Becoming a U.S. citizen

Anyone who has been through U.S. immigration process knows how frustrating it can be. You send in your application, then you wait for months, sometimes even years for a decision. For some applications, you can find the processing time online so you know roughly how long you have to wait. But when the application involves FBI name check, like the citizenship application I have been in, the wait seems endless at time, because USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has no control as to how long it will take FBI to clear the applicant. So when I received a letter from USCIS last week, I almost couldn't believe that the wait is almost over. The letter is short and sweet:

You are hereby notified to appear for a Naturalization Oath Ceremony on:
    "date"

at:    US DISTRICT COURT
        "address"

Please report promptly at "time"


You must bring the following with you:
......

Proper attire should be worn.

So I am going to become a U.S. citizen after all these years!

Immigration timeline:
02/2002 - Applied for family-based permanent residence (I-485 & I-130)
07/2002 - Been fingerprinted for I-485
09/2002 - Been informed of interview date for permanent residence application
09/2002 - Got medical exam from an immigration approved physician
09/2002 - Been interviewed by local immigration officer, got I-551 passport stamp on site, which allowed me to reeneter U.S.
11/2002 - Received conditional green card
07/2004 - Petition to remove conditions on residence (I-751)
06/2005 - Applied for citizenship (N-400)
09/2005 - Been fingerprinted for N-400
10/2005 - Been interviewed by local immigration officer for both I-751 and N-400, passed tests of English and U.S. history and government
06/2008 - Been fingerprinted for N-400 again, because according to FBI, fingerprint results expire after 15 months
08/2008 - Been informed of oath ceremony date

[ilj84]

赞同Q的话，您真是不知足啊！饱汉子不知道饿汉子饥，尤其是不知道那些辛辛苦苦却等待绿卡遥遥无期。看来真的是嫁得好比较重要。

[xux]

Thanks Quarx for stopping by. I won't deny I was lucky to get my GC very quickly. But I did wait a long time to get my citizenship. I am a traveler. A U.S. passport will help me to pursue my childhood dream of worldwide traveling. I was counting days in the past 3+ years wondering when would that happen.

[Quarx]

Come on! you are so lucky : only 9 months (02/2002 - 09/2002) to get ur GreenCard! Now you complain "too long" for Citizenship?!

Noticed your greencard is based on "Family apply", lucky you! Many many chinese students with Ph.D from Top USA universities who apply GC by their own, even got denied for no reason, especially in economy downtime 2002-2004.