U.S. Citizenship | Golden Skate

U.S. Citizenship

Piel

On Edge
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
What is the procedure to gain U.S. citizenship? It seems that Tanith Belbin has been working on this since before the last Olympics and still will not be a citizen in time for the 2006 Olympics. OTOH skaters that I've never heard of before seem to already have theirs or will be citizens in time for Turino.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Well it depends on if they're married or just living here...

With Tanith it's been said that she applied for it right before Sept. 11, and the paperwork was lost or misfiled or something so they had to start over... I'm not sure if that's the true story, but I've read it everywhere online...

OT: Denis Petukhov goes in on Tuesday to become a citizen! :agree: :rock:
 
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Piel

On Edge
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Jul 27, 2003
Why does being married make one more worthy of being a U.S. citizen? :scratch: :banging:
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
Piel said:
Why does being married make one more worthy of being a U.S. citizen? :scratch: :banging:

I have no idea. :laugh: Considering I was born and raised in this country I really don't know much about the process. *shrugs*
 

Piel

On Edge
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Joined
Jul 27, 2003
But Toni I thought you were Alaskan! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Just kidding Toni. Every year the Girl Scout troops in our area choose a different country to represent at our Thinking Day international celebration. You would not believe the number of adults and girls who ask for the countries of Alaska or Hawaii!
 

merrywidow

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
It is marriage to an American Citizen that speeds up the process. I imagine that is due to an assumption that you will be less likely to be a burden on taxpayers than if you enter the country without anyone sponsoring you or guaranteeing you a job. I'm not an immigration expert, tho.
 

STL_Blues_fan

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Well you have to get a Green Card 1st. Marriage to an American Citizen speeds up the process but it still takes forever. You have to be in the country for 5 years before you can apply for US citezenship. That is a general rule but it maybe different if you are married to a citizen.

Also, you can only get the Green card only after living in the States for 12 months (and the process is long, especially now). It all adds up to 6 years or so. I got my citizenship before 9-11 and I think the process took about 12-18 months. But INS is notorious for loosing papers and then NOT letting you know about it. It's up to you to keep calling and calling..to one of those numbers that the wait is an hour before anybody picks up the phone, only to give you another # to dial.

Basically, Tanith is grawing through what everybody does... Also, you may recall that Peter Chernyshev obtained his citizenship shortly before SLC Games and he has been in the States since early-to mid 90's or so.

I am not sure this helps, but that's what I know about the process.

Yana
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
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Jun 27, 2003
Piel said:
But Toni I thought you were Alaskan! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Just kidding Toni. Every year the Girl Scout troops in our area choose a different country to represent at our Thinking Day international celebration. You would not believe the number of adults and girls who ask for the countries of Alaska or Hawaii!

I can actually believe that... there are people on other boards who will not believe I'm an American, and therefore I have business talking politics about "their" country.... HELLO! 49th state here! :laugh: :rock:
 

Ptichka

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Jul 28, 2003
I don't have too much to add to what Yana said, except that (AFAIK) it's easier for persons married to American citizens to obtain green cards, not the actual citizenships.

Also, believe me, obtaining citizenship through marriage only is no piece of cake. You basically have to proove to strangers that your marriage is real; they get very personal! I have several friends who have chosen to go the "most needed person" route just to avoid the humiliation.
 

RealtorGal

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Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Ptichka said:
I have several friends who have chosen to go the "most needed person" route just to avoid the humiliation.

Ptichka, I don't know what you mean by that...?

Okay, my husband and I were living abroad and planning to move back to the U.S. My father had to sign a document saying he would be "responsible" for my husband for, I think, 5 years. In other words, my husband would not be a burden to U.S. society. We were interviewed by the U.S. consulate abroad, he asked us each a few basic questions, the green card was sent to my mother's house in the U.S. very shortly thereafter and my husband could then work in the U.S. Three years later, he got his U.S. citizenship. I'm afraid it was pretty much a walk in the park.

Funny story about our final "interview" with immigration for the "final green card" (one year after he got the temporary one). I brought my wedding album along (I had heard that was a good idea). We waited for hours until we were called, even though we had an appointment. Turns out the entire dept. was behind schedule because someone in the office had died and they all went to the funeral that day. The lady asked us all of 3 questions, no more, one of those was "Have you ever been divorced from each other?" We looked at each other in horror and said, "No! Of course not!" and Ms. INS said, "Okay, you're approved." I then said, "Does this mean you don't want to look at our wedding album?" and she laughed and said, "Some other time." :biggrin: :laugh:

Having heard all about fake marriages for immigration purposes, and because she was a very nice lady, I just HAD to ask her, "Well, we're obviously the real deal but how did you KNOW that?" She said that she'd been doing this for a long time and she just KNEW who was real and who was not. She could just sense it.
 
