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35 people become U.S. citizens during naturalization ceremony in Greeley: Independence Day celebration

By 07/02/2022 | updated 4 years ago

Thirty five people were welcomed as U.S. citizens on Friday in Greeley just ahead of Independence Day. 

The newest citizens reside in northern Colorado and come from 12 different countries including Burma, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Somalia, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The U.S. will welcome more than 6,600 new citizens during 140 naturalization ceremonies that began Friday and will continue through July 8. 

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“Throughout our nation’s history, the promise of both life and liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness, is what has drawn millions from across the globe to call America their home,” said USCIS Director Ur Jaddou in a news release. “There is nothing more patriotic than making the choice to be an American.

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America’s newest citizens took their citizenship oath on Friday and celebrated with their families in Greeley, Colorado.

“This July 4, I’m proud to celebrate the more than 6,600 people who have invested their lives and hopes in our nation as new U.S. citizens. Our country will be stronger and more diverse because of the choice they have made.”

Some of the newest citizens include 32-year-old Karen Salamanca, a Longmont resident, who came to the US from Colombia 10 years ago. 

She told the Greeley Tribune that she came to the U.S. on an exchange visa, which are nonimmigrant visas for people approve to participate in exchange visitor programs, according to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs.

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Salamanca attends the ceremony by herself on Friday.

“It’s a way of being born again,” she told The Greeley Tribune. “I feel like I’m starting over. There were a lot of things I was going through. The whole process, the tears, the struggles.”

These naturalization ceremonies coincide with Independence Day each year to mark the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence 246 years ago. 

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Besides the event in Greeley, others are occurring across the country for military service members in San Diego, at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, at Betsy Ross’ House in Philadelphia and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, according to USCIS.

The full list of ceremonies can be found here.

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