Friday, February 11, 2005
On this day:
Four government employees in one day
So on Monday, I kept my appointment this time with the Department of Homeland Security for my citizenship interview. Which is a good thing because when I entered into the Immigration Office, I spotted portraits of Dubya and Cheney with those smug smiles that irk me to no end, I just about run out of that building screaming. Luckily I didn't have to wait long for the elevator. I checked in with the receptionist who is on the phone chatting about dinner later. Government employee number one. She instructed me to wait in area B.
I have not been in this office for sometime, maybe in about 16 years. The government sure has redesign the waiting room and how people are processed. Yes, I feel like I 'm being processed like the first immigrants that came through Ellis Island. I always have an uneasy feeling that I'm treated like a second class citizen whenever I need to wrangle with immigration service. In fact, I detest it so, I had applied for citizenship once when I was in college, got the appointment letter, but never bother to show up for the interview. I hope they don't have a record of that.
I waited, waited, and waited. I hate waiting without knowing when the end will come. There is no number system like before. The interviewer comes out and call your name, but I have no idea of the order. Well, my appointment was at 10:00am and by 11:20am I started checking with others waiting what time their appointments were. This is how I found out a man was called before me that had an appointment one hour after mine. So, I nicely went up front to inquire with the receptionist about my appointment. This time she is chatting on her cell phone about something else. I was told to take my seat again. Just as soon as I sat down, my name was called.
The interviewer was a Chinese, who also reads Chinese. Government employee number two. He had a thick folder with all my records in them. Now, I didn't know there were so many records and papers about me. I was kind of curious what them all said. He was grilling me on the discrepancies of my formal legal name. Why does the passport have Gloria Yung-Ching Chen, which is my Chinese name, and why some paper have initials "Y.C." and some just have "Y". Well, I really don't know and I really don't understand what the big deal is. Some paperwork only have a space for one initial, and sometimes I don't feel like putting down my initials at all. What the hell does it matter? He has my driver license with my photo, passport with my photo, green card with my photo. I was at wits end what he was trying to get at. That I'm not who I say I am? Can we move pass this stage already? We agree that I would use my full name: Gloria Yung-Ching Chen. I just went along to get pass this stage. I'll be using just Gloria Chen in all my other documents. Thank you very much
I was expecting to take the test and get the hell out of there, but No. He had some more questions for me that I don't see any relevance to me becoming a citizen. Questions like: When did your parents receive their citizenship? I don't know. Do your sisters all have citizenship? Yes. When did they get theirs? I don't know. After some more of these questionings, we finally got to my application. Now, the application is a 9-page form with detail whereabouts of my residence and travels, lack of run in with the law, associations I belonged to at one point or another. Mostly with questions that in my mind are relevant to the government, but do we need to review each questions line-by-line? Because this is what we did for 30 minutes.
Him: You have ONLY belong to TWO clubs?
Me: Yes, that is what it says on the application.
Him: Nothing else?
Me: No.
Him: No communist club, or anything like that?
This was like wha?? Even if I did belong to one, isn't it in my right? My freedom? I'm starting to think this is all kind of strange. Next,
Him: You've only been out of the country ONCE?
Me: Yes, that is what it says on the application.
Him: No other place?
Me: Well, I did fly to Canada once but drove back down to Montana in 4 hours. The application said to list places that I traveled to for more than 1 day.
Him: Montana? Why did you do that for?
Me: I went to visit Glacier National Park and Calgary was the closest airport.
Him: Glacier? Too cold, what's there to see?
This was like wha? too. I wanted to see the glaciers, and why not? After some more of this type of questionings, I started to get the feeling that his job might just be so boring that he wants to hear espionage, illegal smuggling, or something. Or maybe it's my life that's boring. I had nothing to oblige him with. God, my life is boring.
Finally, he gave me the 10 question test. I had studied the 100 sample questions this morning as I was riding the train. I was prepared. The first questions he asked was: Name one of the three benefits of becoming a US citizen. I knew all three, but I replied: "To get a government job." Which I can tell, him being a government employee, was quite amused by my answer. He said: "Oh, really?" and then a deep chuckle. I almost laughed out loud too. I breezed through the test and got a stamp of recommendation to become a citizen. What the hell? A recommendation. What is this? What happened to a stamp of approval? To this, he said it's not up to him. The government has to review all the paperwork, but most likely you'll get a letter stating your swearing-in appointment. Now, I really want to know what's in all those files.
Another errand I had to do today was to visit the DMV. Another of my least favorite place to visit. Another second citizen treatment place. I had to obtain my driving record for Sierra Club ICO organization so I can be approved to drive minors on field trips in my car. Here I encountered government employee number three and government employee number four. You've all heard about the infamously insane wait at DMVs. Well, it's all true. Their number system is beyond my comprehension. I stand in a line to get a number, but the number start with a alphabet. Which is okay, I got a H029 number. What later confused me was that the only numbers that were called consistently were the numbers started with A or B. Occasional E and F. But no H. I have no idea the progression of how a number is call. Did I mention how I hate to wait without knowing the end of waiting? I hate waiting. After about 45 minutes, I decided to get in line again to ask the number handing out lady, government employee number three, what the deal is. My number was called while I was waiting in-line. Good. Government employee number four was painless, for I already have the form all filled out. All she did was punched in the number and out spit the laser of my driving record. My visit is consider painless by a lot of people's standard. I was out of there within 1 hour. A record, I tell you.
