Fauzia Din wants to know why her Afghan husband’s visa was denied, but the US government has stayed mum, citing national security.
Tarek Hamdi wanted to be a US citizen. The federal government wasn't so sure. He spent 11 years battling bureaucracy and a new federal program to get his citizenship.
The US citizenship has an amazingly high pass rate — but it also has a number of critics. They argue the questions, frankly, are bad. And the test doesn't encourage immigrants to become better citizens, but rather to memorize facts they can write on the test.
At some level, all countries push new citizens to integrate and that's where civics and language citizenship tests come in. But when you take a longer look at how citizenship exams are developed worldwide, you realize they can have less to do with methodology than promoting a strict cultural identity.
Citizenship was once a dream for immigrants. Now, the difference between a green card and citizenship may not be worth the trouble for many.
What makes the issue of citizenship so divisive? What does the “path to citizenship” look like now and what obstacles already exist for immigrants? What impact might the different plans have on this country? Join an online discussion.