My Memory Lane To USA

I just told my American friends not to be surprised if they see me featured on Vox on Youtube in the near future, as another American deported by ICE.  This is a possible scenario for me but I hope the chance of this happening to me is zero.  If only ICE knocks on my door now and demands me to present proof of my legal stay in the USA, I have nothing to show. At this moment, I have no valid visa, I have no green card, I have no certificate of naturalization.  I only have a valid passport issued by my native country that I haven't used to travel out of the USA and that is blank. This passport only proves that I'm a citizen of my native country and it will be handy should I be deported by ICE.  I don't mind the deportation at all just I don't want to be in the detention center since I hear all this horrible stories about jails in USA. My initial visa stamp to enter the USA as a professional worker  was on this passport that expired a year ago and was take...

One of the prototypes of social security card shown on the Social Security Administration website.  I haven't updated my new U.S. citizenship status with the Social Security Administration yet. I'm still having the old social security card with my old name. (Yes, I changed my name during the naturalization process.)  I was told at the oath taking ceremony that I must wait at least 30 days before going to the office of social security to update my new citizenship status.   Like most new citizens who are always overthinking about how to follow the U.S. law to the T, I'm starting to question, is it really 30 days? Is it really that long?  Is it even reasonable it takes this long?  Did I hear it wrong at the oath taking ceremony?  Now, I'm starting to go crazy.  Is this sad?  I think this has to do with the trauma of waiting in line for so long  to become a U.S. citizen. The many years of feeling insecure about  my future in the USA h...

This is the welcome video I saw at the oath taking ceremony.  There was a lot of applause from the thousands of new Americans at the end of the President's speech.  So to all the Americans who don't like Donald Trump and who want to leave the USA because of him, you won't be missed.  For every American citizen who doesn't like Donald Trump, there are a lot  more new Americans who like him. Applause from thousands of new citizens happen almost every month in my sanctuary city.  The more Trump hating Americans "actually" leave the USA, the more room for new comers.    I was surprised  that there was so much applause during the introduction of Donald Trump as the President and at the end of his welcome speech.  TV shows like "The View" and others make me think that I can be among the few immigrants who aren't Trump-haters. It's not the case in reality. As to why the mainstream media under-estimate Donald Trump's appeal to naturali...

Finally, my life as an immigrant in the USA is ending. I will soon begin a new life after I complete my citizenship application process.  No, I'm not one of those whom the media would like to interview as a soon-to-be deportee under the "Trump Administration".  So I don't get to go on TV to shed my tears. But still, it doesn't mean my journey as an immigrant was without my share of distress, heartbreak and tears. Immigrant or not, everybody has lots of sad moments in our lives to talk about.  Some of us get to tell our sad tales and cry on American TV, others can write a book, a diary or a blog about their sad stories, while some just live in silence, prefer to not talk about their heartbreaking experience and relive it. (Okay, now I'm feeling I'm starting to drift off to a topic that belongs to another blog....) So, back to my story, after more than 7 months since I mailed out my application (Form N-400) and the  $725 ($640 application fees +$85 bio...