Interesting reading

[esun41]

I saw this on MSN this morning and took a brief look at it. There are some questions I had difficulty with and I was born here, went to school and participate in each and every election!

 

My wife would never be able to pass this test at her level right now. Not even my daughter or son would pass this and they have been doing extremely well in school.

 

We haven't decided if Lucy is going to naturalize or not. Hell, we haven't even passed by the frickin' green card phase and that's going on 9 months since biometrics. Our plan is to get financially stable and go back to China when my retirement kicks in at age 62.

 

I haven't really explored the benefits of naturalization. Does anybody have an opinion on all this? If, please share!

 

Slate's "How to become an American"

Edited December 6, 2006 by esun41 (see edit history)

[xtal]

I saw this on MSN this morning and took a brief look at it. There are some questions I had difficulty with and I was born here, went to school and participate in each and every election!

 

My wife would never be able to pass this test at her level right now. Not even my daughter or son would pass this and they have been doing extremely well in school.

 

We haven't decided if Lucy is going to naturalize or not. Hell, we haven't even passed by the frickin' green card phase and that's going on 9 months since biometrics. Our plan is to get financially stable and go back to China when my retirement kicks in at age 62.

 

I haven't really explored the benefits of naturalization. Does anybody have an opinion on all this? If, please share!

 

Slate's "How to become an American"

 

If you guys are planning to retire in China then it may not be a good idea for Lucy to naturalize. She'll be a US Citizen after she naturalizes and will need to get a Chinese tourist visa also to visit China. Not sure if there are ways around it really. It may also complicate things if she still has property in China.

 

The biggest benefit of naturalizing is that Lucy will be able to vote in all elections and get a US passport. Having a green card is nice, but you still fall under immigration law - for example if she would get arrested for some crimes she could get deported - not saying she will of course. But it's like having this shadow over you. If you're a citizen then you are free from immigration law. It is a judge who actually naturalizes you, not USCIS (but you do apply with USCIS - they do the background checking, etc, and they interview you, and they either approve or deny the application). Only in very rare circumstances can citizenship be taken away (like treason or if you lied during the naturalization process). Being a US citizen also allows you to get certain public benefits - but that normally doesn't matter. From a day-to-day living point of view, the differences between being a US citizen or a greencard holder aren't big, but they may become big if immigration law changes in the future. Who knows, in this day and age. Also, certain jobs require you to be a US Citizen.

 

When you apply for naturalization, you also have a chance to change your name to whatever you want.

 

So you have to carefully weigh everything given your own situation to see if naturalization is the right move or not.

 

BTW, did Lucy go through the DORA process in Dallas?

Edited December 6, 2006 by xtal (see edit history)

[RLS]

Eric

 

I looked at some of the sample questions. A person would definately have to study up on most of these. Some are easy to us because we have lived here most of our lives. How many would know the following?

 

90. When was the Constitution drafted?

 

A: 1787

 

Some might answer 1776. I know a Vietnamese lady who can hardly speak a word of English and she passed it with flying colors. She was so proud to become an American citizen.

[LeeFisher3]

I understand your concern Eric, but the study guides for the tests provide the answers and a brief explanation which is exactly what is available for the current test, so it only becomes a matter of studying which has been how it has been done for years.

 

They have only changed the questions in an attempt to provide a bit more history of the US for the test, not that it will actually change whether a person studies history or not.

 

The sad part is that most 7th grade students in the US pass this test when they study American History and before they begin the 8th grade they have forgotten the majority of it.