thepioden:

spooksdontexpressmyjoy:

msavignon:

I’ve already tweeted about this but here’s a longer post for all naturalized citizens especially those who have been visibly marked a “other” and aren’t part of the “again” when Trump says that he’s making America great “again.” 

(All of you sad white liberals can suck it up, buttercups, because some of us have some real work to do to prove that we belong here before President-elect Trump is sworn in. The stuff that applies to you is at the end.) 

Trump took the support of white suburban women, those are also the types of women who want to adopt foreign children like they’re some kind of charitable, exotic vase. This does not mean they will necessarily ensure citizenship for their adopted children. For foreign adoptees who were 18 by 2000, you are not covered under the current Child Citizenship Act (2000). If you do not have proof of naturalization and even though you were raised here your entire life, you can be deported: 

• “Korean American Adoptee Faces Unjust Deportation” (Angry Asian Man, 10/27/2016) 
  
• “A South Korean Man Adopted By Americans Prepares for Deportation” (NYT 11/1/2016)
  

This brings me to the point of my post: naturalized citizens, get proof of citizenship while Obama is still president. Naturalized citizens can use two documents to prove their citizenship: a U.S. passport and a Certificate of Naturalization (N-550, N-750). 

U.S. Passport info: 

• Routine processing for a new passport typically takes 4-5 weeks and there is an expedited processing option (2-3).
• Here is a link to info about passport application and/or renewal processes and needed documentation: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports.html 
• Here is a PDF of fees to apply for a new passport or renew your old one: U.S. Passport Fees

Now, onto the Certificate of Naturalization: 

The Certificate of U.S. Naturalization (form N-550 or N-570) is a document issued by United States government as proof of a person having obtained U.S. citizenship through naturalization (a legal process of obtaining a new nationality). The Certificate of U.S. Naturalization has been issued since October 1, 1991 by the USCIS, and on or before September 30, 1991 by Federal Courts and particular State Courts. The United States Certificate of Naturalization is proof of an individual’s U.S. citizenship through naturalization. Only naturalized United States citizens can apply for a Certificate of U.S. Naturalization. If you are not a United States citizen, you must first apply for US citizenship. 

Source: Certificate of Naturalization

If you are already a naturalized U.S. citizen and don’t have a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization, you can apply for a new one here: Application for Replacement Certificate of Naturalization.  What you should know: 

• These were apparently issued in 1991 so the yellowed certificate of my citizenship from the 1980s on yellowing, delicate paper might not cut it. I am applying for a new certificate of naturalization but not before I scan both sides of it and find a notary to sign something that says they saw it. 
• The fee for another copy of Certificate of Naturalization: $345
• Trans* naturalized citizens, you can request a new Certificate of Naturalization due to a legal change in gender. Will this change under a Trump presidency? Who knows? Who wants to risk it? 

I saw a lot of white people who were SO SHOCKED and SO SURPRISED their fellow white people voted for Trump. I saw tweets about “hurting” for their friends who were women, immigrant, minority, trans, queer - and god help us if you fall into more than one of those categories. That’s not even to mention the undocumented and those on work or school visas - immigration has a lot of fucking narratives and its time you start realizing that. 

So, do you want to help? Here are two ways to start helping your immigrant friends. 

First, you can help your naturalized friends by getting their paperwork and money in order: planning, finding a translator, helping with gathering paperwork and looking over their paperwork before its submitted; lending emotional support, accompanying them to immigration services and/or other appointments. Take some of that #ImWithHer sentiments that led you to donate to Hillary’s campaign and buy “nasty women” t-shirts and give your friends cold hard cash so they have proof of citizenship either in the form of a U.S. passport or Certificate of Naturalization. 

Second, you can start writing your senator and pressuring them to support of bill S.2275 - Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2015 introduced by Sen. Am Klobuchar (D-MN) designed to prevent the kind of tragedy facing Adam Crapsner in the stories linked above: 

This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant automatic citizenship to all qualifying children adopted by a U.S. citizen parent, regardless of the date on which the adoption was finalized.

