JoeCanuk

Awwww guys,

The entire process of falling in love with a citizen of another country then moving to that country is more complicated that I bet any of us ever thought it would be way back in the beginning.

Personally Im thinking of getting a dual citizenship(can I even do that?) I am soooooo rubbish at this,anyway what my husband and I have always loved about each other is that we love our own countries so much.........and each others so if I can have both then YAY!!!!

I think homesickness will play a huge part in how you're feeling. I'd imagine its hard to be transplanted into a totally new environment. I'm worried about that too.....its natural you begin to think about where you've felt safe and familiar in the past.

I love the idea that you're Canadian/American Australian/American how cool is that to have influences from another culture and country!!!

Thanks. Yeah I think you can become a dual citizen coming from Britain. I didn't realize that it would be hard sometimes but I've found it out. Just gotta keep livin' I guess.

Not alone at all. I'm not even a USC yet but I already cop a bit of flack for "turning American". My dad didn't have the best opinion of "Yanks" (as many don't when they're his age) so even finding out I was engaged to a "yank" was fun. My sister's a bit of a snob about me living here (jealously? maybe...) and other people have their opinions about what American's are like and that's that.

My thoughts tend to center around how I felt my last visit home. I wasn't entirely a "proper" Aussie anymore, that much was pointed out to me, and neither here, with my accent, am I an American (trust me, I get asked on the phone every day where I'm from and my colleague laughs when I say "Iowa" ).

That said, you (and hopefully me eventually) are one of the lucky ones. If you want to move back to Canada, you can. if you want to stay here in the US you can. You don't have to be "American" and you don't have to be "Canadian". You are both and that means a combination.. so you're right, you're a Canadian American, not just one or the other. You have quirks from both sides of the border that meld to become who you are.

Thank you for your kind words. Yeah my family picks on me too. Even my brother in law gives me flak about being a yank and so is his dad! lol Think I'm just feeling a bit homesick for my old country I guess. Even looking into doing graduate school back in my hometown.

At one of my first jobs I had in this country, my first day went with getting pulled over by the police because my exhaust was loud. He was utterly confused about how to handle my "licence" which was just a piece of paper authorizing me to drive until it was confirmed that I was here legally. lol

The first year I did taxes here, there was nothing about foreign anything.

I wasn't sure what forum to put this in but it has to do with after becoming a citizen. I've been a US citizen since last year and I'm a Canadian citizen too. Therein lies the problem. Sometimes I am proud to be a citizen of two great countries. Other times I still feel like I don't belong here and that I'm not even Canadian anymore.

Anyone else struggle with these feelings? Thanks.

As a Canadian who had a permanent resident card, I found it very surprising that the Canadian border agencies let you through without a passport. A passport is necessary for all travel outside the US. Your PR card is only used as proof of status upon returning to the US.

In short: keep your Canadian passport.

That is because your green card will show where you were born, thus signifying your citizenship. Since a Canadian citizen has the right to enter Canada, a green card showing you're a Canadian citizen is good enough to enter Canada. That, and I believe the states and Canada has an agreement to let Canadians use their green card since it is a land border crossing. I always used my green card; in fact if I remember correctly the Canadian customs site said that you can use your green card to enter Canada.

Well I just wanted to share that I became a United States citizen on June 15. Congratulations to the rest of you who have also become citizens recently, and good luck to those in the process.

Sorry to go off topic but I would gladly pay some taxes to the Canadian government to still be able to access Canadian health care. Citizenship should entitle someone to health care, not residency.

Thank you for your replies everyone, they're very interesting.

Yes politics is definitely a blood sport here. I live in northern Indiana and I am in the minority view politically speaking around here. lol I don't like how the people here all think they're driving in Chicago. 9.9 out of 10 drivers are idiots. I hope to get a Masters degree here too. I have totally appreciated the Pell grant system they have here; I don't remember Canada having any such thing. My first year of college was paid for completely by Pell grant...I declined all loan offers. Wish I could do that every year but with rising income comes less Pell grant money.

One other thing I'm not used to is at my job (I'm a security guard) we wear badges. I did security in Canada before I came here and we weren't allowed to wear badges, so that is still strange to me. I actually think it's wrong to do but oh well.

Anyways, I hope to see more responses on here. have a great day all.

I stopped saying "EH" as much... my friends and family back home point out I rarely say it anymore!

LOL I STILL say it a lot...but my family has noticed I'm picking up an American accent. They make fun of me.

My brother in law used to bug me about "when are you gonna get married and move down there". Now that I did it he's always crackin' jokes about me being a yankee. lol And he's HALF American himself.

I'm from Windsor and moved to Texas and i'm lovin' it but i'll always miss home!!

Right now I just absolutely love this old song by Alabama that says "If you're gonna play in Texas..."

Love Windsor, but Texas is probably too durn hot and deserty for me.

Congrats Jill! I just got approved for naturalization as well (May 16). It's nice to be done with USCIS. It feels different being a US citizen ... surreal, actually ... I can't explain exactly, but I feel more like I belong. The other day, the water bill came in and for the first time in six years I realized I didn't have to make a copy of yet another piece of paper and stick it in a file, nor would I have to ever again. Sometimes, the little things hit home ...

