Proud to be an American

By Lydia Laythe, Staff Writer laythe16@up.edu

Citizenship is something most American citizens take for granted, but two members of the UP community can express the appreciation of the long, hard road to becoming a citizen of the United States of America. Senior Bianca Singh, originally from Canada, and mathemtaics professor Aaron Wootton, who was born in England, both received their citizenship this past year.

"I was really excited to get my citizenship so I could register to vote for a candidate," Singh said. "With voting, I think a lot of people take for granted how much their vote actually counts. I think it's still important to stand up for something and be politically active."

Singh applied for citizenship in March of 2012 because, for her, it was time. Beyond the right to vote, a big factor in Singh's push for citizenship was her desire to join the Peace Corps.

"It's important to give back," she said. "And I've always wanted to do Peace Corps."

In contrast, Wootton has a different view of his decision about citizenship.

"It was never my intention to stay when I moved here [in 1998]," Wootton said. "I was going to get my graduate degree and then move back to the U.K. During graduate school I met [the woman] who is now my wife."

Wootton said his wife had wanted to stay close to family, so he understood that moving back to the UK was not an option. He and his wife got married in 2004, and that same year he started the process of applying for residency, a green card, and eventually citizenship.

The process for citizenship is fairly simple - on paper.

According to the American Immigration Center website, "to become a citizen after birth, you must: apply for "derived" or "acquired" citizenship through parents, [or] apply for naturalization".

Singh, who has lived in the U.S. since she was twelve years old, said the process involves initial requirements such as: being over 18 years old and being a lawful, permanent resident for at least five years.

Wootton expressed a disappointment in the personal interactions between the applicants and the people working in the immigration offices during his citizenship process.

"I think that at some point, you're really treated like a number as opposed to a person, especially before you become a resident," Wootton said. " I can understand the need for security, but getting a smile from some of those people or a "good morning" [would have been nice]."

Wootton also expressed a benefit of becoming a citizen as better treatment while traveling.

"Sometimes they treat you really badly when you're not a citizen and you come through passport control," Wootton said. "Even when you have a green card, sometimes they say "what are you doing here? This is not your home."

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, the fees for filing and biometrics ranges between $595 and $680 dollars.

"It's expensive," Wootton said. "Every step of the way, you have to pay someone."

But after all the paper work is done and fees are paid, the process becomes a waiting game.

"I waited forever it seemed like," Singh said. "But I didn't care too much. It wasn't on the top of my list of things to get done. It wasn't like I was about to get kicked out of the country."

Wootton's process went quicker than Singh's. He received citizenship in September of last year.

"I had the advantage of going through marriage, [which] is the quickest way by far to gain citizenship. Almost every other way takes a lot longer and is a lot harder. I also think my background is very useful in the process," Wootton said. "I'm coming from a country that is roughly the same level standard of living, and the U.K. is an ally of the U.S. Also, I have a good education which this country seems to love. As soon as I say I have a doctorate in mathematics things move a lot smoother."

The USCIS website explained, "most naturalization applicants are required to take a test on English [and] Civics (U.S. history and government)."

When Singh finally received her letter, she was given a date on which she would have her interview, and take both the English and Civics tests. According to Wootton, the test was purely memorization because applicants are simply given a booklet of possible questions and then asked ten of them on the test.

"A lot of the questions are so irrelevant that you don't really understand [why they're on the test]," Singh said. "I really don't think it's necessary to know which president served during WWII. That's not something that's crucial to being an American."

Wootton and Singh were both very happy to become U.S. citizens.

"It's a very good thing that I became a US citizen," Wootton said. "For me, moving from the U.K. to the U.S., having lived here for 12 years already, nothing changed in my life."

The only time Wootton experienced major change was when he first moved to the U.S.

"The whole thing was a major adjustment," Wootton said. "I went to the University of Arizona, which of course is in the middle of the desert and England is not a desert."

Wootton also noticed a difference in the people and general culture of the United States.

"In Arizona, people were not as friendly as in the U.K.," he said. "In the U.K., when you move into a place, you know your neighbors. But in Arizona, I moved into a place and never knew any of my neighbors because people would keep to themselves and wouldn't communicate, and I wasn't used to that."

However, when Wootton moved to Oregon in 2005 he found the people of the Pacific Northwest much similar to those in the U.K.

"I think I expected the two countries to be much more similar because we share a lot of common things, but there really are big, big differences," Wootton said.

What made Portland similar to the UK that Wootton loves?

"People are very friendly in the Portland area," he said.