I pledge allegiance...

So after spending 14 years in various states of status in the US, I finally took my oath and became a bonafide US citizen. It wasn't really that I thought India was a horrible country to be identified with, or that I am now willing to bear arms for the USA - the reasons were more pragmatic. Every year I find myself traveling out of the country, and the biggest pain in the whole process is getting visas. Apparently not many countries think that Indian citizens should have an open entry policy. But ironically, the same countries that rant against American hegemony welcome American passports (and dollars) with open arms. Sooo.. more for the sake of convenience, I decided to go for it. The added benefit of getting a citizenship is that I can help vote Barak Obama into office. Hehe.

Tish and Priya went along with me. We had to leave the house at 6 in the morning. Priya was barely awake, and she was such a good sport throughout. As is not common during important events, there was a big accident going into Chicago, and the expressway was completely shut down. I heard about it 5 minutes before we were to leave, and I had to get downtown via the backroads. We made it in good time though.

The ceremony itself lasted 15 minutes. The judges lecture on good citizenship was a good deal longer than the actual oath.

Waiting in line to get in the court room

To keep Priya occupied, Tish let her play with the camera. Her smudges got all over the lens - hence the quality of the pictures to follow.

The judge and I are good friends now