I had a conversation with a friend the other day about immigrants. It wasn’t the typical debate about amping up border security and cracking down on undocumented “aliens”; it was a conversation about whether Canadians should really be considered immigrants.

Being a recent Canadian immigrant, I have given this notion some thought. There are many Canadians in Washington, as we do share a border, after all, but we tend to blend in better than most other immigrant groups. In fact, Canadians blend in so well that in the northern states, we are being put in a group of our own: not really immigrants, but definitely not Americans.

This alternate classification is rather unsettling to me. The loss of “immigrant status” is, as weird as it may sound, like losing an identity. Many immigrants would probably find this notion absurd. After all, it is hard work to finally become an American citizen, and it is a proud moment for most when it finally occurs. For many, finally dropping the pejorative label of “immigrant” is like getting over a cold that refused to go away. But becoming a full-fledged expatriate is a process, and the time spent as a non-citizen immigrant is an important part of it. It is the time in which citizenship is earned, not merely granted.

I will never forget my first day of class here at the UW. In one of my quiz sections, we were all to introduce ourselves to the class and share something interesting about ourselves. A girl from the South told us where she grew up, a student from Taiwan used his birthplace as his interesting fact, and I told the class that I was a recent immigrant from Canada. I had no idea what kind of response to expect — in fact, I hardly expected any response at all. What I did not expect, though, was a classmate responding, “That’s not interesting”.

This spurred a class-wide discussion (myself excluded) about whether Canadians should be considered “real” immigrants. Most of the students thought they were paying me a compliment by removing me from the company of all the other immigrants, but I doubt if any of them realized what they were implying.

To rob Canadians of the import stamp on their foreheads is to say that our culture is insignificant. My country is reduced to a mini United States. It also belittles the entire process of immigrating to a new country. Many of us (myself included) came from thousands of kilometers away, leaving our homes and families behind, just as scared as many people coming from other continents. Canadians emigrate for a myriad of reasons, but I’m sure none of them do it because they’re pretty much American already, so why not?

I moved here in my early 20s because I married a girl from here. To be honest, I like it here and will probably stay for most (if not the rest) of my life. But it can never be “home” for anyone who has moved from another country — Canucks included.

I become eligible for citizenship next month, and I’m debating whether I should apply. If I do, I will have to renounce my ties to Canada under oath in a court. Obviously I’m not very comfortable with that, but if I want to stay and really be a part of the community I live in, I need to become a citizen.

Maybe I should just tell the judge, “It’s OK, I’m not really an immigrant; I’m a Canadian.”