Citizenship Day September 17, 2020

Marcey and Brad…

are originally from Windsor, Ontario, “The Butthole of Canada”. (I did google that term and in fact Windsor showed up and Stephen Colbert actually called it “earth’s rectum”) Also, another fun fact of Windsor, Ontario is it is actually south of Detroit. (I also googled this and was amazed to learn Windsor’s location. I learn something new every day).

Marcey had her…

mind made up, at an early age, that she wanted to come state side. Her dad remarried when she was 18, and he moved to the Largo/St. Pete area. Every break she had, visited him in Florida because it was a mix of family and the beach. After graduating high school, Marcey went for further edition in Canada to become a Physical Therapist (PT). The program was also accredited in the US, so her license was easily transferable.

In 2009…

visas were run a bit different. Since she was a PT, it was a “fast track” for a work visa because of the shortage of PTs in United States. She also had to be sponsored by a company in the United States where she was tied to working at while on the visa. Once she had her work visa, Brad was able to come to the US on a spousal visa/dependent visa.

Marcey and Brad decided…

to go to the next step of becoming citizens and started to work towards their Green Card. One big difference between a work visa and a green card is, with a green care you are not allowed to be tied to an employer. Also, working with a lawyer is best to makes sure everything is done correctly. They had their green card for nine years, but after five years of having it, you can apply for Citizenship.

They thought that…

when applying for Citizenship it would take a long time. They have heard it taking up to a year if not more. They applied in November 2019, and had a phone call a month later for Biometrics. Biometrics is finger prints, photos, signature, verifying ID, questionnaire of 150 questions to make sure you are not part of a terrorist group, thorough background check, character references, and much more, all done at the immigration office.

The next step…

is being called for the interview. In the interview they ask about, US history, geography, politics, and how system is set up. All possible 100 questions are given to you prior to the test. Marcey and Brad studied every night for a two to three months, till they were called for the interview which was February 5, 2020.

There were supposed to have…

their Oath Ceremony March 19th, 2020 however COVID hit and everything was shut down. One interesting thing Marcey pointed out was, when they opened back up in June to do the Oath Ceremony, not once where they asked to remove their mask, to prove who they were. All the security they went through to get to this point, and now there was not really any security to make sure it was them.

Learning afterwards…

the wait from citizenship is all dependent on what city you are applying in, and what country you are coming from. There could be more of a backlog in other areas like Huston or California compared to Tampa. Also, the cost of Citizenship ($800) increased by 60% in January of 2020, which may be okay for some families, but for a lot this is a great deal of money for immigrants from impoverished countries.

They chose to become citizens…

now because their green cards were expiring next year, and it is the same price to renew as becoming a citizen. They also wanted to participate in November’s Election. Marcey said they wanted to be a part of the process and what was happening in the country vs observing and being a bystander.

Over the last 10 years…

when someone talked about politics Marcey would say “I don’t know, I am Canadian” because she felt she really had no right to comment on anything. Now Brad is able to say what he wants because now he is American.

Another misconception people have…

is you have to give up the citizenship of the country you are from, however this was not true for them. They have dual citizenship, but this is dependent on the country you are from.

Congratulations!

I am glad you guys are a part of our country and welcome to America!