Two quizzes from my second favorite website, Infoplease:

 

http://www.infoplease.com/quizzes/citizenship1/1.html

http://www.infoplease.com/quizzes/citizenship2/1.html

 

Take the quizzes and post your results.

 

Your ACTUAL results.

 

I scored 100%. So did the missus, and she ain't even a citizen. So there, Butler County.

Are those really the naturalization tests??  I also got 100% on both, those seemed too easy, but maybe I'm just that smart :speech:

Yeah, i got 100% on both also...i guess i'm that smart too! :speech:

100%, 100%

Unbelievably easy!

Yeah, 100% on both...actually, the woman who sits next to me at work just took her citizenship test last Friday, and passed!  Yay!  Another Russian-American!  But we spent some time going through the questions in her booklet, and these questions are taken directly from that test.  There are maybe 70 or 80 possible questions I think?  And there may be a few a little more difficult (name the current Chief Justice, say, or a few history things), but they're generally like this.

 

Oh, but the actual test she took wasn't multiple choice - a proctor sat across the desk and asked her questions, and she had to supply the answer...at least that's my understanding...which definitely takes it up a level...

 

^From my political science class last semester, I gathered that the test was administered in many different ways and lenghts. We were given sample questions as well, and there are certainly some more difficult ones, but nothing too tricky. Out of the sixty given, there was only one I couldn't answer, and that was a name, I believe.

Out of the sixty given, there was only one I couldn't answer, and that was a name, I believe.

 

You idiot!!!!  Its unAmerican not to know everything!!!!  You are part of the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wink: :laugh:

If every American was right 59/60 times, we'd live in a much better place.

Seriously. I think those of us who got 100% on those two tests are more the exception than the rule....unfortunate as that is.

If every American was right 59/60 times, we'd live in a much better place.

 

You know...they say 90% of the time...it works all the time!!!! :laugh:

100%, 100%

However, if the questions weren't multiple choice my score would drop to 50-70%.

25%- What the hell is the "constitution"?

 

Seriously, I got three in and then got an e-bay add instead of the next question.  That irritates me.  Test over.

Seriously, I got three in and then got an e-bay add instead of the next question.  That irritates me.  Test over.

 

I had the same thing happen...I just started over and everything worked fine the second time around.

100% for both. :)

 

Seemed like something from 4th grade or even earlier than that.

These are easy, but keep in mind english is our first language (for at least most of us).  If you had to take a quiz about France in French, it would be much harder.

Also bear in mind the endless rounds of forms, finger-printing, photographing, interviewing and generally humiliating BS you must go through to even get permanent resident status. Oh, and another thing: thousands of dollars in fees and LOTS of waiting around. Figure in an immigration attorney, which you pretty much have to have nowadays, and you're EARNING that citizenship.

^Oh...absolutely!!!  The current process is REDICULOUS, seeing that we ALL immigrated here at one time or another.  There is NO American origin/civilization...what little there was, was quickly destroyed and removed from all facets of everyday life from all of us European immigrants!

 

I just find it awfully elitist and obnoxious to say that you can come...and you can't.  Why is it tolerable for Asian and Europeans to immigrate here today...but not Hispanics.  Many throw the argument of having to teach them and bring them up from the bottom of society to our standards (I do not like that notion...simply stating the argument)...but isn't this our responsibility as human beings to look out for others??

 

We go into other nations, blow them to hell and back and then rebuild their nation in the efforts of spreading democracy.  Often times this democratic and capitalistic form is not welcomed...but when people are risking their lives to come to our nation for this freedom and lifestyle we feel that we can turn our back.

 

[/rant]

Just some thoughts I've been sitting on...thought I would share  :-D

but isn't this our responsibility as human beings to look out for others??

 

No.

 

...that comes from belief and/or faith...

I thought it was instinct for one being to take care of another (ie animals take care of their own).  Sure we take care of our immediate families (usually) but we are slightly more advanced than other animals...I think we can do a little better.  :|

If we ran our governments and socities on that notion, no one would ever go hungry.

