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Old Aug 20th 2006, 6:54 am
  #46  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by Ray
LOL... he will do whatever you mum says ...I bet ..
yes which means staying in england!
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 6:54 am
  #47  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by bettyboop80
yes which means staying in england!
At least it gives you somewhere to visit ....
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 7:14 am
  #48  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by bettyboop80
Must be something about the memphis office that they are useless f******. And isnt it a pain in the ass having to drive all the way there. I cant believe there isnt an office in Nashville.I didnt realise they had a new office though...i saw the different address but thought maybe they had a seperate place for naturalisation stuff. I hope its nicer than the old one!
I actually never saw the old office

the new one is pretty reasonable

Although Nashville has the capitol of TN, memphis still has a larger population which I suppose is why the USCIS is there

Maybe if we get a few more building like this:

http://www.signaturetowernashville.com/

they may relocate

We are supposed to be getting the biggest skyscraper in the USA outside of New York and Chicago. Fingers crossed the money comes through and construction commences as planned
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:09 am
  #49  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by NC Penguin
If you believe that kind of thing. In any case, what is true for one office may not be true for other offices around the country so for those preparing for the N-400, just learn the 13 original states. It'll be more than what most native born US citizens know!


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I was only saying what happened in my case and a few of my friends cases. Certainly learn all the questions and answers to all of them.
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:12 am
  #50  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by bettyboop80
When they ask the questions, are they multiple choice? because the study thing i've got they are....or is that just to help you learn them?
Myself and a couple of friends got handed a question sheet with 10 questions on them. they were not multiple choice. My daughter and her friend got asked the questions and had to answer them. This was in the Chicago and Milwaukee offices.
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:15 am
  #51  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by angelman
I just wonder how people who became US citizens feel. I am married to a USC and thats great. However although I am enjoying my time here thus far (been almost 3 year) I have little love for America as a country and certainly feel no allegiance to it whatsover. I love my country (england) and feel strong ties there. I am applying for my green card at the moment however my wife really wants to get the hell out of the US, she cant take any more Bush! Now I am thinking we should stick it out so that I can become a US citizen and then I can move freely between the two countries. We have a baby on the way so this would make sense, also workwise it would be very useful for me to be able to work either in the US or the UK. Citizenship would then simply be a matter or practicality.
Reading the oath and saluting the american flag for me though would be very hard to do. I feel really quite strongly about it but maybe I should just not take it so seriously.
I wonder how UK citizens feel about this, reading out the text that says you renounce all allegiance to your previous country and will serve in the american armed forces if requested etc. etc.
did you just not care, only thought about the practicalities of it, couldnt wait to renounce the chavs of england!

This is a subject close to my heart at the moment. For years I have struggled with the choice of becoming a USC. It is not something I take lightly. Anyway at long last our N400's are complete and ready to go!
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:19 am
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by DollyLlama
Myself and a couple of friends got handed a question sheet with 10 questions on them. they were not multiple choice. My daughter and her friend got asked the questions and had to answer them. This was in the Chicago and Milwaukee offices.
I was asked about 5-6 questions and had to verbally answer them and then write out a sentence that the interviewer dictated -- I remember that he gave me a hard time because I used punctuation; told me I was being too much of a perfectionist

In all, it took about 7 months for me to get citizenship and that was through the Norfolk, VA office.
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:20 am
  #53  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl
This is a subject close to my heart at the moment. For years I have struggled with the choice of becoming a USC. It is not something I take lightly. Anyway at long last our N400's are complete and ready to go!
Good luck with that Jerseygirl I did mine 3 years ago and it took around 9 months. Our daughter applied this February, got her fingerprints done in March, Interview in June and Oath Ceremony in July. that was at the Chicago office.
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:35 am
  #54  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl
This is a subject close to my heart at the moment. For years I have struggled with the choice of becoming a USC. It is not something I take lightly. Anyway at long last our N400's are complete and ready to go!

ohh good luck jersey....my son's paperwork is also complete and good to go
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:44 am
  #55  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by Ray
<<snip>>

And according to the USCIS the number one reason people take up citizenship ..is so they can bring more of their family here ..


Originally Posted by NC Penguin
Do you have anything to back that up? Any links?
I can't find anything on the USCIS website about it. I thought this was interesting though:

http://www.cis.org/articles/embamer/embracing.html

(It also sort of answers the question "What's an immigration historian" )

The entire article seems to be written from a very American perspective; the author and his/her sources seem to view American citizenship as extremely desirable for everyone on the planet.

They don't stress the bringing-in-relatives aspect of naturalisation, but that could be because they're so blinded by their idea that everyone wants to be an American purely because it's such a fabulous thing to be

The ability to vote seems to be more important than importing family, as far as I can make out.

My favourite bit from the article is this:

"An American passport is often considered the most desirable to possess."

It appears to be missing the disclaimer, "by Americans" though

I admit I'm as biased as the author. Maybe owners of Mexican passports do consider an American one more desirable. I'm unconvinced the statement applies to other first world countries like the UK, Canada or most of western Europe though.
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 8:58 am
  #56  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by Ray
Nothing wrong in my statement ...just facts...power plays is just a bit sad..

anyway ..it was in the guide to naturalization per your erstwhile fellow super moderator .. http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...9&postcount=22
Maybe I'm in the minority who consider "shut up" as rude. In the context it was written, it was not written humorously.

Power play? You're the one who points out I'm a Super Moderator, not me!


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Old Aug 20th 2006, 9:01 am
  #57  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by DollyLlama
Myself and a couple of friends got handed a question sheet with 10 questions on them. they were not multiple choice. My daughter and her friend got asked the questions and had to answer them. This was in the Chicago and Milwaukee offices.
Just to illustrate that practices at N-400 interviews differ, when I had my interview, I was asked questions. None were printed on a sheet. This suggests that that the questions given to naturalization applicants at the Charlotte, NC office vary from candidate to candidate plus the format for natz interviews differs from office to office.


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Old Aug 20th 2006, 9:02 am
  #58  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by NC Penguin
Just to illustrate that practices at N-400 interviews differ, when I had my interview, I was asked questions. None were printed on a sheet. This suggests that that the questions given to naturalization applicants at the Charlotte, NC office vary from candidate to candidate plus the format for natz interviews differs from office to office.


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Yes, that's true. it would make life easier if they would all stick to the same format
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 9:05 am
  #59  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

Originally Posted by NC Penguin
Maybe I'm in the minority who consider "shut up" as rude. In the context it was written, it was not written humorously.
Power play? You're the one who points out I'm a Super Moderator, not me!
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Your on super duper ignore ......
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Old Aug 20th 2006, 10:58 am
  #60  
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Default Re: becoming a citizen, how did it feel morally/philosophically speaking

I became a citizen in 2001. As the interview approached, I really couldn't have cared less. I did study for it, but didn't take it too seriously. When the day arrived (I took the test and the oath on the same day), I was actually moved. I was glad that I had done it! I thought that the INS (as it was called back then) did a good job and made it special. If people ask me what nationality I am, I always say British, but I am American too! The head of the INS office spoke at my ceremony. He said that you could take German citizenship, but you would never really be German, but when you take US citizenship, you are a real citizen. I liked that. Anyway, I am proud to be British, but I am also proud to be a US citizen too. I have lived here for a long time and the US has its problems (check out my previous posts!!) and I want to go back to England next summer, but I will never forget my time here and how much I have learned about life. I encourage everyone who lives here to get their citizenship.
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