Why should we assume the burden of paying the taxes to provide schooling to pass the test? They wish to come here, be prepared before they leave.

I am not heartless, just practical.

I can agree with your observation on (b) but on on (a). As a man married to a non-citizen I can tell you that my spouse would have a better chance of collecting benefits by not becoming a citizen. The reason being that in order to bring her here I had to sign a support agreement.

To the extent that she is below the poverty line the federal government can come against me for the difference as a fiat accompli for burden of support. All she has to do is go before an administrative law judge, get the order signed and my wages get garnished. As soon as she acquires citizenship that burden falls away.

a) retaining a wide variety of welfare, disability and other support-type benefits
b) the ability to fast-track petitions to immigrate extended family.

It is disturbing to see these “new Americans” who continue to hold tightly their allegiances to their home country. By this I mean voting in foreign elections, maintaining they are solely citizens of their home country for puposes of holding on to land (like in Mexico) holding foreign office, even maintaining that they are still permanent residents and denying that they are US citizens at customs or immigration when entering or departing their beloved home country.

They enjoy the full benefits of being a citizen, almost reluctantly naturalize, then keep their citizenship under wraps, unless it benefits them somehow, and continue on as if they are a fully vested citizen of their home country with allegiance to that country. Now CIS plans to make it easier – I guess create a standard list of easily memorized questions, and cut the English language requirement to writing a two word sentence rather than 3 words, maybe?

While the intended result may be the naturalization of Americans who want citizenship fo rthe right reasons, it will also encourage more of those that naturalize for the “wrong” reasons as well.

Social security benefits for spouses of American citizens are different for non-citizens vs. citizens.

“In addition it seems that people now don’t have to give up their original country’s citizenship and adopt a dual citizenship when they become American citizens.”

What one has to do is swear in writing that he/she is *willing* to surrender their origin nation’s passport and citizenship.

Furthermore, one has to swear that they are willing to take up arms in the defense of the United States – and yes, even the “Polish Grandmothers” have to swear to this as well.

In my case the “loved one” is also my foreign born wife. We married in her country, before she had ever visited the United States. After our marriage we spent several weeks running around the capital city of her third world country getting certification from her country’s police/military that she wasn’t a criminal, getting certification from the FBI that she wasn’t a criminal wanted by the US, that I wasn’t a criminal, that she was who she said she was, that she was born where she said she was, that she was educated where she said she was, her university transcripts & grades, etc. All of the documentation produced by agencies from her nation had to be translated and certified by “official” translation bureaus approved by the US Embassy.

Next we applied for her visa to come to the US, which consisted of spending a day waiting in line at the embassy to get an appointment to come back several weeks later for a quick interactive application process. Then we waited…

I had to return to the US and after 5 months she was notified by mail to come to the Embassy in her city to get her visa which had been granted. Afterwards she traveled to the US to join me.

Over the intervening years there have been misc. summons to INS offices for misc. reasons including additional fingerprinting and FBI checks. (It is my recollection that at least one of these involved the transition from having a visa that allowed her to be here to having a “Green Card.”)

I believe she qualified for Naturalization after 4 or 6 years being here, however we didn’t move forward with it until her Green Card was due to expire.

The Naturalization process was rather unwieldy. There was a great deal of “back and forth” over the course of several years, and you’ll forgive me if I cannot remember precisely the machinations involved…

We had to re-submit all of the translated documentation about her life in her home country, a great deal of information about me and a comprehensive set of information about our children. Our mortgage in both of our names, article of incorporation, house deeds, vehicle registration and tax returns were requested and submitted.

After another year or so, another fingerprinting for the FBI was ordered and accomlished.

After yet another year or so, she was summoned for her test which took appx. 20 minutes.

This was followed perhaps 5 months later by the swearing-in.

From our perspective, the test administered towards the end of this exhaustive, multi-year process was one of the easier hoops to jump through.

I believe that once you have spent X years in this country, run a company, owned a home, paid taxes and raised children, 13 silly questions about the Constitution are the least of your worries.

It wasn’t too threatening to me as I had been here since the age of nine and had therefore been in school in the U.S. for nine years.

I recall learning the Presidents in order and a few other things that I thought they might ask.

The test was just an oral exam by one of the inspectors.
1. What was Fulton’s folly?
2. What was Seward’s folly?
3. What was 54-40 or fight?
4. What was “Tippecanoe and Tyler too”?

After snapping off correct answers on the first three and doing a soft shoe on the fourth (I knew it was an election slogan but I couldn’t remember that W.H.Harrison was the “Hero of Tippecanoe”) the inspector surrendered. I then told him that one of my witnesses was my 7th/8th grade history teacher. He complimented her when she was interviewed.

Things have apparently changed since 1966 but I think that a demonstration of some knowledge of American history and an understanding of the three main branches of government and how they interact are essential to the prospective citizen. A general awareness of the Constitution should also be demonstrated.

I think they were somewhat forgiving on the English requirement though. I recall at the swearing in ceremony a man in the row in front of me raised both hands when we were asked to raise our right hand. No, he was not French.

The only priviledge that citizenship confers is the right to vote. Somehow I think there should be more.

In addition it seems that people now don’t have to give up their original country’s citizenship and adopt a dual citizenship when they become American citizens (Peter Jennings is one). This is something that should be stopped. You’re either American or you’re not.

Too many people come here now and don’t want to be Americans, they just want to be here to share in the bounty and opportunity that exists like nowhere else in the world. There’s something wrong in that.

Liberal Avenger is correct that it can be difficult to get into the Naturalization track, but once there, it takes nothing other than inertia to finish it up.

My loved one has been in the United States legally for close to 20 years and has been a Naturalized citizen for close to 5 of those years. Despite this, my lived one’s family members in their home country (a staunch ally of the United States) have been repeatedly denied even tourist visas to visit. Some of them have university educations, some of them own their own homes and all of them are gainfully employed.

The specific country of origin is irrelevant here, but while it is an ally of the US, it is also a “third world” (or “3eme monde” for you French-lovers) nation. I realize that the practices for obtaining a tourist visa to this country is more streamlined for people coming from Industrialized Nations.

This isn’t a complaint, but an observation… It is also an observation not borne exclusively of the experience of my loved one’s family, but also of the families of many foreign-born US Citizen friends.

In a post 9/11 world where the benign, job-holding family members of American citizens are often not allowed to visit their relatives here, one has to wonder just how legitimate fears of welfare cheats and other ne’er-do-wells coming into our country and causing problems for we god fearing folks is.

“Actus, I agree somewhat, but I think if you want it badly enough, you will remember some basic dates. ”

Sure you will. I just don’t think its necessary to remember them in order to get the concepts. And the concepts are more important.

In my opinion we should test everyone at age 18. Not to take away any rights or anything, just to give them their grade.