My father was in the military. I was born in a foreign country at a military base. But because I was born in a foreign country and the birth certificate carried the name of that country my parents were concerned that I would not be considered a citizen of the United States when I became an adult. So when I was 17 I had to drive to the nearest big city and go through the naturalization process.
I remember the federal government employee that interviewed me to become a citizen. He was kind of shocked that I was even bothering with it until I explained my father's logic. He asked me a couple questions and then signed off on the paperwork and I became a naturalized citizen.
It was not hard. It did take time. I remember the process taking about six months from start to finish.
As an American, I feel like being a naturalized citizen is a good accomplishment in my past and something that I'm happy to share with people. I think the people coming into our country illegally and then taking money paid by the government to them to hide in the shadows and stay here illegally is criminal and should be embarrassing for people. While I understand that you may not be able to make as much money in your country of origin, you should have enough self-respect to obey the laws and abide by community standards. Rather than take advantage and grab whatever is offered. But not everybody has the high standards that we have in the United States of America. Not everybody's is as giving as we are in the United States of America.
As an American both natural born and naturalized I'm proud to be a citizen. I hope you are too and if you're not an American citizen I hope that you become one through legal means.
