Chasing Umbrellas

Citizenship is like the hood on a jacket right when it starts to rain. It is not really considered until the clouds roll in and the raindrops begin to fall. Citizenship is supposed to be what protects you and sets the foundation for your rights, yet for most citizens, it’s something taken for granted. If you are born in the United States, you are automatically deemed a citizen and never have to take a single step into the process that immigrants need to take. For this reason, there are a lot of citizens that could not pass that process, do not understand that process, and ultimately, do not care about the process which our country implements. There is a knowledge gap between actual citizens and those who want to become them.

According to the Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security, people can become citizens without going through the typical naturalization process through their parents.

• If they are born outside of the U.S., but both of their parents are citizens that lived in the U.S. for a period before the birth, they are considered a citizen.
• If they are born outside of the U.S., have one parent who is a citizen and born after 1986, and they have spent at least five years of their life in the U.S. prior to the birth and two of which after their own fourteenth birthday, they are a citizen.

This, however, has to be established before the ripe old age of eighteen. Complicated yet? It gets worse.

• If the parent has served honorably in the U.S. armed forces or been employed through the U.S. government or certain international organization, then the time can be placed towards the residency requirement.
• If their parents are not married at the time of their birth, but their genetic or non-genetic gestational mother is a U.S. citizen (with a birthday later than December 1952), they are also eligible for citizenship. This is only the case if the mother has been in the U.S. or one of its outlying possessions for at least a year. If it is not the mother, then the father can pull through, but only if his birthday is after November 14, 1986. He must have a direct blood relationship that is proven through legitimate science, have nationality, and agree to writing a statement that commits them to financial support of the child until they reach the age of eighteen.

For those who do not have parents who are born as U.S. citizens, it is not any less complicated, but requires a little more effort.

Stephanie Yaewon Park, a twenty-one-year-old college student at NYU, recently jumped into the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. She has been in the U.S. since the age of six (in 2001), when her mother’s employer sponsored her family for their green cards. In 2015, her and her family decided to go through the citizenship process. She states: “the test was easy because I came to America when I was six and was fluent in English,” but she acknowledges that she could see the difficulties others would have if they were older or not fluent in English. There was an oral exam, a written exam, and a multiple-choice portion to her test.

When I asked her about the American History portion of the test — notorious for containing questions the average American is not knowledgeable about — she exclaimed: “If they don’t care to know it, why expect a seventy-year-old Chinese grandma to know it!”

Stephanie had been a permanent resident for five or so years before becoming a citizen and believes that she was not at any disadvantage at this point. Permanent residents — or green card holders — have the same rights as citizens. She was able to obtain a social security number at age fifteen and began working part time jobs. She recognizes that having a U.S. passport is helpful in the event that she becomes obtained or stopped abroad, however.

Stephanie was forced to renounce her Korean citizenship because she is over the age of eighteen. Her youngest brother, who is still a minor, is able to keep his dual nationality until the age of eighteen at which point he will be forced to either renounce his Korean citizenship or serve in the Korean army for two years. Although the U.S. government does not force anyone to give up citizenship of their home country, they do not encourage dual-nationality. They are able to recognize that it exists, but do not support that option due to the belief that it could cause more harm in the long run. The fear is that the citizen would be expected to show loyalty to both countries and their laws may not match. So, although dual-nationality is recognized within the U.S., they are not shy about their displeasure with that option and there are still ways that may force new U.S. citizens, like Stephanie, to abandon certain aspects of one of her nationalities.

Martyna Sopalska, a twenty-two-year-old student at Stetson University originally from Poland, hopes to become a U.S. citizen one day, but also dreams of keeping her European citizenship. She has been in the U.S. for around twelve years, but does not think that being a full-time student in college would be the ideal time to pursue citizenship. She knows that she would have to study for the test and acknowledges that she is not completely educated on what goes into becoming a citizen. Although she knows that she may not be able to handle the studying while she is in school, she thinks it is “reasonable for [the U.S. government] to expect a lot from us.” With that said, she also states that for those people who have been residing in the country for a long time and who have contributed a lot to society, the process may be a little unfair and time consuming. In spite of this, Martyna sees the test as, “any other test. We study for it, we take it, and then all the information goes out the door, and we forget about it.”

Both Stephanie and Martyna address the idea that the citizenship process was or would be easier for them due to their backgrounds. Martyna states that, “I am biased because I am European and I am white and I don’t think I would have huge issues with getting a citizenship here, but I am sure people from certain other countries have a harder time with it which is not fair.” Stephanie also explains that the process for her and her family was “smooth” since her mother works for the government as a special needs teacher. They were sponsored through her employment and therefore had everything happen in a timely manner without any delays. She also states that she could see how others from different parts of the world would struggle more with the process.

There are exceptions in which people can become exempt from participating in the full process. Those over the age of fifty who have resided here for over twenty years can be exempt from the English fluency exam and are allowed to take the civics test in their native language as long as they bring a translator to the oral portion of the process. This is the same for those who are over the age of fifty-five and have lived here for over fifteen years. Special consideration is also given to those applicants that are over the age of sixty-five and have resided in the U.S. for over twenty years. There are also instances in which exceptions are created for those with physical, mental, or developmental disabilities as long as the correct request forms are filed.

Even with these exceptions, the process still raises questions on who receives the umbrella to protect them from the rain and at what cost? Stephanie decided to change her name to an “English” name in fear of people mispronouncing it. She instead made her Korean name her middle name. Although she states that she slightly regrets this decision because liked her ethnic name and believes she should not have to have this fear, she still stands by her reasoning for making this decision.

Martyna states that she is not fearful for the process due to both her ethnic background and the fact that it is simply a test of information. Neither girl sees the system as being unfair, but can also point out the holes within it. The natural born citizens may need to take a walk in the storm with their hoods down before they can really determine how fair this process is.