AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy @seagullsacademy.bsky.social
And here's my question, if you don't mind: how long have you been living there for?
I came over in October 2002, so 18 years now. I was on an H1B visa for three years and then renewed for another three years (which was the maximum). At that point you had to apply for your Green Card (lawful permanent resident) if you wished to stay.
I was granted my Green Card in 2009. You can apply for your citizenship once you have held the Green Card for five years, so I had been eligible for a while. I hadn't done it previously because it really didn't grant me any additional benefits (other than voting), but you have to renew the GC every ten years. The cost isn't much more to apply for citizenship, than to renew the GC, so I decided it made sense to apply for citizenship (that, plus the fact that I simply didn't trust this White House administration with their record on immigration, so I thought it best to secure citizenship while I could).