A notice to appear for a citizenship interview finally came and I head up to Seattle.
INS or now USCIS has come a long way.
When I first came in 1999, INS was perceived as a ruthless and mistrusting organization. Immigrants were considered borderline criminals, who must proof the innocence of their character and intentions otherwise accused of lying and violating the law. Even a small mistake or inaccuracy could put a person under a risk of deportation and being banned from entering US for a long number of years.
Information was not readily accessible. To get a simple piece of information, one had to go to a local office. Another option was to seek an advice of an immigration attorney and pay a bunch for it. As everyone head over to an INS office for help, thus were created famous long immigration lines that were going out the office and along the street, were people stood for hours with no guarantee to be seen. If did not make it, after standing in line for a few hours, one is invited to try again the following day. Fun…
I remember standing in line in the year of 2000, outside an INS office , to get an explanation on a notice they sent me. There were two officers working the line and answering questions: one clearly belonged to a category of mean and another one seemed ok.
After standing under Seattle rain for a couple of hours, I turned religious and started praying and keeping my fingers crossed to get to a nicer officer, which I did. Officer was not that nice after all, deliberately not hearing and not understanding my accent, then turned me down and sent me home with practically nothing: he adviced to write to the INS if I have any questions, which I knew I could do, it just takes 6 months for them to respond.
2 hours of pre-podcast existing time of standing in line was wasted.
I have never had a great deal of patience. Others tried to teach me patience and failed. Patience never got me anywhere: I like to make things happen, not to wait for things to happen to me. I use my creativity and persistence to get what I want and that indeed paid off.
Looking at INS as an organization now I am glad to see positive changes. Information is well organized and available via site, there is an 800 number for 24/7 customer support and you can actually reach a live rep trained on customer service! You can register your own file online and check status that way. Downloadable forms and brochures, online flashcards and tests – all make it so much easier to obtain the necessary information.
INS office I appeared at was a modern glass and stainless steel clean building with clean bathrooms (!). Officer Howard greeted me politely – interview was personable and in no way biased, 10 min later I was done with a ceremony scheduled for two weeks later.
All in all, technology is what makes it all cohesive and advanced. Information is more accessible and it is great to see that technology organized immigration files, made information accessible, and reduced the troubles of an immigrant. If one does have to wait at an INS office, iPod or iPhone loaded with podcasts makes it a time well spent.
Perhaps by becoming a citizen, I sign up to be personally responsible to repay 100K+ towards an outside debt, created by current government…
I am happy to complite a journey of becoming a US citizen and look forward to a ceremony on September 30. I also look forward to voting this November.
