Last post for a bit: MY WIFE BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN TODAY

[PretzelWarrior]

I'm so stoked for her. We were so naive way back when we started down this road in 1999. We were married in September 1998 but didn't apply to adjust her status til January 1999. Based on the rules of timing (being married less than 2 years) we were only able to apply for "Conditional status" green card in 2000 which she got that March. Then we adjusted the status to full Resident alien in 2002 good for 10 years.

In December 2002 she was able to apply for citizenship based on a 3 year wait period for adjustments based on marriage. In summer of 2003 we went to INS where she passed civics and language with flying colors....but it was a conditional acceptance awaiting background. Well, we descended into a purgatory I won't go into the details of. It didn't affect her everyday life. She could work, travel, etc. But she couldn't vote, work for the federal government, hold a U.S. passport (sometimes made travel more involved) and couldn't work to adjust her parents' status.

One of THE BIGGEST reasons I was so pissed off about the delays with her file stuck at FBI background check was she couldn't vote for Kerry and against that stupid slobbering excuse for a president in the White House right now.

Finally, earlier this year the floodgates have been opened on many permanent residents who were in a holding pattern. Today she went to her re-interview FIVE YEARS LATER!!!! And this afternoon she and I attended her naturalization ceremony.

We both tried not to laugh out loud at one point when Dumb-fuck-in-chief was on a video welcoming the group as citizens. But we got lots of pictures including of her with Naturalization Certificate under portraits of Bush and his evil robot, Cheney.

Today she has already filled out her US Passport application and voter registration card. Nothing is going to make her happier than getting to vote for Obama this fall. YEEEHHAAAHHH!!!!

[Robeson]

1. Congrats to Mrs PretzelWarrior and yourself....

...:party: :toast: :bounce: :bounce: :party:

[PretzelWarrior]

3. thank you. we celebrated a bit but will more this weekend

it is a banner day for us. FINALLY the odyssey is over.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. Congrats!! K and R.

There have been a lot of naturalization ceremonies in my area lately so our voter registration coordinator had the brilliant idea of setting up tables outside of them. We usually register an average of 30 new voters (99% Democratic!) at each.

I'm so thrilled for you and your wife. The ceremonies are soooo moving. :patriot:

[JohnnyLib2]

4. Congratulations to the new citizen!

:thumbsup:

[LowerManhattanite]

5. Super congrats!

E Pluribus Unum, indeed!

[NanceGreggs]

6. Congratulations!

That's wonderful news for both of you!

:party:

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. Congradulations and welcome!

For your wife: :patriot:

For you both: :toast:

[CitizenLeft]

8. Congratulations to you and the Mrs.!

:toast: Cheers to both of you!

[AZBlue]

9. Congratulations Mrs. PW!

[PretzelWarrior]

12. God I can never see that pic of the fist bump too many times

and THANK YOU to all of you. It really means a lot.

[AZBlue]

27. I smile every time I see it too!

:D

[Maat]

43. Congrats, PretzelWarrior!

Give the Mrs. a hug for me!

Best wishes!

And, I love that picture of Obama also!

My hubby and I give each other fist-bumps too, now!

[DevonRex]

10. Congrats! I love happy posts! K&R

[silverojo]

11. Hearty congratulations!!

Please tell her "Welcome to America!" for me. It's such a wonderful thing when somebody takes that oath and becomes a citizen.

And now, Obama will have one more voter supporting him!!!

[Cha]

13. Congratulations to you and your wife, PretzelWarrior!

Another Democratic Voter for Obama:bounce: :patriot: :kick: :party:

[babylonsister]

14. So sweet! It sucks it took so long, but congrats to you both, and

GOBAMA!

[highplainsdem]

15. Congratulations! K & R

:toast:

[Lisa0825]

16. That's so wonderful!!

It sucks that our process is so difficult to get through. I would be fine with getting tougher on illegal immigration if only our LEGAL immigration system wasn't so royally FUCKED UP. I'm so glad your wife was finally able to get through the system and get her long overdue citizenship! Congratulations to you both!

[nickyt]

17. What a glorious piece of news! Congratulations and a big warm "welcome" to

Mrs. Pretzel!!

[HowHasItComeToThis]

18. WELCOME CITIZEN MS. PRETZEL

MY WIFE DID THE SAME THING AS YOU.

:toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :toast:
:yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[blondeatlast]

19. Mr. atLaust went acheived that a few years ago; it was one of the proudest moments I've ever known.

Congratulations to Mrs. Pretzel and all the Warriors!

[Emit]

20. Congrats to you and your wife, PretzelWarrior!

:toast:

My BIL and his wife are going through similar things with her application -- I have a feeling, though, they are still in that "we were so naive way back when we started down this road" stage.