An individual born outside of the United States who was adopted by a U.S. citizen parent shall automatically become a U.S. citizen when the following conditions have been fulfilled:

• the individual was adopted by a U.S. citizen before the individual reached age 18,
  
• the individual was physically present in the United States in the citizen parent’s legal custody pursuant to a lawful admission before the individual reached age 18,
  
• the individual never acquired U.S. citizenship before the enactment of this Act, and
  
• the individual was lawfully residing in the United States on the date of enactment of this Act.
  

An individual who meets such criteria, except for lawfully residing in the United States on the date of enactment of this Act, shall automatically become a U.S. citizen on the date on which the individual is physically present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission.

Source: S-2275 - Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2015

Hey, hi, I processed the applications for replacement Naturalization Certificates for about half the country (if you send them to the Nebraska Service Center, I did them until I left that job in September). When I left, we were about 4-6 months backlogged on those, so get them done ASAP. 

You CAN request them to be expedited. 
You CAN ask your congressperson to write a letter on your behalf - USCIS tends to hustle those through quicker!
You CAN apply to have the application fee waived if you are below 120% of the Federal Poverty Line AND/OR you are on need-based benefits (SSI, Welfare, SNAP, WIC, Disability, etc.) AND/OR you can demonstrate financial hardship. I know $345 can be steep, but there are ways around it. 

To help USCIS get your form done faster:

• Make sure you’re using the current revision of the form. This is the #1 reason I rejected forms, they were outdated.
  
• Make sure you have filled the form out completely, to the best of your ability. Include your A-Number, if you know it. Include any other names you have ever used. If we can’t find you in our database, it takes us WAY longer to process the form. 
  
• Make sure you include all the pages. Some are optional in certain circumstances, but we won’t reject an N-565 for being too complete. 

Best of luck!

kryptaria:

shinysherlock:

So, my Dad is a 73-year-old Mexican man who has lived here since he was 16. He was in Watts during the riots in 1965; in 1992, when I was in LA, as soon as the Rodney King verdict was announced, he called me, told me what was coming, told me how to stay safe. He has survived horrible living conditions, being kidnapped, physical abuse, prejudice, discrimination. He learned English, got his green card, pays his taxes, works hard, and has three daughters. 

I thought he would be devastated today.

But he wasn’t.

He saw that I was sad and angry, and he asked me why, pretending he had no idea. I almost started crying. And then he said, “no se me chicopale.” 

It means, don’t lose heart. Don’t give in to despair.

I asked him why he wasn’t upset.

He said, basically, “The world has always been this way. There are always people who are afraid, who are racist, who are awful. This is not new. And it will never go away. He won. We can’t do anything about that. All we can do is what we can do. Fight for what matters to us. Take care of each other. And don’t lose heart. And here, I got these unsalted cashews for you and a bag of jamaica drink mix and can you show me how to use the new washing machine because it’s not working.”

And, for reasons I can’t articulate, I feel a little better. 

As a Jew who just spent two hours talking to a rabbi for the first time in thirty years, please give your dad a hug from me.

Tikun olam, the rabbi reminded me. Literally, it means world repair. It means we live in an imperfect world, and instead of looking to the Heaven of the next world, it’s our duty to be a light in THIS world – to protect those people who need our protection, to work for social justice, and to improve the world as a whole.

The world needs our light.

marsdaydream:

I wonder, if the tables were turned, if the other side would have had to post suicide prevention hotline numbers.

I wonder if they would have had to reserve times at school the next day, as our school did, to console crying, scared children and help them go about their day. I wonder if some of their schools would have had to assure the parents that their kids’ needs were being met on such a difficult day.

I wonder how many people would have had to take mental health days from work because they were so terrified and upset.

I wonder if they would have watched strangers – adults – cry on the street. Or at work. 

I wonder.