Applying for citizenship

My wife's green card expires this year, so we had to make a decision. Should we renew her permanent residency (~$500), or just go for citizenship ($725)? We went with the second, and filled out the naturalization form in late March.

The next step in the process is the biometrics appointment, which is later this month.

This might not seem like such a big deal, but South Korea doesn't allow dual-citizenship, so naturalizing means giving up her native citizenship. A hundred years ago this decision would have been a no-brainer, but South Korea's a modern state now. Giving up citizenship mean giving up her pension fund (like Social Security).

From our calculations, though, naturalization seems to make more financial sense overall. If we end up back in Korea, she can apply for positions on-post, same as me.

It may not be very patriotic, but it's a simple reality.