Oath of Allegiance for Naturalized Citizens
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
If you feel strongly enough, they will allow you to omit the clause about bearing arms for the U.S. of A. Still, it might not be wise to provoke the ill will of the immigration officer.
My father pointed out recently that if I'm considering grad school in Britain, I need to seriously consider getting American citizenship so that I will have less trouble moving back here afterwards. It's ironic that I'm considering this in order to move back to Britain temporarily, but I definitely don't want to be prevented to returning to family, friends, and possible job opportunities.
Looking at this oath makes me feel physically nauseated, which isn't a good start. It isn't that I hate America, or that I feel incredibly patriotic towards Britain. I have always felt like an immigrant here, though, and I expect I always will. And it's not the sort of "yippee keyay, you saved me from persecution" sort of immigrant, either. I feel like the other, the outsider. Ironic given that I've lived here since I was six weeks old, but a major part of my identity lies in the fact that I'm not American. I feel very melodramatic and silly about this.
Most immigrants never belong fully to either country. If I moved to Britain, I would know American pop culture, have an Americanized accent, an American past, an American education. I would be just as much the outsider, except that I think I would regret it rather than hold it as a matter of pride. I lied in the paragraph above; I must have some British patriotism. It's misguided and idealized, because I haven't lived there since I was twelve, but I consider most patriotism to be misguided and idealized. And I would keep my British citizenship, unless I chose to join the American military, so it's a moot point anyhow. That oath is a hard pill to swallow, though. My emotions don't make much sense on this issue.
For those of you who have become naturalized, how long did the process take? What were your feelings about taking the oath?
I must be a really big nerd, because part of me is looking foward to taking the Immense Civics Test from Hell that Very Few Americans Could Pass.