Becoming a Naturalized American Citizen

Thank you iAmerica for sponsoring this post.

I sat in my seat waiting for my number to be called. It was mid-Summer 2006, two months after my college graduation. After the naturalization application process and a four-month wait, I was being granted my American citizenship. After almost ten years living in the United States, I became an American citizen. The year 2006 was particularly significant for me. Crossing the stage to receive my degree, I felt happy that my mother’s sacrifice was not in vain, and although the crowd was too large for me to see her, I felt her pride, I felt her joy, and I knew she sat beaming.

Ten years earlier, I boarded a New York-bound flight from Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport with my father and my sister, leaving my mother behind. We each had a one-way ticket to our new home, and in my excitement, I tightly hugged my mother goodbye. She was proud that I had accomplished the symbolic representation of the many things she had sacrificed, my Bachelor's degree. I knew she questioned her decision to send her two daughters to a foreign country. I overheard the questions, “Should I send them?”, and I saw her face when she heard the same replies “yes for the opportunities”.

Like many other immigrants, we moved to the U.S. for the promise of opportunities and the chance of a better life. Neither of my parents had attended college, but they wanted more for us. I wanted more too. I often daydreamed about what lay beyond the hilly horizon of my island home. I had heard many enthralling stories about the “foreign” (America, Canada, and England), so it was my dream come true when my parents told me I was moving to America. It wasn't lost on me that I earned my degree partly because I lived in a country with better educational opportunities and supports like financial aid and scholarships.

After I graduated college, I set my sights on my other goal of traveling and seeing more of the world. In my junior year of college, I studied abroad in England. I quickly learned that being a Lawful Permanent Resident made it more difficult to travel internationally due to visa requirements. Although my American friends travelled to other countries in Europe freely, I had to apply for a visa when I booked a weekend trip to France. It was an extra cost on my already limited student budget. Becoming a U.S. citizen and having a U.S. passport made it easier to travel internationally. And travel, I did!

As much as I love to travel, the biggest personal benefit of American citizenship was the opportunity to actively participate in the democratic process through voting. Knowing that so many people sacrificed so that I could have the right to vote is both humbling and inspiring.I t's important to me that I have a voice in the country where I live, work, and now have a family. It's also important that I teach my children to be change-makers by voting. My husband and I take our children with us when we vote and answer any questions they have about the voting process. As a result, I believe all who are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship should start their application now.

There are currently an estimated 9 million lawful permanent residents in the U.S. eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. While they live, work, and build families in the United States, they do not have the full protection of American citizenship despite many sacrifices and perseverance. In response to the rise of hate and xenophobic rhetoric and policies against immigrants and refugees over the last few years, many eligible lawful permanent residents (LPRs) have responded by becoming U.S. citizens in record numbers. iAmerica has free online tools to help folks see if they are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship and start their application online so that they can enjoy the rights and benefits of U.S. citizenship.

Cheers,
Nika

Becoming American: My Journey to Becoming a Naturalized U.S. Citizen