I'm officially...

[Musicqueen]

Pepe...sorry...I truly did not get your joke...I think you will be much better off doing whatever it is you do know...forget about comedy!!!

DRMarine...I started the process this year, Jan. 8, by March I went to take my fingerprints, in July my interview and now the oath ceremony...total 9 months...like a baby!!!

I don't know why it's taking so long for you...and you're in the Armed Forces!!!

Better check with them again...it's way too long to wait!!!

Nice to hear back from you, though...Keep posting!

Tony...don't worry, I already sent in my for my voter registration card...That was another one of the reasons I went through with the process after all these years...I will not allow any more "confussion" at voting time from my "fellow Americans" If my ONE vote can make a difference...it sure will!!!

 

[MommC]

DRMarine....it Does vary state to state. Took my son five yrs to get permanent residency and he has to wait another 5-7 (I forget) to apply for citizenship (Georgia).
Have a cousin in California- 10 yrs almost and still doesn't have her permanent residency-which you need before you can apply for citizenship. Maybe because MQ was there as a permanent resident for a long time before she applied??? Also maybe because all her other "close" relatives already had theirs??

 

[Musicqueen]

No, MommC...they have been granting naturalization papers really fast here in Florida for the last couple of years...especially when it's election time...for some reason...

But I truly have never heard of anybody having to wait for so long as you state...or as long as DRMarine has been waiting...

The fact that you're in the country for a long time or relatives that are citizens doesn't play any role in the process either.

As far as I know, after being in the country as a legal resident for 5 years, you can apply for your naturalization papers. And it usually takes less than a year (7-9 mos. at the most!) to get it...

 

[Tony Cabrera]

Musicqueeen, I would do that later down the road. I am fairly new
here. thans anyway
regards, Tony

 

[Jersey Devil]

Congratulations and welcome aboard PAISANA!

 

[Tony C]

Tony...don't worry, I already sent in my for my voter registration card...That was another one of the reasons I went through with the process after all these years...I will not allow any more "confussion" at voting time from my "fellow Americans" If my ONE vote can make a difference...it sure will!!!

Now don't do nothing silly and vote for McBride!

Check out my show on Sunday morning!

Tony C.

 

[DRMarine]

BS!!!

I think the INS needs a complete overhaul because there is some shady S****t going on in that agency!! How can it take a person in Florida 9 months to go through the whole process of naturalization when a person in North Carolina has been waiting for 14 months (so far)? There is no way that the North Carolina office can receive more applications than a state like Florida and its large population of immigrants. I refuse to believe that!!

I hate to bring up the fact that I am serving this country because I don't want to give the impression that I serve to get special treatment. I would just like to at least receive EQUAL treatment! With everything that is going on in the world right now, I could be sent to war any day now. If I die defending this country (I'm more than willing) I would like to die an American Citizen!

Semper Fidelis

 

[Musicqueen]

Bravo, DRMarine!!!

I agree with you that the INS needs a complete overhaul...you should have seen this place where the oath ceremony took place in...Nobody checked anything, you have to answer some questions in the form you receive to attend the ceremony, where they ask you if you've ever been convicted of any crimes, if you belong to the communist party, etc, etc...You could answer NO to all the questions, right there there's no one to check whether they're true or not...
Also, no check points before you go in...Who's to say that some crazy maniac won't do something where there are so many people wanting to become "Americans"???
Believe me, I'm proud to have been naturalized...but some of this stuff needs to be fixed...ASAP...

 

[Musicqueen]

Tony...where can I see your show? Is it on TV, what channel?

 

[Tony C]

Tony...where can I see your show? Is it on TV, what channel?

Sunday mornings at 10:00am On Vibe! Send me your E-mail and i will send you our press release.
Are you going to the Grand Prix Americas Kick-off party monday night at the Hard-Rock?

Tony C.

 

[Musicqueen]

I haven't gotten an invitation yet...

You can e-mail me right here...click on the little button ^

 

[Jan]

Congrats MQ! I can imagine how excited you are. I just got my residency here in RD yesterday! And I'm pretty excited about it! So now I'm going back to visit my family in USA in a few weeks, and I don't have to buy 3 tickets!

 

[Meredith]

Jan, you are my idol!!

You rock! I am seriously so, so happy and excited for you!!!!
Congrats!

 

[mkohn]

Congratulations!
mk

 

[JOHNNY HONDA]

CONGRATS,DO IT PROUDLY

 

[Escott]

MQ, my hearty congrats!

DRMarine, you joined for reasons other than to get your citizenship I would bet and the opportunities that are offered to you for FREE such as training should NOT be overlooked along with the fact that they are paying you for your services. You weren't drafted like I was.

Personally I think it is in BAD taste to knock the INS when you consider that today you are not their number one priority. I didn't knock the DR when I got my residency nor would I consider doing such a thing. Things don't run much better in the DR, do they?

Just my 35 pesos

 

[DRMarine]

JAZZ,
I had already established the fact that I did not join for any other reasons other than to serve this country and to be a United States Marine. I didn?t mention any complaints about my service nor did I ?overlook? anything that is or isn?t provided to me. All I want is to be treated equally not specially. Again, the process cannot be dramatically shorter in Florida than in North Carolina. Perhaps some politics is involved there. Whatever the reason, it needs to be fixed.

It is NOT in bad taste to ?knock? any agency that is funded by the taxpayers. I know that I am not their number one priority. Their number one priority (i'm sure we all read about this one)is giving student visas to terrorists that participated in one of the most heinous acts in American history.

?Things don?t run much better in the DR? I could care less how things run in the DR. I live in America. I pay taxes in America. I serve America. If you pay taxes in the DR then by all means knock yourself out and criticize till? you?re blue in the face. It won?t bother me. That is your right.

Why do you bring up the draft? Is the value of service greater for the ones that were forced to serve than the ones who join and protect the U.S.A. voluntarily?

My 2 dollars

Semper Fidelis

 

[suarezn]

Naturalization...

The whole process of becoming a US citizen took a little less than 6 months for me. Personally I don't hink it varies by state, but by person. The INS has nothing to do with states. It's a federal agency. The only thing that may make a difference is that they have three processing centers around the country, I think. Depending on where your application goes, it may take a little longer because of the volume they handle, but I truly doubt that it be that much of a difference.

 

[Cira]

Muchas felicitaciones. Aunque llevo poco tiempo en el board, te deseo lo mejor con tu nueva nacionalidad!!

 

[DRtechie]

DRMarine,

The first time I applied for citizenship my case was closed administratively. I was away on training and I missed my interview. I wrote twice to the INS requesting for them to review my case and I even wrote to my congressman. I had a huge problem because I was suppose to be getting commissioned as an officer in May and nobody knew what the hell was going on with my citizenship. I waited a year for INS to send me some kind of notice regarding my the status of my case. Finally my commanding officer put in an appeal with the local INS office through a General he used to work with. That was this past December. I became a citizen in February and finally got commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant this past August.

My advice is not to wait for INS to send you any kind of notice. If you want to find out the status of your case then you need to go to your local field office and inquire there...make sure to bring your case number. If your case has been closed then you won't receive anything further from them...no matter how many times you write or call. You will have to start the application process all over again, unless you can find someone to help you re-open the case...as in my case. I am pretty sure there's a much easier way of doing this through the military. I will find out exactly what my commander did and I will e-mail you the details.

Queen, Congrats...we'll have to toast to that if I ever make it back down to Miami.