturalization that certifies we’re US Citizens. This certificate signifies the end of our quest to be an integral part of this great nation.
Below was the news broadcast segment of the event:
Tags: america, ceremony, citizenship, USA
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I am so glad for you! I have a Korean sister and we went through the long process with her when she was about 8. I remember after the ceremony we headed for the bathroom and when we got there she looked in the mirror and a very disappointed look came over her face. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me she thought the ceremony would turn her hair blond and her eyes blue!
Hi Kamala,
That’s funny! Thanks for sharing that story about your sister. Many of our friends also told us, jokingly of course, that we’re no longer Chinese. What most people don’t know, I’ve been a Canadian since 1982 (that’s 28 years ago!), so I’ve already turned “blond and blue eyes” a long time ago. 😉
America + (a really good) 1! Congrats Rudy! I wish I could find a way for my friend to come back to USA, at least just to work a few months out of the year…
In that news clip they said it took them about 5 years, but you applied in 2000 – That’s 10! They should have interviewed you.
Thanks, David! Actually I applied for the green card in year 2000. That took 7 years to complete. My citizenship process only took less than 3 years – which is pretty good.
It must felt great to become a part of that great nation.
Rudy,
CONGRATULATIONS!
This country needs more people like you!
a-fellow-american, Steve
Steve and Martin (Steve Martin? :-)) – Indeed!
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