Resident Alien

I am an alien. I've been one for most of my life.

I carry a German passport because that's where I was born and it's the nationality of my father. My mother is Filipino, but I don't have a Filipino passport. I was a resident alien in the Philippines for all the time that I lived there. I turned 18 in Manila, but couldn't vote. I moved to the US almost 15 years ago and became a green card holder about 8 years ago. Green card holders are also known as, you guessed it, resident aliens.

Such warm and fuzzy terminology, isn't it? "OK, you are permitted to stay here legally but just to make sure you know your place, we'll call you 'aliens'." Maybe that's why they're called green cards, in honor of those 'real' aliens, the green Martians of our imaginations.

I could probably apply for US citizenship now. Why don't I? Every time an election rolls around I think about the fact that I've never voted for anything with broader impact than a PTA. This hasn't bothered me much before but since the Republicans took the presidency in 2000 (has it really been that long?), I do find myself thinking that I should take that step. Put my money where my mouth and my political leanings are. Whereas for the longest time, I couldn't have cared less who was running the government, I've finally come of political age here in the US. I think this is where my family and I will be living for the forseeable future so, why not? What's stopping me?

Is it the fact that I probably need to give up my German passport? There's always my dad's voice in my head saying: "What if you need that one day? What if you need to leave the US and move to Europe? At least then, you'll have citizenship and it will be that much easier." That's probably part of my reluctance. Then there are the hoops that I'll have to jump through. Let's face it, that's more work that I don't have time for. Should I suck it up, make time, and just do it? What's to lose?

For once, I could really belong.