I was so worried like: oh shit something is gonna happen and I'm gonna miss the appointment, or forget a document, or something... too suspiciously calm and peaceful...
Nothing happened... I just went and did a normal thing... lol
All the post offices (that's where people in the US apply for passports, idk how its done in other countries) in my city are booked full... the fastest available slot was in another town across state lines
and its a predominantly white neighborhood... (and I'm ethnically Chinese)
So I was like: *Am I gonna be the only "foreign looking" person here? Oh no everyone is gonna stare at me...
I show up there...
and...
The guy working at the post office has brown skin tone... which I didn't even register at first since I got so used to it in Philly...
and then he spoke with a very noticible foreign accent (it sounds very close to a stereotypical "Indian Accent" as portrayed in the media... and no offence btw, my mom also has a very noticible accent)
and it took a few seconds before my brain processed it
oh... that's unexpected... (cuz I thought everyone is gonna be white here, I read that it was supposed to be a very white according to online searches)
then I thought
yay, I'm not the most "foreign looking" person here!
Like I actually felt so much better seeing a non-white person here... especially someone that's actually working at the post office...
(and I mean it in a "We're both PoCs in this very white area" sort of way, like I felt less "out of place")
Honestly I think the internet paints a too grim of a view of the US... its not that bad when you actually touch grass... especially Reddit/Lemmy is so fucking distored and filled with FUD, doomerism, and "resistance is futile"-type propaganda, the average person in the US is not gonna lynch you for not being white... the sun was shining, and other than the paranoia, I didn't really felt like I was in any real danger...
- did not meet any angry white old guy or karens yelling racial slurs or being aggressive...
- did not run into ICE...
But then again, ngl, it felt weird that my dad was there with me and he was a non citizen and didn't speak English... felt kinda awkward... but I have no drivers license so I need my parents for transportation ๐คทโโ๏ธ
Also I now have no physical documentationa for my citizenship until they mail the stuff back to me... cuz they sent the original with the passport application...
Lets hope I don't run into ICE in these few weeks... ๐
[insert "chucles, I'm in danger" meme here]
Iโm going to assume you were born in the us, if this is not the case please ignore me. Go get another copy of your birth certificate ASAP. Even once you get your original back itโs a really good idea to have a backup.
I was born in China...
A N-565, to request a replacement for the Certificate of Citizenship (citizenship obtained via derivation under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 via my mom's naturalization), costs like $500 to file...
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ (yes that feels like money literally growing wings and flying away... or as my parents say, throwing money into the ocean)
I'm sure it'll be fine... what are the odds of ICE come knocking like right now this moment, these few weeks, after I didn't even see an ICE agent (as in IRL, with my own eyes) for like the 16 years I've been here.
I have a scanned version on my phone bia the printer, a photo taken with phone camera, and also a paper-copy in black and white (no color ink at home ๐คทโโ๏ธ)