Citizenship: A precious gift still sought by many

As we voted, dozens more were earning the right to vote

By Ken Goldberg
SPECIAL TO THE BEACON

posted Nov 13, 2008 - 8:43:35am

On Nov. 4, we all witnessed our democracy in action, in ways that made us proud to be Americans.

For those of us who are citizens, our votes brought to a close, with grace and honor, a uniquely American process.

Last week also brought the end of another lengthy process that left me feeling even more proud of my country: the final swearing-in of 75 new citizens of the United States of America.

They were from 33 different countries and represented several continents. My wife,Carmen Grados, was one of them. This is her story.

Take the Naturalization Test!

While we endured nearly two years of the presidential campaign, with its constant media bombardment, people seeking simply to have the right to call themselves Americans, and the right to vote, were enduring the long road to naturalization.

These people did it the right way; they followed the rules, filled out the forms, and waited. Some, like Carmen, a Peruvian citizen, waited almost five years.

Carmen first adjusted her status in this country and started on the road to citizenship shortly after we married. She applied for the coveted “green card” as the spouse of an American citizen, one of the more typical routes for obtaining citizenship.

We filled out the myriad forms, waited in the myriad lines, and sat through the interview. We were asked about our marriage and showed photos of our life together; this was to ensure ours was not a sham marriage.

Everything checked out; she received the document. Carmen could now legally work in the United States.

Carmen grew up in Lima, and attended a Catholic school run by American nuns, where reciting the Pledge of Allegiance was as much a daily routine as it is here in the United States. Thus, her English-language skills were well-developed.

Fluent in English and Spanish, Carmen found work with a company providing translation services in the Volusia County court system. In this job, she helped fellow noncitizens understand what was happening to them in the courtroom.

Seeking steadier work, Carmen found a job with a DeLand company that assists American food-ingredient manufacturers to export their products to Latin America.

For the past nearly 10 years, Carmen has continued working at Grand Products Worldwide, and just recently participated in an Enterprise Florida trade mission to Peru.

Just before that trip, Carmen and I traveled to the Department of Homeland Security office in Jacksonville, where Carmen was directed to get her fingerprints scanned for the final background check of the naturalization process.

While she was gone, we received the letter from Citizenship and Immigration Services. She was to report to the Orlando office for her final interview and test.

The test would be any number of questions seeking to demonstrate her knowledge of basic U.S. history and civics. (Could you pass it? See 12 sample questions.)

The end of the process was near. On the day after our historic presidential election, Carmen reported to the Immigration office in Orlando for the test and interview.

Seated among dozens of people from around the world, all seeking the same thing — that privilege I was born with and that many of us take for granted — I felt that sense of pride and joy when Carmen came back out to the waiting area to say all was well; she passed the test.

We waited some more until the official came out with another letter that directed her to report to the same office Nov. 7 to be sworn in as a citizen.

Friday, we all sat in that same waiting area, this time with dozens of friends and family members also present. Then, we went into the room set up for this ceremony, and the soon-to-be-citizens filed in.

After the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the national anthem, the people raised their right hands and gave their oath of citizenship to the United States.

The long road to citizenship was finally over; brand-new beginnings had just started.

It was truly a great week for our democracy.

—Goldberg, a 12-year DeLand resident, is a certified general contractor and a partner with Chandler/Goldberg LLC.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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