It's hard saying the part where you give up loyalty to other countries ... I think it will be easier to say when you think of the tattoo on your back. I remember Flames saying he wore his Canadian Flag socks at his oath ceremony. Thank goodness Canada recognizes dual citizenship, even if the U.S. doesn't. Going through this whole process sure makes you feel your Canadianness in a way you never would if you stayed in Canada. You can take the Canadian out of Canada, but you can't take the Canada out of the Canadian. Eh!

Congratulations Gypsyangel. I completely agree with all that you said. I'm not a citizen for another couple weeks but the rest of it, yeah you're right. It will be hard for me to say the oath but I'm doing it. I made an oath when I was in the Canadian military that I'm going to have to break and that's hard to do. And even with this oath, deep down I'm knowing that I'm still Canadian and I still love Canada even though I love this country too. So there's pluses and minuses to this whole dual citizenship thing.

Hi Everyone, hope all the Canadian VJers are doing well! I had my N400 interview on Friday, which went extremely well I had this incredibly kind man interview and test me, he was a gentle old soul. We spoke alot about Canada, and really he didn't ask me for any of the ton of evidence I brought! I guess I sent in enough with my application. So I have my Oath on Monday at the Philadelphia Constitution Center! Before I take the Oath though, I went back home last weekend and got a rather large Maple Leaf tattooed on my back! LOL I still get home quite a bit, every 2 months or so. I'm happy that my immigration journey will be officially over Monday, so long USCIS!!

Congratulations Jill. I was lucky enough as well not to have to show any of the bunch of evidence I brought. lol I had to laugh when the guy asked me one state that borders Canada because where I grew up, I could put my feet up and they'd be in Detroit. So I said Michigan and was thankful for the freebie.

Congratulations! I'm glad it is has all worked out for you.

Thank you very much.

Congratulations to you too.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I asked my local Walgreens one time and they said they couldn't do it. Maybe they just didn't know it. Wal Mart couldn't do it either.

xenaxe, I will let you know if I find anything.

So I'm hoping if I can't get it done anywhere (I could try to find a white wall to take my own pic on and use that free site), that I can just use my US passport to enter Canada. After all, I am a Canadian citizen and the passport will say that I am from Canada so they have to let me in right?

I've been in the states for five years now but I'm from Windsor, Ontario.

hahahaha.... I used to live in Windsor. Went to school there.

I'm surprised there aren't a ton from Windsor on here.

I'm another one from Windsor.

So how have you changed since moving to the United States or becoming a US citizen? Do you have new hobbies, new attitudes, still the same old same old?

I have gone to college and am transferring to Indiana University. I got to go see the President at a town hall thing. I've travelled. I've also developed new attitudes, such as adopting the belief in the right to bear arms to protect yourself because a criminal can kill you before the police get there to help. I've gotten my first fishing license and bought my first fishing rod since I was a little kid. I came from a large city and now live in a small city, and I've realized I like small town living better. I can enjoy the city but I can leave in minutes and be out in the country. I love this...and so I see that I have changed in many ways since coming here. How about you?

I haven't posted in this forum in a long time but it's nice to be back among fellow Canuckians. Lately I have felt like I am losing my "Canadian identity" so to speak, what with the naturalization process, the interview, and my oath ceremony in a couple of weeks. I'm excited about becoming an American but I have been here five years and miss Canada too. It's been a fun ride...

Thank you guys.

Wow...I can't believe yours took so long! That's crazy. And congratulations to you too.

I'm guessing dual citizens of the US and Canada might know the answer to my question. I'm wondering if when I become a citizen I can travel to Canada where I am also a citizen with my US passport. My Canadian passport is expired, I can't find any place in the US that takes Canadian passport photos (different specifications) so I can't renew it, and the US passport will say that I am from Canada. So can I use it and if so, do I say I'm Canadian or American or dual citizen of both? Just wondering if anyone has experience with this. I can't afford two passports right now and I can't afford to travel to Canada right now to get photos taken there.

With all due respect folks, what did you expect the President to do? The President has nothing to do with immigration matters. I believe it's Congress that handles things like that.

You can always go down to the police station and ask if you can get a permit? I would think that in any state, a green card holder would be allowed to carry. If you have to be a citizen to enjoy your 2nd Amendment right then you have to be a citizen to enjoy all other rights too. Are you allowed freedom of religion? Freedom of speech? Then you're allowed to carry a gun.

I know in Indiana I was allowed to get mine with a green card.

Congratulations. It feels great eh?

Congrats! And I agree with you, I like the metric system

Thank you. And congratulations to you too.

Hello. I had my interview in Indianapolis on May 14. It went well except I was nervous and had to quickly correct myself on two of the questions. I already knew them so it had to be nerves. Also, I wasn't asked to show anything except my drivers license, passport, and green card.

Just received my oath letter yesterday and I become a citizen on June 15 in South Bend, Indiana.

I'm happy with how quick this process went. From my application being received on February 21, to my oath letter being sent out on May 21...that is pretty quick. Good luck to the rest of you.