having gone through the immigration process once to get my residency, i can tell you there is nothing simple or cheap about it. and the odds are stacked against you from the get go. even without a lawyer we spent over $4000 between 2004 – 2006 for filing fees, medical, notarised copies. vic and i are native english speakers and are fairly intelligent people and it would take us hours to decipher the instructions for most of the forms.
that said, we’re about to jump back into the fray, thanks to the generous contributions of friends, i’ve got the necessary funds to start my citizenship application. and with this multipage submission begins a new descent into the bureaucratic hell hole that is USCIS. more copies of our married and divorce decrees, tax returns, proof of address.
plus there are the biometric services, ie photographing and fingerprinting, bearing in mind that i’ve been photographed and fingerprinted by this same organisation on multiple occasions and it’s not covered by the $585 filing fee you’re required to submit with the forms.
why am i doing this again? so i can enjoy the same illusion that everyone else has – my vote can make a difference. wish me luck.
Buena suerte. I’ll be jumping in the fray soon and refuse to do it attorney-less. Expensive? Ohh, yeah. Call me lazy, but it’s too complicated a process for me to even want to tackle on my own.