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Kurt's Girl

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Tonichelle said:
I can actually believe that... there are people on other boards who will not believe I'm an American, and therefore I have business talking politics about "their" country.... HELLO! 49th state here! :laugh: :rock:

OH it's so incredibly true! I have some rich stories from a friend of mine who works in the (huge) Alaskan tourist industry--people *constantly* call his office asking 1. do they need a passport to get here? and 2. should they exchange their money before or after they arrive? :rofl:

I'm with Toni--WE IN THE 49th STATE REPRESENT YO! :rock:
 

katherine2001

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Piel said:
But Toni I thought you were Alaskan! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Just kidding Toni. Every year the Girl Scout troops in our area choose a different country to represent at our Thinking Day international celebration. You would not believe the number of adults and girls who ask for the countries of Alaska or Hawaii!

The same thing happens with people from New Mexico. People think they are part of Mexico. I guess people who called trying to get tickets for the SLC Olympics were told they needed to contact their embassy. "New Mexico" (a magazine) often has stories about dealing with clueless government officials and others who don't have a clue that New Mexico is part of the United States. I guess people don't have to memorize all 50 states anymore.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
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Jun 27, 2003
Katherine - no most schools dont... my junior high has only one teacher who will fail you if you can't name all 50 states, but my bet is that his failing them would be overturned if a parent complained to the principal (not saying Mr. Summer would just overturn it, the school board/admin would have to do it LOL)

I would probably forget a couple, just because listing all 50 is tough you're bound to repeat LOL but I do know the difference between "real" states and "fake" ones...
 

4dogknight

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
There was a game making the rounds some months ago that pitted one's hand / eye coordination and one's knowledge of US geography.

Here's the site.

WARNING: This game is addictive.

4dk - who always has trouble placing those pesky little New England states like Delaware and Rhode Island.
 

Ptichka

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Jul 28, 2003
RealtorGal, I am sure that was some time ago. The rules are becoming tougher every year. Also, people from different countries are treated differently. The assumption about the Israilis is that they wouldn't break too many laws to leave their country. It's a little more difficult for Russians. I am sure it's harder still for, say, Syrians.
 

STL_Blues_fan

Final Flight
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Jan 24, 2004
Ptichka said:
RealtorGal, I am sure that was some time ago. The rules are becoming tougher every year. Also, people from different countries are treated differently. The assumption about the Israilis is that they wouldn't break too many laws to leave their country. It's a little more difficult for Russians. I am sure it's harder still for, say, Syrians.


I think it's the times now vs the country of origin. My husband is British and it took us forever to get his Green card. The temp green card was very easy to get (it was also pre 9-11). He had to re-apply for the permanent 2 years later (post 9-11) and it took another 18 months. We were asked some nasty questions during the 1st interview and yes, we brought all the "evidence" - and they looked. So it didn't matter that he was born in a visa waiver country.

On the other hand, a close friend's husband had no issues getting his citizenship before 9-11 and he hails from Iran. Of course, his family fled the revolution in the late 1970's, that might have helped.

The only thing that speeds up the process now if you are in the military.

Yana

Edited to add:

just read the USFSA article on Denis being sworn in tomorrow. According to this article,

"A person who obtains his or her permanent residency through marriage to a United States citizen is eligible to apply for naturalization after three years of marriage. "

I guess Melissa and Denis are a very lucky couple. They have been married for only 4 years, so it looks like INS was actually doing their job!
 
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KwanFan1212

Joey Votto Fangirl
Final Flight
Joined
Jun 24, 2003
This is a really interesting thread. See what I miss when I am stuck with a ghetto computer?! LOL ;)

So far, I've learned that the INS doesn't always do their jobs very well, there are actually people out there that don't think Alaska is an actual US state (where've they been?!), some people have become US citizens very easily and others have not depending on when and where they went through the process, and that that darned States game is VERY addictive. Good stuff!

Slightly OT, anyone remember that game on Friends where you had to name all 50 states in like six minutes or something? It was on one of the Thanxgiving episodes. You always forget some of them apparently. I think we need to try that out here sometime, LOL =)
 

Jill

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
I don't remember all that's involved in getting your citizenship, other than lots of fees, and enough forms to make a small phone book. My husband is Filippino/Chinese, and it's been nearly 20 years since we got married and he became a citizen about 5 years after that. I guess the powers that be assumed that if he's bad enough to be married to me, he'd be a good man to have on their side. :rock:
 

SingAlto

On the Ice
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
My brother-in-law is from Venezuela, but he's been in this country for over 40 years. He became a citizen a few years ago, and it seemed like it was a breeze for him to become one. I don't recall it taking very long at all.
 

Ptichka

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Jul 28, 2003
If your case is straight forward (i.e. you already have a green card) AND if they don't mess up, it is indeed a breeze. If it's anything subjective like marriage it becomes more difficult. When they mess up though... When my parents and I applied for citizenship, my father and I got it without problems. My mom, though, was a different story. We heard nothing from INS for a couple of years. They didn't exactly loose her case since every time she'd go to the local INS office they had no problem looking her up at the computer. No lawyer would take her case because she wasn't actually refused. Finally, we called the office of our Congressman Barney Frank. I have no idea whom he people called, but a weak later my mother got the letter iviting her to a very small (about 10 people, no pomp or anything) swearing in ceremony. Of course, when she got her citizenship certificate and looked it over, it said "Male" under gender. :laugh:
 
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