America 250: Why I chose to become an American
Across the globe, people still look to the U.S. as the home of self-rule and hope
I will start this story at its end: In early July, after a lifetime of dreaming about the day I could finally call myself an American, my eight-year long immigration journey came to an end, and I finally became a U.S. citizen.
My journey was full of obstacles, some of which have left me scarred. But I deliberately chose this country, and would choose it a thousand times over because of how much I cherish America’s founding values — principles that have enabled this country to provide unparalleled freedom and prosperity to those willing to put in the work.
I’ve been aware of America since the age of four, when I watched the TV special “Babar Comes to America” from my home country of Argentina and was instantly enamored. In the story, Babar the Elephant and his family sail to America to star in a Hollywood movie, but not before they take a regional tour, traveling through New York City, D.C., the Midwest and the Southwest. I was fascinated by these new places, and I told my mom that one day I too would “live in Hollywood like Babar.”1
As I grew, my fascination with America compounded. I consumed American culture through literature, movies, TV shows and video games. Even at a young age, I sensed that there was something different and unique about America, and I couldn’t get enough of it. At age nine, I finally visited the U.S. on a family trip to Florida. I saw first-hand then that America was indeed different: The abundance and the way people handled themselves were unlike anything I had seen in my young life. This country felt safe and limitless — like a place where people came to make their dreams come true.
A decade and a few trips to the U.S. later, I began to understand (largely thanks to reading Ayn Rand) what makes America so unique. The reason lies in its founding principles — the recognition and respect of each individual’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. These ideals are universally inspiring and enable the freedoms we enjoy to pursue our values, procure our own happiness, and rise to the extent that hard work will permit. That’s what this country was built on, and to a large extent, Americans have embodied these principles for two and a half centuries.
These ideas are so immensely powerful that they transcend borders, calling to people in every part of the globe. Take it from me: There are people who are American on everything but on paper, even before having ever set foot on these shores. I was American long before I gained official citizenship. My entire life, I subscribed to the American ideals, but wasn’t technically an American until a few weeks ago. There are millions across the world who feel like I did — “Americanized” by the ideals of freedom and the prosperity they enable. America is the only country in history that has ever achieved such cultural influence.
America hasn’t always lived up to the promises of its founding. It has deviated from them many times, and those deviations caused massive injustices like slavery and segregation. In myriad ways, America still struggles to live up to them today — through crushing regulations and many limits to individual freedom.
One way in which it struggles to live up to its founding principles is its immigration system, which keeps the vast majority of peaceful would-be immigrants out and puts the ones it does let in legally through rings of fire (in contrast to early America’s immigration system, which let in the vast majority of people coming here to work and build this country).
I experienced this first-hand. Throughout my immigration journey, I followed every rule and every single immigration regulation. But that didn’t spare me from the cruelty of the immigration system. (Every immigration case is extremely complex. I will only focus on one aspect of mine and simplify it for the sake of clarity.)
While my dreams of becoming an American citizen began as a child, my formal journey began when I came to the US for a Masters degree. This was extremely expensive and laborious. Financially, it was (and still is) the biggest decision I had ever made. Emotionally, it meant leaving everything behind for at least a while to come here — including my father, who had just gone through chemotherapy to fight an aggressive form of cancer. The treatment was successful, but I was hesitant to leave and wanted to defer for a semester to be with him. My dad, knowing I’ve always loved America and how enthusiastically I wanted to continue my studies on the law, urged me to pursue the opportunity now, and insisted he was on the mend.
I begrudgingly left — feeling torn between my ambition and my desire to accompany my father while he finished his recovery.
I graduated with honors, and eventually had the opportunity to apply for long-term legal status. At last, my chance to finally call America my home!
I started the extensive paperwork, and then I heard the news: My dad’s cancer was back, and it had invaded his body in such a way that he was told he’d live for only a couple more months. I was devastated and started looking for flights to head back home.
But then my immigration lawyer explained that, due to how the immigration system works, if I left the country during my adjustment of status my application would be considered abandoned and I wouldn’t be let back into the U.S. I would have to start the process again, with little chance of success. In essence, I had to choose between saying goodbye to my dying father, and pursuing my life-long dream of building a life in America.
There was no question in my mind at the time — I had to return to Argentina. But my dad explained in a call that there was nothing I could do about his situation. That if I came back and abandoned my dreams, with uncertainty about whether I’d be able to resume them ever again, he wouldn’t be able to be at peace. He told me, only half-jokingly, that if I came back he’d kick me out the door and send me back to America.
After much reflection, I decided to honor his wish. I had my last call with him in early July, 2018, and on July 7 he passed away.
A couple of years later, I was finally able to return to Argentina to scatter his ashes. A lot had happened in the intervening years — including being barred from working in the U.S. for months due to a delayed work permit, which put me through severe economic hardship.
It’s been seven years since my father passed away, and not a day goes by that I don’t think of him. Grief still strikes me at the most unexpected moments.
This is what the U.S. immigration system does to legal immigrants every day. How was it in America’s interest to do this to me? Is this system living up to American ideals? Is America any safer or in any way better for it?
It is not.
The loss of my father will haunt me forever, and the injustice done to me by these regulations will never be repaired.
And yet, I chose to become an American and continue to choose this country every day.
While I disagree with so many things going on in this country, and while I suffered first-hand from destructive regulations, I never became disenchanted with the idea of America. America’s founding ideals are good and noble, and this is what has kept me pushing and fighting for this country to live up to them.
Eight years after my immigration journey began, I took the Oath of Allegiance and became a proud citizen of this great nation. As I repeated the oath between sobs during my naturalization ceremony, I took seriously the promise to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” The U.S. Constitution is, along with the Declaration of Independence, the most beautiful and important political document in the history of mankind, and I will defend it and its principles for as long as I live.
All the pain and hardship I endured was due to a failure of U.S. laws to live up to American values, not due to a failure of the values themselves.
America is turning 250 years old next year. My story is just a tiny microcosm of its history — full of struggles, values achieved and lost, sustained periods of happiness, profound grief and a constant striving to do better and be freer. I wish for America’s future a return to those Founding values and improvement upon them — those values which enabled the unparalleled freedom that we enjoy.
Our country has been going through an extremely challenging time for many years, and it is testing our institutions and moral principles. How we choose to act now will have long-lasting implications for our country. I hope Americans will ultimately continue to side with the principles of our nation's founding and the Constitution that we’ve vowed to defend.
Agustina Vergara Cid, LL.B. and LL.M, is a Young Voices contributor. Her commentary has appeared in The Orange County Register, Newsweek and The Hill. Follow her on X: @agustinavcid
I ended up living in Los Angeles when I first moved to America in 2017 — near Hollywood, no less.
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Thank you for sharing your story! I too love America and am happy to be a recent immigrant, despite how nerve-wracking that can be these days There is nowhere I would rather be.