Eligible

I became eligible to apply for US citizenship last Friday. Of course, I had other things on my mind that day; like travelling from Nice, France back to Phoenix and travelling the very next day to the Philippines.

For an event to which I've been counting down the days this must seem almost cavalier. The truth is that I don't have the US$390 application fee. It's going to be a balancing act over the next few months; I'm going to be visiting friends and family in Australia next month and need to have some money whilst I'm there but on the other hand it is important to me to get that application in 'tout suite'! (I hope I spelled that correctly).

The rules on eligibility for naturalisation are pretty simple.

If you're married to a US citizen you need to have 3 years residency; if not you need 5 years. Of that period, 50% plus 1 day has to have been spent physically in the US and for 100% of that time an address within the US has to have been your permanent home. No leaving the US on a one way ticket! (There are some exceptions - that's a very simplified version that covers most immigrants).

I'm still well within those guidelines but the longer I delay the greater the chance, given my employment, that I'll slip out of the guidelines. Indeed, my predecessor (of whos code I've complained so often :-) ) failed to meet the physical presence guidelines last year, which probably explains why he's been so adamant in his refusal to undertake travel outside the US this year.

I've touched on some reasons, in the past, why I want to become a US citizen, the most important of which is that I want to participate in the democratic process. When you've had the vote for 33 years it's hard to give it up.

But there are other reasons, most of which are probably unknown to most Americans. For instance, my wife is my immigration sponsor. As part of her sponsorship she was required to sign a binding contract with the Feds that she would support me without the aid of any federal welfare for herself, her kids or me, for an indefinite period. The things that terminate that indefinite period are my death, my having worked for 120 months in full time employment, my leaving the US permanently or my becoming a citizen. I know I'd think more than twice about signing such an agreement!

Another reason is that for good, or for ill, I now live in the US. Doesn't mean I either want to or can spend 100% of my time inside those borders. But as a foreigner I have to run the gauntlet of immigration every time I want to return. I've written long and often (and probably boringly) about the perils of that process. But once I take that oath and get the certificate I can and will apply for a US passport. Then the only peril I'll run is the risk that my name duplicates that of a 'person of interest' to the Department of Homeland Security.

Actually, should that happen I'll be better off in some ways than Americans born in America. Unlike them I've provided extensive biographical and biometric details of myself. I've been fingerprinted to within inches of my life and the naturalisation process involves a repeat. So there will be lots of evidence on file to prove that I was born in Melbourne Australia and have never been to whichever hotspot is the current focus of interest. (I better hope that neither the Philippines or France are the source of some terrorist atrocity).

There are other requirements. I need to pass a test on American history and political structure. It involves such questions as which were the 13 colonies represented by the stripes; how many stars on the flag; who are the senators from my state of residence (Flake and McCain if you're wondering if I know); who succeeds the Vice President if both he and the President are taken out in a hit and so on.

Then I need to pass a written and oral English test. Not sure I'll pass that. If they ask me to recite the alphabet that last letter is going to trip me up!

So financial pressure has held me up. Heck, financial pressure holds up a lot of things. But I'll get there.

I've written enough for now. Time I went and watched a Russian movie here in the Philippines! Cheers!