On Wednesday, July 12, 2006, I was sworn in as a US Citizen. After 5 years of filing papers, soliciting help, going to INS interviews, the process came to a close. It has been a slow progression of steps that I have investigated since 1985, but was only able to begin pursuing in 1999 after my marriage to Darlene. She, as many Americans believe, that citizenship was automatic, but not so. First was the advanced parole, then the temporary green card, then permanent residence, and after 3 years of marriage, the eligibility to file the N-400, the document that eventually lead to my citizenship. It was a series of interviews, fingerprinting, filling out documents and writing checks. The process slowed down substantially after 2001.

Many folks have questioned why I chose to pursue citizenship when I had residence and the guarantee to live in the US. For me were two major reasons. I have not been eligible to vote in any of the countries in which I have lived. I have paid taxes, but never had a voice. Many people complain about political situations, and we all have views on political policy, but many folks do not vote. I felt that if I want to speak about global implications, I needed the right to speak at the voting polls too.

Secondly, my wife has had the privilege of traveling to most countries in the world freely and at a moments notice. She has had the protection of any US Embassy or Consulate in the countries she has traveled. Very rarely did she require a visa. On the other hand, with my South African passport, most countries in the world I want to visit or do business in required that I get a visa. Visa’s are issued in consular jurisdictions, and require in most cases a personal visit. They are given on a short term basis, after all the requirements were satisfied and the fees paid. I had several situations where I had to rush asking for favors to get a visa done quickly as I had a speaking engagement abroad and could not accept the invitation till I knew that I could travel. This meant traveling to Miami where the consulates I needed to visit, filing out an application form, providing the types of proof they wanted, paying fees and then waiting on approval, which could take weeks.

Now as a US Citizen, not only do I have the responsibility to defend the United States Constitution, but I can join my wife at the polls starting this November, and as soon as my US Passport arrives, I can join her anytime when we have a whim to travel abroad. I hope all eligible Americans will vote, and have a passport to see how privileged we are with our freedoms and liberties.