It must have taken me more than 2 years to finally have an appointment for an interview at the end of this month. I was supposed to have one in October, when I was studying in Japan. Since I couldn't make it, I had to petition to change the date of the interview. I must have written them 6 letters total for the petition and to check my status. The USCIS would only respond by mail, and of course, they never "responded" to my 6 letters.
So, I finally got an appointment letter for an interview. This is after a really long application, a fee of $400, fingerprinting appointment, and a long wait. I finally get to claim my name back!
After coming back from Japan, I have been using "Hiu Ying Tang" because there were discrepancies with my identity in the financial aid office. (Long story how I have used Stephanie and not my Chinese name, despite all of my legal documents state my Chinese name.) So, for the past 2 semesters, I have introduced myself to classmates and professors as Hiu Ying Tang. I feel like I am enunciating every syllable every time I say my Chinese name in English. I think it all started because there were other Stephanies in my classes, and I was too lazy to tell others to call me Stephanie.
After 2 semesters of awkwardness, actually 2 years (considering that our Japanese reading professor called me by my Chinese name), I can claim my name back. Also, I can finally convince them to change the middle name that I put on my application. I think I was on crack, but I put "Selena". Yuck!
Technically, my name can be ANYTHING I WANT! (Not that I intend to change my name.)
Most importantly, I am having such a problem applying to jobs. About 75% of the jobs require the applicants to be a citizen. =P