[PretzelWarrior]

26. yeah. if you ask the typical US citizen about things...

they seem to believe once you get married, they stamp a US Citizen on the immigrant's paperwork and that's that.

They've changed the rules here and there over the years as far as timing, etc. But the biggest biggest thing that made me so angry is that this was all Bush's fault in the first place because he WANTED to suppress citizens. I do believe 9/11 was at the very least LIHOP because it gave them maximum control of so many variables.

There are a number of states where an influx of citizens could have made the difference in elections (Arizona anyone?) Another thing so aggravating was the sheer randomness of it. Some people she knew applied for citizenship under similar circumstances and were given the oath less than 6 months later.

Fair or not, it is just one more arrow in my quiver that I plan to unleash for the rest of my life on the suck ass Bush family.

MAY THEY ROT IN HELL!

Oh, and BTW I'm also very proud and excited. But yes...bitter too. I know the true meaning of bittersweet. The films they showed during the ceremony looked like "textbook" America they teach you about and what America used to be more like. I had way too many cynical thoughts about BushWorld America today.

Yes, I allowed Bush the power over me to slightly tinge my happiness on such a happy occasion.

[Withywindle]

21. Congratulations!

I remember the barely-suppressed excitement when my mom became a citizen in '92. She'd been living here since 1966 and married to my dad since 1968, but it was HUGH!!1!! (She said she did it because she wanted to vote against Bush I so badly.)

[Duder]

22. Congratulations to you both

Glad she got through the red tape and welcome to America.

[havocmom]

23. FANTASTIC! Congrats to you both.

:woohoo:

[housewolf]

24. Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!

That's WONDERFUL news! I'm proud of both of you for your efforts and your success! Many, many, many CONGRATULATIONS!


:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Frustratedlady]

25. Congratulations to you both. Welcome.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

28. Congrats! (Curious: what was her previous nationality?)

[PretzelWarrior]

30. People's Republic of China.

see? I'm forward looking. I knew China was a rising power and was hedging my bets. LOL. And it was seriously love at first sight for both of us.

[LSparkle]

29. Congrats! We all take citizenship SO for granted ... maybe all natives

should have to undergo some kind of "refresher course"
every ten years or so, just to prove that we still know
our Constitution and are capable of casting INFORMED
votes ... Yeah, I know that's veering into "poll tax"
territory, but I think many native-born citizens sadly
couldn't pass the tests that naturalized citizens are
required to take.

[sonias]

31. Congratulations to the both of you

I'm so happy for the both of you. We need lots of good people voting this fall including newly naturalized citizens like your wife.

:toast:

Sonia

[PretzelWarrior]

32. I'm thinking there's many trainloads of them coming

Just based on coworkers and others I know who've recently naturalized....I'd say it's a tsunami of new voters. My hope is a good percentage of them see the disconnect with what this country can be and what it is...and throw the GOP bums out so we can try Democratic leadership unencumbered by monied interests.

[sonias]

33. a tsunami of new voters is a good thing

I'm up for some train load of hope coming our way.

Sonia

[Flying Dream Blues]

34. Congratulations and well done! nt

[DeepModem Mom]

35. Wonderful news -- congratulations!!!

[FrenchieCat]

36. Another Democrat is born!

:woohoo:

CONGRAT! :party:

[AlCzervik]

37. Congratulations to you both!!

:toast:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

38. My dear PretzelWarrior!

Congrats to your wife for her perserverance, and to you for your invaluable support!

Another Dem in our arsenal!

:woohoo: :woohoo:

[DarkTirade]

39. Five years... damn. Congrats on making it through!

:)

Hopefully my sis-in-law won't be far behind.

[SeattleGirl]

40. Congratulations to your wife!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[PretzelWarrior]

41. Thank you all. You're the greatest.

I really do appreciate all the heartfelt congrats.

[Siyahamba]

42. Congratulations

I hope that my partner will be able to marry me so I can do the same one day.

[Eurobabe]

44. Congrats!! Isn't the INS a nightmare on Elm St.??

Gawd, it took my hubby almost 4 years to get a green card, and that was before 9-11. :eyes:

Yea, another Obama voter!!! :grouphug:

[MonkeyFunk]

45. Congratulations to her (andyou!)

That's awesome.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

46. Dear Mrs PretzelWarrior,

Welcome aboard the Titanic. I hope we can patch the giant hole where our Constitution was ripped off our hull - right now we are hemorrhaging but with some determination and people like you, we may be able to save this ship. Be sure to wear your life jacket and tell your family and friends back home that we Democrats welcome you with open arms. Tell them that we are going to elect Barack Obama and we know that patriotism is not about a flag lapel pin nor is it about blindly obeying a run away train of a president. I would hug you if I could.

