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 ;)