I always thought I was a first-generation American. At 58, I learned I've been a German citizen my whole life.

• I've always thought I was a first-generation American with a German background. • At 58, I applied for dual citizenship, but I learned my father became an American after I was born. • That meant I've been a German my whole life; I now feel closer to my heritage and my dead father.

I've long considered myself a first-generation American. Both of my parents were born in Germany and emigrated to the US in the 1960s. We lived in Virginia, but I grew up bilingual, speaking English at school and German at home.

My childhood was full of German traditions. Every year, my grandmother would visit from Berlin to take care of us during our summer vacation. She didn't speak English, so we spoke German all the time. We also visited my grandparents in Germany two or three times a year. Berlin was