I thought it was instinct for one being to take care of another (ie animals take care of their own).  Sure we take care of our immediate families (usually) but we are slightly more advanced than other animals...I think we can do a little better.  :|

 

Operative phrase: "take care of their own."

 

Many Americans don't recognize immigrants as fellow members of the Family of Man.

 

Sadder still, even within an ethnic community, you can see clearly defined boundaries between different waves of immigrants. Back in my old adopted hometown we had a large Bangladeshi population, and there was a clear break within that community between the group that came in the 90's by way of NYC, and the more recent wave that was coming straight from Dacca. It was sad to see how it undermined that community's ability to unite and grab their share of political clout.

 

One of the rays of sunshine from all the immigration debates last year was that a majority of Americans emerged in favor of more liberalized guest worker policies. Generally, people who regularly interact with immigrants on a personal and/or professional basis have a more sympathetic view on immigration, and those numbers are growing, not shrinking.

 

That means creepy, politicized little shit-holes like Butler County are, ironically, in the shrinking minority.

 

I love how people stereotype the entire county because of the actions of its Sherriff and one (out of three) commissioner. That is as bad as the stereotypes put on our nation because of Bush's actions.

Why is it tolerable for Asian and Europeans to immigrate here today...but not Hispanics.

 

...actually, that's not true...at least according to this, there were more immigrants in 1996 from Mexico than from all of Europe combined.  See also here.  Not to say that it's tolerable to some people to accept certain folks and reject certain others - I have no doubt that is true.  But as a nation, we accept far more Hispanics than any other group - it's not even close.

 

EDIT: Here's another link, this time to actual government data...

 

^What I was referring to is that people don't look at European and Asian immigrants and say 'send those illegals home' (regardless of numbers).  The individual could be legal or not, but one assumes that white and asian immigrants are typically legal and decent people...whereas the opposite beliefs are held about the main demographic (Hispanics) immigrating here.

 

So yes we accept Hispanics in our nation as evident through the numbers of people...but the actual acceptance of this group is EXTREMELY disheartening.

For me, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are hispanic, asian, italian, canadian, martian, whatever... The key word in the entire argument is ILLEGAL. They are hear illegally. They are crossing the border, avoiding customs and breaking the law. People often overlook the fact that it is illegal because they have it rough back home.

 

We don't overlook people who run red lights, stop signs, or speed because they have it rough at home, do we? No, we enforce the law.

 

All I'm saying is either enforce the laws that are there, or revise them to what the people want.

Ohh...there are plenty of 'illegal' European immigrants here as well, they are able to find loopholes instead of darting across a border and avoiding capture.

I love how people stereotype the entire county because of the actions of its Sherriff and one (out of three) commissioner. That is as bad as the stereotypes put on our nation because of Bush's actions.

 

Then I look forward to the termination of the sheriff and commissioner's careers at the close of the next election cycle. Butler County Voters: do you thing.

 

And to your point, I'm ashamed of the actions of the gullible 62 million Americans who voted for Bush 2004. The world is right to think less of the US for choosing Bush. But barring unforseen developments, that's a yoke we've got to bear through January of 2009.  

 

 

All I'm saying is either enforce the laws that are there, or revise them to what the people want.

 

I agree with Neville. The majority of Americans DON'T want a fence and DO want a guest worker program. So let's get to work.

And to your point, I'm ashamed of the actions of the gullible 62 million Americans who voted for Bush 2004. The world is right to think less of the US for choosing Bush. But barring unforseen developments, that's a yoke we've got to bear through January of 2009.

 

You know whats funny...is that I saw all the mess were in today, writen on the wall in the '04 election.  A lame duck president, who already had a sketchy first term to say the least...was a disaster waiting to happen.  I guess 'I told you so' just doesn't seem to cut it at this point.

I love how people stereotype the entire county because of the actions of its Sherriff and one (out of three) commissioner. That is as bad as the stereotypes put on our nation because of Bush's actions.

 

Then I look forward to the termination of the sheriff and commissioner's careers at the close of the next election cycle. Butler County Voters: do you thing.

 

Even if most voters disagreed with the way these men (Fox and Jones) are handling illegals, their jobs/accomplishments have gone furthur than that.

