The New Americans: March 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

My Personal Quest through the United States Immigration Process

Hello All,

I would like to not only introduce you to the fact that I am personally on the quest for my American citizenship but also let you know how it is going...

The Decision
I have lived in the States for about 14 years. Within the past 6 months I decided to apply for my American citizenship.

I think the main reason I decided to go for it is because I am really interested in the Peace Corps and amoung a few other things is one of the benefits of being an American. I researched many other overseas humanitarian organizations like the Peace Corps to see if there was a possibility of participating without going through the long process of naturalization.

To make a long story short, there is no other organization like the Peace Corps that is as available to me as it is. So, I filed the 10 page Application for Naturalization, Form N-400, along with the $675 filing and biometrics fee.

I went to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Tucson and got my fingerprints taken last week. I also received the study guide for the NEW citizenship test as well as sample questions from the OLD citizenship test.

Referring to my earlier post about American Assortment if you apply for naturalization/citizenship ON or AFTER Oct. 1, 2008 you will take the new test.

I am actually quite impressed of the format and how easy it is to understand the material presented. The book consists of the civics and English sections to help with studying for the interview and the test.

CIVICS
American Government
A. Principles of American Democracy
B. System of Government
C. Rights and Responsibilities

American History
A. Colonial Period and Independence
B. 1800s
C. Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

Integrated Civics
A. Geography
B. Symbols
C. Holidays

ENGLISH
Speaking
Answer questions during the interview and your English proficiency is determined by the officer
Reading
Read one out the three given sentences aloud; proficiency is determined by how well you read
Writing
Write one out of the three given sentences correctly; proficiency is determined by how well you write the sentence

There are photos in the study book as well which makes it more user-friendly and interesting. Kudos to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for creating a helpful tool!

The next part of the quest is the test and the interview, that is if the FBI approves my fingerprints ;)

Monday, March 23, 2009

Stephanie Elizondo Griest

Today, I would like to introduce Stephanie Elizondo Griest, 34, a successful writer, speaker and traveler. She comes from a Mexican-American family. Her mother is Mexican and her father is American. Stephanie has written for the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as other publications. She has written 3 books in her lifetime thus far. One of which has won her numerous awards -- Around the Bloc.

Around the Bloc conveys Stephanie’s experiences traveling around the world, including Russia, China and Cuba. The following are previews of her experiences which can be found on her Web site.

In Moscow, Russia, Stephanie volunteered at a children's shelter, fell in love with an ex-soldier who slit his wrists to escape clean-up duties at Chernobyl and experimented with vodka.

In Beijing, China, Stephanie ate fish lips, chicken feet, and yak penis soup, learned the art of saving face the hard way and dated a Chinese college student.

In Havana, Cuba, Stephanie stalked Fidel Castro, marched with 100,000 mothers demanding the return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba, belly danced and smoked a lot of Cohibas.

Around the Bloc won "Book of the Year" by the Mayor's Book Club of Austin in 2007, Texas; "Best Travel Book of 2004" by the National Association of Travel Journalists of America, and "Best Book of 2004" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Stephanie reads parts of Around the Bloc with music entertainment.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Asim's American Dream

The Motivation
Asim Badar, 28, moved to the U.S. in 1999 when he was 20 years old. But the journey started well before that with his father, Major Badar Uz Zaman, who visited the U.S. for the first time in 1985. Major Zaman videotaped his trip to the East Coast and showed the video to the family. In the video, Asim saw a building with an iconic image that he associates with the U.S.

“It was the biggest building I had ever seen at the time,” Asim said.

The sign on the building pictured cowboys and horses and read, “Welcome to the Marlboro Country." Although he has never been a smoker, Asim is familiar with the American cigarette company from its distinct commercial advertising.

One of the motivational factors that lead Asim to the U.S. was watching American movies. "Road Trip" in particular showed Asim the social aspects of American college life and inspired him to start planning his American future. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, corvettes and hamburgers also influenced Asim's planning.

“All of these things that I liked that happened to be from the U.S.,” Asim said.

Asim landed in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Aug. 19, 2001. Roughly three weeks later, the World Trade Center was hit and Sept. 11 went down in American history.

"What will happen now?" Asim said.

Rumors spread around that Middle Eastern people would not have any job opportunities. But Asim wasn’t bothered by them.

“Things have changed but I don’t blame anyone,” Asim said.

His family wanted him to come home but Asim was determined to finish what he came to do.

“My family was worried, especially my mother,” Asim said. “I’ve never lived on my own so of course she was worried.”

The American Dream
“The American dream means having a good life, a very comfortable life and security," Asim said.

Asim stayed in school and graduated with a degree in international business. He now works as a business system analyst for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Asim has a work visa and hopes to get his green card soon. He will stay in the U.S. for a while but doesn’t know what will come in the future.

“Coming to United States was a personal decision,” Asim said. “It wasn’t economic or that there was [anything] lacking in Pakistan.”

Asim came to the States looking for the American dream. After traveling around the world he is pleased he chose the U.S. to further his education.

“America is the one place that people are free,” Asim said.

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Photos courtesy of Asim Badar

Monday, March 9, 2009

"I am an American"

Cynthia Weber
The Lancaster University, Politics and International Relations professor, Cynthia Weber, researches, writes, produces and creates multimedia presentations amoung other projects concerning humanitarian ideas.

The following video is a collection of post 9/11 American citizen profiles.

Here are two completely different stories involving American citizens.

Guadalupe Denogean
Guadalupe Denogean retired from the U.S. Marine Corps due to being "seriously injured" during the Iraq war. Guadalupe talks about his trials to become a U.S. citizen and his eventual fast-track to citizenship.

Some interesting marks Guadalupe made in this video:

"It's ironic that you have to get injured to become a citizen"
Key to America = American citizenship

Greg and Glenda Avery
In this video, Greg and Glenda talk about their experience being homeless after the catastrophic results of Hurricane Katrina.

A few interesting points they bring up:

Refugee vs. evacuee
"Is there hypocrisy in our democracy?"

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The following Web sites made this post what it is:
openDemocracy - free thinking for the world
Merriam-Webster - online dictionary
youtube - broadcast yourself

Monday, March 2, 2009

Tourism

Tourism can change a city. It can also change a person. Prior to moving to the U.S., my family and I visited friends in Tucson, AZ. It was that visit that persuaded my mum to move us half way across the world.

I recently visited Las Vegas, Nevada, also known as "Sin City" or "Lost Wages" to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday and realized I wasn't the only one with the intention to celebrate.

Nevada's Senator Harry Reid spoke of Las Vegas' tourism Feb. 11 on the U.S. Senate floor. "There are 140,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas," Reid said. "That is far more than any other place in the world."

Las Vegas attracts all kinds of people. Living in Tucson, I am used to interacting with Hispanics but in Vegas, I was walking the streets with more Asians than Hispanics.