A fitting title for my post today after the monumental event I attended yesterday, that being the Naturalization Ceremony that made my Wifey Lynndee an American citizen, which by virtue also gave the same gift to son Andrei. And one of the events during this touching moment was the playing of this famous Lee Greenwood song, also known as “Proud to be an American”. Originally released in 1984, it gained great prominence during the Gulf War of the early 90s and rose to even greater popularity after the attacks of September 11. Surprisingly, being a country music fan, Lynndee had never heard the song, but that’s understandable seeing the age of the song. Nonetheless, it’s certainly one of her favorite songs now.

But enough music history! Today’s main focus is on the journey that began a little over 10-years-ago when Lynndee and I first met. Little did we know after that initial contact the odyssey that awaited us. After knowing her for more than a year, we became engaged. First step then was my contact with the State Department of the U.S. to file a Fiancé Visa Petition. That was the only way I could get her to the U.S. so we could get married. After I filed, there was so much work I had to do to build the necessary file needed to satisfy the U.S. government that we had a legitimate relationship. And only after proving that and meeting all their necessary requirements, Lynndee was given an appointment at the American embassy in Manila, Philippines, eight months after I’d made the filing.

I’ll never forget how nervous she was when her and her mother made the trip to Manila. I told her not to worry at all, that I’d put together the perfect package and that she’d be in and out of the embassy in ten minutes with the visa. Well, I was a bit on the optimistic side of that guess; it took her about thirty minutes but I was correct in saying that the visit would be successful. And so it was that I made another trip to the Philippines to bring her and her son Yogi back to the U.S. and their new home.

They first set foot on American soil in Atlanta, Georgia. That’s one of my favorite cities and I later introduced them to it up-close-and-personal, as well as my favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves. But after landing in Atlanta, we met with immigration officials that walked us through more of the necessary requirements allowing them into the country, the number one being that we must get married within 90 days or they’d be sent back to the Philippines. Of course, there wasn’t a chance of that happening, but…they were just doing their job.

That, however, wasn’t our last dealings with the U.S. government. Later on, we had to meet the next requirement, becoming legal residents by acquiring a Permanent Residence Card, more famously known as a green card. We filed for them right after we got married. They were initially good for two years, the time limit to assure that we truly were a married couple planning to stay together. After that one, we renewed it for a period of ten years. As it stood, we were five years into the second green card. But Lynndee decided that she wanted to become an American citizen so instead of waiting another five years, we went ahead and applied for her citizenship.

Ironically, believe it or not, Uncle Sam didn’t fool around at all in delivering this gift. After filing on May 3 this year, we received an email on the 4th with an appointment for Lynndee to be at the Application Support Center for her bio-metrics exam, just to prove who she was. This had already been done three times previously, once in the Philippines at her visa interview to make a base, then for the two green cards. The appointment was for May 24 in Greer, South Carolina, about an hour from our location here in Asheville, North Carolina.

We next heard from the USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Service) on August 14, scheduling her appointment at the Charlotte, NC, office on September 19, to take her civics test which she had to pass to become a citizen. It’s been proven that many Americans themselves could not pass this simple test, which measures how much history and knowledge of how our government works. One must answer six out of ten possible questions to pass, and Lynndee got the six in the first seven questions, making her eligible for citizenship.

We next heard from the USCIS on September 20, the day after her test, informing her to be at the Charlotte office on October 8 to take the oath and become an American citizen. And that’s where I found myself yesterday, witnessing a magnificent ceremony where 84 individuals from 31 different countries became Americans. And also, along with Lynndee joining the country as a legal citizen, son Yogi automatically became a citizen by virtue of her naturalization. So it took only 5 months and 5 days from the time I filed for her to become a citizen, much quicker than getting the Fiancé Visa. And I’m now thankfully through with paying Uncle Sam those expensive fees he asks for filing all those immigration legalities we’ve had to deal with.

But, yes, America is still the country that most everyone in the world dreams of becoming a part of, being invited by the Statue of Liberty’s iconic words from the “New Collossus” inscription:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

And that truly says it all. Though Lynndee wasn’t seeking asylum from danger or escape from poverty and hunger, in her search for love, happiness and security, she came to me here in this great country giving me happiness and love. So thank you, my sweet li’l Anghel for that gift. And thank you, Uncle Sam, for the gift of letting it happen. For sure, please God, do bless the USA, as You have blessed us with the gift of being together.