Well, yeepee, I'm becoming a citizen, pending swearing-in of course. And the benefit is I can be one of those people that moved me along the line today. The government employees. Yeah, right!
I have not been in this office for sometime, maybe in about 16 years. The government sure has redesign the waiting room and how people are processed. Yes, I feel like I 'm being processed like the first immigrants that came through Ellis Island. I always have an uneasy feeling that I'm treated like a second class citizen whenever I need to wrangle with immigration service. In fact, I detest it so, I had applied for citizenship once when I was in college, got the appointment letter, but never bother to show up for the interview. I hope they don't have a record of that.
I waited, waited, and waited. I hate waiting without knowing when the end will come. There is no number system like before. The interviewer comes out and call your name, but I have no idea of the order. Well, my appointment was at 10:00am and by 11:20am I started checking with others waiting what time their appointments were. This is how I found out a man was called before me that had an appointment one hour after mine. So, I nicely went up front to inquire with the receptionist about my appointment. This time she is chatting on her cell phone about something else. I was told to take my seat again. Just as soon as I sat down, my name was called.
The interviewer was a Chinese, who also reads Chinese. Government employee number two. He had a thick folder with all my records in them. Now, I didn't know there were so many records and papers about me. I was kind of curious what them all said. He was grilling me on the discrepancies of my formal legal name. Why does the passport have Gloria Yung-Ching Chen, which is my Chinese name, and why some paper have initials "Y.C." and some just have "Y". Well, I really don't know and I really don't understand what the big deal is. Some paperwork only have a space for one initial, and sometimes I don't feel like putting down my initials at all. What the hell does it matter? He has my driver license with my photo, passport with my photo, green card with my photo. I was at wits end what he was trying to get at. That I'm not who I say I am? Can we move pass this stage already? We agree that I would use my full name: Gloria Yung-Ching Chen. I just went along to get pass this stage. I'll be using just Gloria Chen in all my other documents. Thank you very much
I was expecting to take the test and get the hell out of there, but No. He had some more questions for me that I don't see any relevance to me becoming a citizen. Questions like: When did your parents receive their citizenship? I don't know. Do your sisters all have citizenship? Yes. When did they get theirs? I don't know. After some more of these questionings, we finally got to my application. Now, the application is a 9-page form with detail whereabouts of my residence and travels, lack of run in with the law, associations I belonged to at one point or another. Mostly with questions that in my mind are relevant to the government, but do we need to review each questions line-by-line? Because this is what we did for 30 minutes.
Him: You have ONLY belong to TWO clubs?
Me: Yes, that is what it says on the application.
Him: Nothing else?
Me: No.
Him: No communist club, or anything like that?
This was like wha?? Even if I did belong to one, isn't it in my right? My freedom? I'm starting to think this is all kind of strange. Next,
Him: You've only been out of the country ONCE?
Me: Yes, that is what it says on the application.
Him: No other place?
Me: Well, I did fly to Canada once but drove back down to Montana in 4 hours. The application said to list places that I traveled to for more than 1 day.
Him: Montana? Why did you do that for?
Me: I went to visit Glacier National Park and Calgary was the closest airport.
Him: Glacier? Too cold, what's there to see?
This was like wha? too. I wanted to see the glaciers, and why not? After some more of this type of questionings, I started to get the feeling that his job might just be so boring that he wants to hear espionage, illegal smuggling, or something. Or maybe it's my life that's boring. I had nothing to oblige him with. God, my life is boring.
Finally, he gave me the 10 question test. I had studied the 100 sample questions this morning as I was riding the train. I was prepared. The first questions he asked was: Name one of the three benefits of becoming a US citizen. I knew all three, but I replied: "To get a government job." Which I can tell, him being a government employee, was quite amused by my answer. He said: "Oh, really?" and then a deep chuckle. I almost laughed out loud too. I breezed through the test and got a stamp of recommendation to become a citizen. What the hell? A recommendation. What is this? What happened to a stamp of approval? To this, he said it's not up to him. The government has to review all the paperwork, but most likely you'll get a letter stating your swearing-in appointment. Now, I really want to know what's in all those files.
Another errand I had to do today was to visit the DMV. Another of my least favorite place to visit. Another second citizen treatment place. I had to obtain my driving record for Sierra Club ICO organization so I can be approved to drive minors on field trips in my car. Here I encountered government employee number three and government employee number four. You've all heard about the infamously insane wait at DMVs. Well, it's all true. Their number system is beyond my comprehension. I stand in a line to get a number, but the number start with a alphabet. Which is okay, I got a H029 number. What later confused me was that the only numbers that were called consistently were the numbers started with A or B. Occasional E and F. But no H. I have no idea the progression of how a number is call. Did I mention how I hate to wait without knowing the end of waiting? I hate waiting. After about 45 minutes, I decided to get in line again to ask the number handing out lady, government employee number three, what the deal is. My number was called while I was waiting in-line. Good. Government employee number four was painless, for I already have the form all filled out. All she did was punched in the number and out spit the laser of my driving record. My visit is consider painless by a lot of people's standard. I was out of there within 1 hour. A record, I tell you.
Well, yeepee, I'm becoming a citizen, pending swearing-in of course. And the benefit is I can be one of those people that moved me along the line today. The government employees. Yeah, right!