 

Jones cut the jail cable, he restarted the chain gang, he started serving warden burgers, he severly cut his budget voluntarily(!), he stepped in when two city police forces were overwhelmed (once again voluntarily and for the first time in the department's history), etc, etc, etc. These kinds of things granted him much respect from the county and although he has been met with much opposition about his illegal immigration policies, that is just one piece of the puzzle voters must consider.

 

Fox has been in the Butler County political arena for quite a while and is known for many big projects: the Butler County Regional (Mike Fox) Highway, Union Center, the GSC Tower in downtown Hamilton, etc. He hasn't really had all that much to do with the immigration policy of Sherriff Jones, except to show support; nothing would be happening if it was up to him.

Immigrants struggle with rising fees

 

By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer

 

SAN FRANCISCO - Supporting herself and a 7-year-old son on a preschool teacher's salary in suburban Marin County, one of the nation's priciest housing markets, keeps Russian immigrant Sveta Nikitina on a tight budget.

 

One expense she can't control is the rising cost of filing the forms she needs to work and travel in the United States while she waits to become a permanent resident.

 

Those fees have already pushed her careful bookkeeping into the red.

 

And now her plans — and those of many other immigrants — could be pushed out of reach by a proposal to increase the filing fees for more than two dozen forms by an average of 66 percent. The increases are likely to be implemented by summer.

 

"It was a huge amount of money for me," she said. "I went into overdraft to do it, but what else can I do — throw in the towel, just give up?"

 

The $350 Nikitina paid this year to the Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services would go up to $645 annually. That is just for filing the forms to renew her work and travel permits.

 

For the vast majority of legal immigrants who are just starting the residency application process that Nikitina already has under way, the fees for filing forms and for being fingerprinting would go from $935 to $1985. Some people are allowed to file for free, including members of the military and refugees.

 

"A lot of them are making very difficult choices, between food and bills and rent and these fees, plus whatever they have to pay an attorney," said Susan Bowyer, managing attorney at the International Institute of the East Bay, a nonprofit organization that gives newcomers cut-rate legal help. "Even with our reduced fees, it would be a real hardship."

 

The federal agency, required by Congress to support its operations with fees, plans to use the funds to reduce lengthy delays in processing certain applications, strengthen its security and fraud investigations teams, and modernize equipment, said agency spokeswoman Sharon Rummery.

 

Some of the agency's goals — speeding up processing, putting files online instead of in boxes and clearing the backlog — are in the applicants' interest, she said.

 

"We've come very far," she said. "There used to be lines that would go around the block. We don't have that anymore."

 

However, immigrants and their attorneys fear the hikes will hurt people who are trying to follow the rules, stalling their immigration process or delaying their ability to bring over close relatives.

 

"The impact is ... likely to be immediate and profound," said Crystal Williams, of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

 

Advocates fear some might try to cut costs by trying to navigate the complexities of immigration law without an attorney.

 

"Immigration law today is a much more dangerous thicket than it was a decade ago," said Williams. "The wrong mistake could not only cause a person to lose his shot at citizenship, it could cost him his green card and his ability to live lawfully in the U.S."

 

Last year, 730,642 immigrants applied to become U.S. citizens, and 497,005 applied to become permanent residents.

 

The federal government implemented smaller fee increases in 2004, to account for the additional costs of in-depth background checks required after Sept. 11, and again in 2005, to keep up with inflation.

 

Stephen and Simona Gaudet, who were recently married, say the fees mean they may have to indefinitely postpone her goal of becoming a citizen. Gaudet, a construction worker and landscape designer from Lynn, Mass., is on disability because of an injury and his wife, a Latvian immigrant, is holding down two jobs.

 

"It's definitely a priority, but for a young couple like us, it boils down to a money issue," he said.

 

___

 

On the Net:

 

Citizenship and Immigration Services: http://www.uscis.gov/

 

International Institute of the East Bay: http://www.iieb.org/

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070219/ap_on_re_us/immigration_fees;_ylt=AhrFgoobEHX1rtVAFSbAjEFH2ocA