I became U.S. citizen today.

After living in California for the last 10 years (not counting the close to 1 year total time I actually spent outside of the US during that time frame), it seemed normal to me to apply for citizenship. I did that 4 months ago and the process went very smoothly ending by the Oath ceremony today in Saratoga.

For those interested in dates:

• 07/07/1999: Entered the USA on a J1 visa
• 07/2000: Transferred to an H1B visa
• 06/2003: Received letter I had been selected to apply for a green card through the diversity visa lottery.
• 07/2003: Second H1B visa
• 06/14/2004: Green card application accepted (I had a very high number so it took a while for it to become eligible. In a better (or worst depending how you look at it) year, I might never have become eligible)
• 04/15/2009: Applied for naturalization
• 06/06/2009: Fingerprinting
• 07/29/2009: Interview and questions
• 08/20/2009: U.S. Citizen