I know two new US citizens. They are voting for the first time this November. They are proud Mexicans who work hard and who, like you, aced their exams and have beautiful language skills. They are voting for Obama too. You see, they know more about our Constitution than the patriots who keep voting for the Rethuglicans. These two Mexicans are, according to our local Minute Men, endangering our freedoms. They are stealing our jobs and breeding here. Not very friendly is it? I cried when these two gentle men became citizens. It was moving and tugged at my heart strings.

Peace to you and Mr. PretzelWarrior.

Love,

Gilligan

[PretzelWarrior]

47. wow. that was a wonderful post

I will make sure Mrs. Pretzelwarrior sees it tomorrow. She's already asleep as will I be soon.

Peace.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

49. Thank you.

Now get some sleep.

Like I should be giving advice about that.... :rofl:

[grantcart]

48. congratulations but it will definetly kill your sex life lol

(after 28 years my wife is considering applying lol)

[RNdaSilva]

50. Congratulations!

Very meaningful...

She could teach many uninformed voters about our democracy, our history and about our constitution.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

51. Ah that brought back memories

My husband also decided to go for citizenship cause he knew he was going to live here for the rest of his life, and he wanted to vote. Specifically, he wanted to vote for Kerry in 2004. Oddly, his citizenship did not go through until just AFTER the election. He will vote for Obama in November.

I still remember him studying for the exam. He learned the original 13 colonies alphabetically rather than geographically and it always blew my mind to listen to him recite them.

Congrats to your wife and to you.

The INS is a real hurdle.

[PretzelWarrior]

54. yes indeed. The INS field office in PDX is much better now

that they fired that one guy who was running the place. I used to be so mad at them and felt I had every right to as I am a citizen and deserve the benefits that come with it. I wasn't going to be run through the cattle chute the way so many were. We were diligent and at least didn't cost ourselves a bunch of extra money or get into legal snags.

I just really feel sorry for any who don't have a citizen backing them up. If they came over for other reasons and qualify to get citizenship, they have tremendous paperwork to go through and great expense as far as fees. I almost recommend people get legal help if they don't want to get into trouble.

[musicblind]

52. K and R! Congratulations!

:party:

[JVS]

53. AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!!!!

:toast:

[NatBurner]

55. i wish u an endless honeymoon

congrats

[DavidDvorkin]

56. Congratulations to her from another naturalized citizen

[polichick]

57. Thanks for sharing this special day - Congrats & welcome aboard to your wife!!

[roguevalley]

58. BRAVO! More good people for America. :)

[rox63]

59. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs PretzelWarrior

:toast: :patriot:

[SemiCharmedQuark]

60. Congratulations from the spouse of a "permanent resident"

I know the process is a nightmare.

[davidpdx]

61. Congrats to the both of you

for the long journey that took place to get to the point of her finally becoming a citizen. I'm married to a Korean and unfortunately it is difficult even to get a residence visa because the burden of proof is set so high. I've been in Korea for four and a half years, we've been married going on 2 1/2. I certainly didn't think when I came here I'd end up marrying someone from a totally different culture. It's mind boggling at best what happens when you least expect it.

Eventually we plan on going to the US and hope to live there. We were suppose to go to visit, but the travel visa got screwed up because I'm changing jobs about the same time we planned on taking the trip. Again the proof is totally on me that we were returning to Korea, doesn't matter a bit that she has a job here. Go figure! Hopefully next year Korea will have a visa waiver program that will make visits easier, but again no guarantees there.

Since 9/11 things have been so ****** up with in terms of our immigration policy. As you said in another post, there is no slam dunk visa for spouses. The process is time consuming, expensive and makes you want to bang your head against a wall (sometimes it would seem more efficient to do so).

Anyway, I'm happy for you guys. It's good to hear someone had a successful (although probably very long) journey toward citizenship.

[flpoljunkie]

62. Congratulations!

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

63. Congratulations from this Green Card holder!

PM me if you need help with your in-laws. I run an immigration consulting business and I've been doing immigration work for a decade. Best of luck to your wife. Is she retaining her original citizenship as well? You know, the US is ambivalent about dual citizenships. It really depends on her country of origin and if that country allows to retain the citizenship. You may want to inquire with that country's Embassy in U.S.

For instance, Italy allows you to keep your Italian citizenship and you have to expressly renounce it. My dad, a dual citizen, travels with both passports. The Italian one when he is in the EU countries and the U.S. one when he returns.

[olkaz]

64. wrong forum

I think regular GD might be a little more appropriate.

[PretzelWarrior]

67. not really. if you read the whole thing

I reserve my main point toward the last that my wife and I are primarily motivated and excited because she can now vote FOR Obama and AGAINST Bush/McSame.

[a kennedy]

65. Woohoo and welcome to the US, and remember, register to vote

:patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot: :patriot:

[Peacetrain]

66. Congratulations!!

another democrat on board!! how wonderful :toast: