So, this is a story all about how
I became an American citizen, again.
(pencil scratching)
(video game beeping)
Hello and become back to the channel and Vlogmas.
So today I wanna tell you about the time
that I had to become an American citizen for the second time.
So, in case you're new or aren't aware,
I am originally from Germany.
I was there for a year
and then I moved to the states when I was a year old.
I'm basically raised American, but anyway.
My dad was in the Army, he's an American,
he was in the U.S. Army
and then he was stationed in Germany for a little bit
and my biological mother is German,
born there, raised there, whatever.
So I'm half and half and I was born there.
And what happens when you are born in another country,
but have an American citizen as a parent?
You get acquisition of citizenship,
which is the fancy term and you are an American citizen.
Now, I know it's a little bit more complicated than that
and I think you can also be, like,
say I would be a German citizen instead of an American one,
but I became an American one?
Okay, I don't really know all of the fancy stuff behind that
but that's just what it was.
My dad was an American citizen, is an American citizen,
has been all his life, I was born and that's how it went.
Acquisition of citizenship.
I've always had an American passport,
I have a German birth certificate and an American passport.
And in 10th grade, I had to renew my passport
'cause it was expired or expiring
and so I go to the post office,
I fill out the form like you're supposed to
and then they ask for my passport and I hand it over to them
and they go, "We don't accept this
"because you are not an American citizen,
"as you were born in Germany."
And we were all like, what?
We were very confused and we told them
no, I have acquisition of citizenship.
Dad's an American citizen,
I have an American passport all my life,
so I'm an American citizen.
But they were so adamant on the fact I was not
and basically they said
we are not going to give you a passport or whatever.
The really nitty gritty details are very fuzzy
'cause I was 15,
so this was a long time ago when this happened.
And they said, "You have to go to Homeland Security
"and go become an American citizen."
They weren't having it any other way.
So, I got to take the day off from school
and I went to Homeland Security.
I go to Homeland Security, they ask, "What'cha doin' here?"
And I said I'm here to become an American citizen.
And I give them my passport and they said,
the guy was like: "Why are you here?"
(laughing)
He's like, "Why are you here?
"You have an American passport, you are a citizen,
"why are you here?
"I do not understand."
And I said: Well, the post office won't give me
a new passport because they say I'm not a citizen.
They are very strong
and they are very adamant on their decision,
on their opinion that I am not an American citizen
and they will not go forward with my passport renewal.
And they just look at me like, (sighs) "God, these people."
And they were just like, "Alright then, here we go.
"We're going to do this whole test then."
And so go over there and they give me
this paperwork to fill out and I do all of that
and I had to recite, had to answer some questions or whatever
and then I recite a whole speech and, you know,
I think I had to put my hand on a bible
and, you know, do all that and basically be like:
yes, I agree to become an American citizen and what not.
And here I was with this fancy piece of paper
that now says Certificate of American Citizenship
as if I had never been an American citizen before.
And then Homeland Security gave it to me and they just like,
"We don't get it, but here you go!
"Welcome to America, again.
"And congrats on being
"what you already were in the first place?
"Have a nice day!"
Yeah, so that was a thing.
I got to take an entire day off from school
and when I went back to school the next day,
I said: Hey guys, I'm an American citizen again!
And, of course, everybody else was confused,
my English teacher was very confused
and he's like, "Weren't you already though?"
Yeah!
He made this whole thing about,
when we were getting ready to start class
and we were just sitting down and he's like,
"Class, I have an announcement.
"I would like you all to welcome Rikki
"to the United States of America
"and congratulate her on becoming a citizen,
"even though she already was."
(laughing)
I was just like.
And everybody's just clapping
and I became an American citizen again for whatever reason
and actually I went back to the post office
'cause then we finally had a certificate.
I had my old passport, I had my certificate
and we had a different person this time.
I gave them both and this person was like,
"Why do you have a, why?
"Why do you have an old American passport
"and this brand new certificate?"
And I went: Well, somebody else said
that I wasn't allowed to get a passport
until I became a citizen again,
even though I already am one
and they looked at me like, what?
So basically, the first person that we went to
was just very ignorant of the laws, I guess,
and everybody was just very confused
as to why I had this certificate.
Now I guess I'm definitely
an American citizen again, because.
So, it was a very interesting time
and it makes for a great story, I guess, you know
and I thought it would be
a nice thing to tell you all today.
But now, I'm very curious if you have
a story very similar to this,
maybe you've also had to deal with this type of thing
or if anybody has told you that you're not this and that
and didn't know the laws because you have a thing
that says you are this and that and whatever, you know,
feel free to leave 'em in the comments.
I'm very curious.
I feel like there are probably
some really good stories out there.
But, now, before you go, if you haven't,
consider being a pledge on Patreon.
It's a great way to support your favorite creator's content.
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written pieces you won't see anywhere else
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And I will see you later, bye!
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