Citizenship

Last Wednesday, Scott and Abby received an email from an agent at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services advising them about an appointment for their interview for Mary’s citizenship in two months.  This was the contact they had been waiting and praying to receive since arriving in the US in May.  Because of the change in the interpretation of the statute, they would not receive her paperwork immediately, thus needing to remain in the US longer than planned.  Scott replied to the email and explained their schedule and need for returning home.  They soon received a call from a USCIS representative.  After checking the schedule, they “just happened” to have an opening for 8:00 on Monday morning, December 2, 2013.

Words from Scott:

“Thank you for all of your prayers: Today's appointment was wonderful and a complete success!  Our appointment started right on time and was completed without any difficulty as a simple formality. The longest part of the meeting was hearing about the great Cyber Monday deals on Amazon that our case officer had found before work that morning (which was a weird thing to talk about under oath!).

The only hiccup came as we were standing up to go and she told us to go wait in the lobby again. We asked why, and she said that she would have them issue Mary's Certificate of Citizenship today so that we could take it with us as we left!  After six months, what's another 60 minutes?!  When we received it, it confirmed that Mary is a US citizen and has been since she entered the US back in May.”

Along with her Certificate of Citizenship, Mary received a US flag to celebrate her status as an official US citizen.

Because Mary has been adopted by Abby and Scott, her parents were able to request and pay the fees for the right for Mary to be a US citizen.  More importantly, we pray that one day, Mary will accept God’s offer of adoption, as His child, by believing in and accepting His Son, Jesus Christ, as her Lord and Savior.  Jesus has already paid that debt with His life for Mary and each of us.  And that citizenship is eternal. 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

I John 3:1

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:19-20

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21