The United States Has Two New Citizens

I am so excited that I can not stand it.  I don't know if I have ever been so proud.

REAGAN AND MYERS ARE NOW OFFICIAL CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES!!!

In all of the research that Ryan and I have been doing for our decision making process about moving to the US, we discovered that it was actually quite a very simple process for our children.  Unlike Ryan, Reagan and Myers do not have to "immigrate" to the US as they are naturally already US citizens... we just had to claim that citizenship for them by filing for a "Report of Birth Abroad" for each of them.

And today, we did just that!  We decided that regardless of what decision we make about moving South, it is important for our children to have complete dual citizenship in both the US and Canada.

We got up bright and early this morning, and we were on our way to Vancouver by 6:30am for our 8:30am appointment.  We may live only 40 miles away from the heart of Vancouver, but once you add in the crazy traffic, it can take twice as long to get there as you would think.

We arrived at the US Consulate's Office in plenty of time before our appointment, however we still almost ended up being late due to the insane security measures that we had to go through.  Seriously, they would not even allow us to bring in a sippy cup of milk for Myers.  No toys, no phones, no electronic devices of any kind, even if it was just for the purpose of keeping the kids entertained.  We literally had to beg for them to allow us to bring in ONE diaper and TWO baby wipes.  Yes, they counted.  And neither of these items could be in a purse or diaper bag because bags, even hand bags, are not allowed.  I understand the need for keeping everyone safe, but Ryan and I both felt that it was taken a little too far.

Anyway, once we were finally inside, it was smooth sailing.  I had done my homework, and was fully prepared for this appointment.  Each and every document that was requested had been completed and checked over numerous times before this day.  But, even so, I was nervous that our request would be delayed or denied if I had somehow overlooked something in the massive amount of paperwork that was requested of us.  Birth certificate, Official Registration of Live Birth Certificate, my US Passport, Ryan's Canadian Passport, our Marriage Certificate, my Canadian Immigration Record of Landing Certificate, evidence of my physical presence in the US for at least five years prior to Reagan's birth but after my 14th birthday (very specific on that one), plus the actual application form for the Report of Birth Abroad, the application for a Social Security Number, the application for a US Passport, two photographs, and the required fees all had to be completed for both Reagan and Myers.  Needless to say, it was stressful making sure that everything was complete and correct.

But we were successful, and at approximately 10:30 this morning, Reagan and Myers became official US citizens!

Now all we have to do is start the much more complicated and intricate process for Ryan!