I got my USA citizenship today.
The swearing ceremony took place in the atrium of the Sandra Day O’Connor United States Courthouse – it was the first time they held the ceremony in the atrium and it was quite big, 502 new citizens were sworn in. I really enjoyed looking at all the different people that got their citizenship together with me and was really impressed by the Honorable Mary Murguia, she made me realise how important this ceremony is for so many of the people.
I decided to apply for citizenship because if I live here I want to be able to vote but for many people it was more than that, it was a door to a better future for them and their families. People that come from war zones, impoverished countries and dictatorships see a future that they could never have attained in their homeland. You could see the pride and happiness in their faces as family members took photos of them holding up their certificates.
The oldest person was a 82 year old lady from Albania and the youngest a 19 year old boy from Brazil. There were people from from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, China and many other countries, not surprisingly the majority were from Mexico.
After the ceremony I went to submit my application for a US passport at Sheriff Joe Arpaio‘s county court house and unfortunately I had to give them my brand new naturalization certificate along with the passport application – it seems the federal government doesn’t trust Sheriff Joe‘s court officials to determine the authenticity of the certificate. Then I was informed that my passport and my naturalization certificate will be mailed to me by regular mail – I sure hope this was a mistake!
A woman feels so naked without her documents!
Congratulations….
Must feel good. Except for the whole documentlessness part.
Congratulations!!
Congratulations! And they do mail them back by regular mail – I remember worrying about it when I got my passport, but I got everything back all ok!
Rachel, that is fabulous news! Congratulations to you!
oh i have a tear in my eye!! congratulations . . . thank you for summing up the even so imply and so touchingly. i worry when i send important documents to the government too, but so far i ahve always gotten them back.
yay Rachel — congratulations!!
Congratulations! What a thrilling event :) I went to the swearing-in of a friend of mine a year ago, and I was so touched that she let me share that with her; it’s a huge deal. (And yes, you do get your documents back!) Now you can start thinking about who you’ll vote for in the fall, lol.
I have been a lurker for awhile, but finally brave enough to leave a comment. Congratulations on becoming a citizen of the U.S. I came here when I was 7 years old and was naturalized long time ago, and it still feels good to say I am an American.
I also love reading your blog and seeing your knitting projects!!!