Early in our marriage we lived in Japan for several years as Bill's first job after college was located there. In order to live in Japan it was always easy for Bill to obtained Japan permanent residency as the spouse of a Japanese national. Living outside the US off and on for several years at a time, however, made it difficult for Rika to qualify for citizenship and maintain valid permanent residence status. We were always very careful to obtain re-entry permits, returning to the US often, to maintain permanent US residency status. And for many years, the "Green Card" worked fine.
- Our children are truly bi-cultural and for the most part bi-lingual.
- We have been able to (or attempted to) adopt the good, and things we like and enjoy, from each culture into our family traditions and culture.
- We have gained a true appreciation for each others' families, backgrounds, languages and cultures.
- We have developed a global awareness and understanding that we don't think we could have obtained if we did not experience both worlds for such extended parts of our lives.
In the end, since we own property and now spend most our time in the US, we concluded our life would be simpler if Rika had US citizenship.
One aspect of an international marriage that people often don't think about is the fact that at least one of you (in the marriage) will have to live outside your home country. While living in a third country (a country neither of you are from is also an option), we have found that ultimately couples like us usually end up settling in one or the others' home country.
This can lead to a happy and content life, but for many this can, especially in later years, turn out to be a point of contention or frustration for the couple. We would like to address that topic in a future post.
In the mean time, welcome to one of the U.S.'s newest citizens!
Thanks for reading!
Bill and Rika
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