thedrifter
05-25-07, 03:42 PM
Troops become citizens this Memorial Day
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 25, 2007 14:56:53 EDT
Thirty-one members of the U.S. military will raise their right hands and become U.S. citizens in two overseas ceremonies scheduled around Memorial Day.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has helped more than 3,600 service members become U.S. citizens since October 2004, when overseas naturalization ceremonies were authorized for members of the military.
Since September 2001, more than 28,500 service members have been naturalized in stateside ceremonies. About 40,000 non-U.S. citizens are serving in the U.S. military, according to the agency.
The first of next week’s ceremonies will take place Monday at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, where 16 active-duty men and women from 14 countries and one American territory will take the oath of allegiance.
They are from American Samoa, Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, St. Vincent-Grenadines and Taiwan.
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan William Wood will speak at the event and Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and Combined Joint Task Force 82, will present the soldiers with certificates of citizenship.
The second ceremony will be Tuesday in Munich, Germany, where 15 non-U.S. citizens from nine countries will be naturalized at the U.S. consulate.
The 15 new citizens represent the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, China, the Philippines, and Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Citizenship and Immigration Service Deputy Director Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen and Consul General Eric Nelson will preside at the ceremony.
Ellie
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 25, 2007 14:56:53 EDT
Thirty-one members of the U.S. military will raise their right hands and become U.S. citizens in two overseas ceremonies scheduled around Memorial Day.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has helped more than 3,600 service members become U.S. citizens since October 2004, when overseas naturalization ceremonies were authorized for members of the military.
Since September 2001, more than 28,500 service members have been naturalized in stateside ceremonies. About 40,000 non-U.S. citizens are serving in the U.S. military, according to the agency.
The first of next week’s ceremonies will take place Monday at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, where 16 active-duty men and women from 14 countries and one American territory will take the oath of allegiance.
They are from American Samoa, Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, St. Vincent-Grenadines and Taiwan.
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan William Wood will speak at the event and Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and Combined Joint Task Force 82, will present the soldiers with certificates of citizenship.
The second ceremony will be Tuesday in Munich, Germany, where 15 non-U.S. citizens from nine countries will be naturalized at the U.S. consulate.
The 15 new citizens represent the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, China, the Philippines, and Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Citizenship and Immigration Service Deputy Director Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen and Consul General Eric Nelson will preside at the ceremony.
Ellie