Attaining a US Citizenship
A source of pride or worry?
by Linh H. Duong

"I am very proud to be a citizen of the United States of America!"

I have often heard this precious declaration from many immigrants. How wonderful it is to be a citizen of a country that has the strongest economy and military might in the world. The United States sets the standard for democracy for the rest of the world. Americans have total freedom and their human rights are sacred and well protected. Individuals have equal opportunities to progress. There are few refugees who do not want to be come US citizens. It seems contradictory then to see many of them who are fretting about achieving their dream because of the citizenship interview.

I have been fortunate to work at the Vietnamese Senior Center of Colorado for the past two years. We have provided services to nearly 200 elderly refugees. These services have included providing assistance in becoming an US citizen. We have helped sixty individuals but only twenty (33%) have passed the citizenship interview, which is very low in comparison to my hopeful expectations.

Unfortunately, instead of being proud of obtaining an interview, elderly refugees are frightened. I have known of people who have lost 15 pounds waiting for their interviews. Elderly refugees experience fear for two reasons.

1. The inability to understand English.

Refugees have recently settled in the United States and have come from war-torn countries. The Vietnamese suffered 30 years of war and many endured communist labor camps. Now in their old age, these elderly refugees suffer from physical and mental weaknesses, disease, poor eyesight, and have enormous difficulties learning English. They may know American history and culture but cannot express their answers very well in English.

2. Difficult interviewers.

There are some INS interviewers who do not even have the courtesy to welcome applicants with a friendly greeting. After admitting interviewees into the interview room and letting them sit for five to seven minutes, while they shuffle paper work, they begin the interview with an "uneasy" attitude. This is very unsettling to an older Vietnamese person and the interviewer may have inadvertently frightened them by their attitude.

I understand that their attitude are normal for any responsible worker in an office that is overflowed with clients. They are sometimes tired and are not completed to smile or talk much.

There are other interviewers who are very polite and ask the older refugee interviewees many questions about their family, work, or background. Unfortunately, because English is so difficult to learn, elderly interviewees have studied and concentrated on English to answer the question regarding US history. When they are asked questions outside of that parameter they will sit quietly because they do not understand the interviewers questions. The elderly refugee will fail the interview because the interviewer believes the elderly refugee knows nothing.

The fear of failure is exacerbated by the fact that reapplying for an interview, if they fail, is $250.00 application fee instead of $95.00 as the law required in the past. This is a significant amount of money to most. Moreover, If they do not be come US citizens after seven years of residence in America, their benefits would be negatively affected, according to the Social Securities Amendment with subsection 105-306, which President Bill Clinton has signed into effect since October 28, 1998.

As the Case Manager for the Vietnamese Senior Center, I often participate in conferences about the elderly refugees with other Asian elderly refugees, both in-and outside of Colorado. In discussing about the aforementioned issues, these conference attendants agree with me about the inability to understand English and meeting difficulty interviewers.

What can be done to help older refugees obtain successful results in obtaining their citizenship with pride ? I believe that only the INS can answer this difficult question. To me, if possible, I would like to propose exceptional changes to current citizenship requirements for older applicants should be 65 years of age and have minimum of 5 years of residence in the United States. Applicants who meet these requirements should be allowed to obtain citizenship interviews in their native language. Other requirements for citizenship interviews, such as 50 years of age and 20 years of residence or 55 years of age and 15 years of residence, are unnecessary. The reason is that those who are 50 years of age, for example, have already been living in the United States for twenty years; English should not be a concern for them, since they have plenty of time and opportunities to study. Therefore, it is automatic that citizenship interviews for these individuals should be conducted in English.

Yes, immigrants should learn English and know American history and culture but we must recognize the limits age places on learning a new language. We encourage the lawmakers and INS officials to examine their methods when dealing with older individuals who are applying for citizenship.

About the elderly applicants, I advise them that relaxing would greatly improve their performance at the interviews. In addition, after turning in all the required documents, they should patiently wait for their turn to be interviewed. Do not question or complain if someone is called for interview only after six months of waiting, instead of the normal waiting time of two years, because that is the INS' business.