The Way We Were

[Peachey 10]

Hi Everyone! I'm one of those that fell off the map I guess. We bought a house, I got a job, we have 3 cats and a puppy now.

I remember when a bunch of us were all filing for K1s and then a bunch of us ended up getting interviews on the same day. That was fun getting to meet everyone. I actually see one person quite frequently (I forget her VJ name), and I keep in contact with Missa as well.

Finally got my ROC packet together this weekend, then forgot to take it to work to mail it... /sigh

Hope everyone is doing well! I'll try and stop by more often

[JillA 2]

Thanks all!! This is so funny that you mentioned about not having to put a bill in a folder, that's exactly how I felt! I'm so relieved to not have to prove my marriage anymore to anyone!!

Congrats Jill! I just got approved for naturalization as well (May 16). It's nice to be done with USCIS. It feels different being a US citizen ... surreal, actually ... I can't explain exactly, but I feel more like I belong. The other day, the water bill came in and for the first time in six years I realized I didn't have to make a copy of yet another piece of paper and stick it in a file, nor would I have to ever again. Sometimes, the little things hit home ...

It's hard saying the part where you give up loyalty to other countries ... I think it will be easier to say when you think of the tattoo on your back. I remember Flames saying he wore his Canadian Flag socks at his oath ceremony. Thank goodness Canada recognizes dual citizenship, even if the U.S. doesn't. Going through this whole process sure makes you feel your Canadianness in a way you never would if you stayed in Canada. You can take the Canadian out of Canada, but you can't take the Canada out of the Canadian. Eh!

[Gypsyangel 11]

Thanks all!! This is so funny that you mentioned about not having to put a bill in a folder, that's exactly how I felt! I'm so relieved to not have to prove my marriage anymore to anyone!!

Exactly! The whole process is this weird invasion of your privacy. I understand the reasons and am not objecting to them, but it's still weird. Like at the medical in Toronto, when I got into the gown and the doctor did the exam ... part of the exam being a peek under the hood to make sure I was a woman. None of my Canadian or American friends had to go through that administrative procedure to get married. LOL.

Plus, I was still hassled at the border when I got my 10 year green card. I thought that at that point it would be clear sailing. Nope. Fingerprints. Wait. Bleh. Travelling in June ... waiting for my US passport ...

I didn't have to show any evidence at my interview either. They IO said my file was already way too thick for a straighforward case. Ooops! For Naturalization, I only sent in 3 years of tax transcripts as proof of marriage because that's all they asked for (of course, I brought a mess of things to the interview which I'm looking forward to shredding). I guess overdoing it for ROC at every other stage paid off! It was interesting ... he showed me my 4" thick file and everything from my K1 to AOS, etc. was in that huge file. I don't know why that's surprising, but I thought more of it would be comptuerized.

PS. I'm not tooooo far from Doylestown ... Haddon Heights, near Cherry Hill.

JoeCanuck said: "And even with this oath, deep down I'm knowing that I'm still Canadian and I still love Canada even though I love this country too. So there's pluses and minuses to this whole dual citizenship thing."