A Naturalized Citizen

After almost nine years of living in the U.S., and five years of being married, David has become an American citizen. We went down to the I.N.S. on the 14th for the ceremony. It was kind of cheesy, actually. They had, "I'm Glad to be an American" playing in the background, with a slide show with soldiers, and babies waving flags. Very patriotic. :) It's really exciting to not ever have to deal with the U.S.C.I.S. (United States Citizens and Immigration Services) ever again for ourselves. Imagine the pain of the D.M.V. times 10. Yuck! So, Dave is no longer a South African citizen, and he can vote in the upcoming elections. Nice. I'm sure it must be mixed feelings to renounce the country of your birth, but the benefits outweigh the negatives. Now we can sponsor his Dad and Mom so that they can get their permanent resident cards. That's one of the big reasons we've decided to go ahead with the naturalization process (he could have just stayed a permanent resident, instead of becoming a citizen). So, all in all, we're pretty stoked. No more trips to Dallas to wait in line for two hours. No more forms that can only be signed in black ink. No more fingerprinting fees, or filing fees. No more pictures that have to be perfect. No more I.N.S.!