Alien No More

When my husband was still in the service and we were deployed in Korea,  fellow Filipinos there advised me to  apply for citizenship there because it is easier, they say.  The idea toyed in my mind for a while but since my husband was always busy with work, and I was not ready to give up my  Filipino citizenship yet, we abolished the idea of applying there.  When we came back here in 2010, I planned to  apply but then I got cold feet again and said that I will  do it the next year, then the next year.  In 2012, I filled out my application but stored  it away.  It was only last year that I decided to  really push through my plan.  After all, I have been living  here in the US for almost 9 years now so I was ready to give up my former citizenship.

Here's the timeline of my  application process:

• I sent my application on the last week of July
• August 7th - I received a notification from USCIS  that they  received my application already. Application Fee is $680
• August 14th - I got my appointment for Biometrics
• September 4th - I did my Biometrics at Application Support Center  in Pittsburgh.  This is located in Penn Avenue.  MY appointment was 1 but we went there early as we did not know where it was.  We got done  so quick.  Since no photos allowed, I did not bring my camera in my purse, I left it in the car.  I should have  brought it and took pictures outside the  USCIS building hehehe.  Bummer.
• November 14 - I had my Interview.  I was  a nervous wreck lol.  Although I literally memorize every page of the book that they gave me to study on, I was still nervous because of 100 questions that you learned in the book, they only select ten of them to ask you.  The interviewer  was very nice and he made me feel comfortable  so I  was confident in answering his questions.  After getting the first 6 questions right, I was done.  

I was freaking out  when December came as I never got any notification about the Oath ceremony.  I was  worried that they might find wrong in my application and  will go through it again.  I think that the delayed was due to the holiday so I was glad when I got my Oath Taking Ceremony notification after Christmas.  The Oath  Taking ceremony was held where I was interviewed on January  10 at 1:00 pm.  We brought our kids with us.  They only attended school for half a day.

 

I was the very first one to arrived so I got the first seat lol.  The guys that  was in front was the one who interviewed me.

After the Pledge of Allegiance, the Director encouraged us to share our  journey here in the States but I did not have the courage to talk in front (not my kind of thing lol).  Some shared their  stories though which is nice.  The Indian woman made me cry with her speech.  Some who took the Oath are from Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Russia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and some other countries.  I was the only Filipino there.

The Naturalization ceremony program includes  showing a presentation of Faces of America, singing of the National Anthem, welcoming remarks, roll call by country, oath of allegiance, they they showed a  video address from the President, Barack Obama.  The video montage  of "Proud to be an American" make me teary eyed.  The program ended with the presentation of certificates and the rest is photo opp.

I got the love of my life to thank for, for  embarking this journey with me.  Without him, I could have never set my foot here in the United States.

I am glad that this has been done and over with.  It has been bugging me for years, whether or not to apply.  So now, we can all travel, and I will be an Alien, no more.  Next step is for me to apply for  a new passport.  I thank God for giving me my rock, someone that I can depend on for everything.

Family Togetherness #YearofTheHorse

It's been two years now that we started celebrating  holidays at our own abode.  We used to celebrate it at my FIL's home together with the rest of the family but hubby and I feel that it would be best to  be at home during  the holidays so the kids will get used to it .  Here are some of the photos we had  in Celebrating the new year.

The Burritos played monopoly while waiting for the ball to drop.  In previous years, we  let them go to bed before midnight but his year, they asked if they could stay with us so we let them.

Then we witnessed the ball dropped via television and we  took some happy snaps before going to bed.

We visited my FIL on the first day of 2014 and took a photo with him as well.

IN the year of the horse, we look forward to kicking bad habits to get fit and maintain family togetherness and nurture the love that we have for each other.  

Tooth Fairy's Generosity

Both of my kids lost a tooth  this month.  My daughter lost  her cuspid one week before Christmas and our son lost one  on Christmas Eve.  Pardon for the  sugar bugs, he just got done eating cookies when I took the photo lol.


They were very excited  to put it under their pillows and was very pleased to  find  $5 the next morning.  They normally get a couple of dollars for every tooth  they lost but since it was around  Christmas time, the Tooth Fairy was generous and gave them $5 each, wink.

Christmas Gifts #Clothing

Clothing is one of the gifts  that I always get  for my kids.  It's  for practical reason that I do that.  I mean, they use clothes all year long so you can never go wrong with clothes.  Anyway, I let them open some of the gifts yesterday, I know that it's early, but I wanted to make sure that  they like it so I still have time to    replace it  if they don't like it or it doesn't fit right.  

They were so excited and I  am so glad that everything that  me and hubby got fits them so well and that they love them.  Hubby and I picked some  outfits that they can wear for  Christmas as they are part of the Christmas Pageant at church on Christmas Eve.

My son  is very excited   to wear this on Christmas.  These are now  washed, ironed, and ready to be worn in two days.

Hubby went to the store today and he said it's chaotic there.  He got me my new  PC, weeeee, thanks Santa!

Citizenship Interview

It was November the 14th when I had my interview at the USCIS in Pittsburgh.  We asked our children's teachers for them to be excused that day because we had to leave early as my appointment was 9 in the morning.   We did not want to be stuck in the traffic so we left  right around 7  in the morning. 

We arrived  1 and half hours early but glad that we did because it gave me time to calm my nerves.  I was nervous, I am not gonna lie.  I am not good with interviews, in fact I hate  going through an interview.  

The  place where I had my interview was different than the place where I did my  biometrics last September 4th.  

Thanks to God for giving me  the clear mind, I passed the written, reading, and  oral interview.   Now the USCIS officer  told me that the tentative date for the oat h taking ceremony is December 20th and that they would send me the letter to when and where it was going to be held.  Up until now, I haven't received the  letter which is   making me  worried.  But it says on the  paper that he gave me that the USCIS will have 120 days to decide whether they will approved my application or not.  So,  passing the  interview  does not guarantee that I will be granted the citizenship that I applied for.  

I am keeping my fingers crossed  and praying that they would grant my application.  I am tired of being the  only alien in the family hehehe.