thedrifter
04-26-08, 07:02 AM
This land is now their land
They've been serving, now they're sworn in as citizens: 'I hereby declare ... that I will bear true faith and allegiance'
By Martha Quillin, Staff Writer
DURHAM - Sixty-three soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, serving the U.S. government but not yet recognized by it, lined up on the steps of the Triangle's new immigration office Friday, ready to swear an oath to their adopted country.
A breeze ruffled a high-flying flag and morning sunlight glinted off brass buttons as Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, led the candidates in their oath. With traffic rumbling down Interstate 40 and the smell of pizza wafting from a restaurant next door, the somber-faced service members forsook foreign princes and potentates and promised to defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies.
These new citizens were already fulfilling the promise to defend. Since the Revolutionary War, Scharfen said, the American military has relied on foreign-born fighters and recognized their service by making them citizens. A federal law that went into effect in 2004 streamlined the naturalization process for those who have served. All legal immigrants in good standing who have served since Sept. 11, 2001, are immediately eligible to apply.
Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in October 2001, Immigration Services has naturalized more than 37,250 service members, 111 of those posthumously. The agency holds ceremonies at military installations all over the world, naturalizing hundreds of members of the armed forces every day.
Scharfen said he wasn't worried that the military's lowered enlistment standards, in combination with the accelerated naturalization process, would result in regrettable decisions.
"This is the least worrisome of any group of applicants," he said.
Aside from the sense of pride soldiers derive from their new status, citizenship has its benefits.
"I'll be able to apply for different jobs in and out of the Marines," said Lance Cpl. Danilo Arevalo, referring to stipulations that disallow foreigners from holding certain federal jobs. Only citizens are allowed to vote, to hold U.S. passports and to get help from American embassies and consulates abroad. And when they leave, only citizens are guaranteed the right to return.
Clutching his naturalization certificate, Arevalo said he followed his mother to the United States from Colombia. A recruiter convinced him the military was the place to start his new life.
"It was a good job, with good benefits, and I could go to college," said Arevalo, who is taking business courses while serving as a clerk at Camp Lejeune.
To further hasten the naturalization process, citizenship agents are training the legal staff at military bases in the state to complete immigration forms, and the agency now accepts fingerprints recorded by the military, saving applicants one trip to an agency office.
Until Friday's opening of the office off N.C. 54 near Research Triangle Park, all North Carolina residents applying for citizenship or permanent residency had to drive to Charlotte and find the buildings where immigration agents distribute paperwork, collect fingerprints and conduct interviews. The Charlotte office has ranked No. 1 in the nation for the number of applicants it sees who had to drive at least 100 miles.
The 35 people who will work at the RTP office will nearly double the number of employees processing applications in the state. Charlotte and RTP will effectively split responsibility for the state
An outsider no more
After the ceremony, Pfc. Tooba Awan wore her new citizenship as proudly as she did her Army uniform.
"It's something I have wanted ever since I came to the United States," said Awan, who immigrated from Pakistan with her family when she was about 15.
Awan said she was surprised at how fast her application went through. She began exploring the possibility of citizenship last summer, with help from the legal office at Fort Bragg, where she is a water treatment specialist for the 82nd Airborne Division. She filled out a lot of paperwork but then deployed to Iraq. She got back about a month ago.
Awan joined the military because in this country, she said, no matter their job, immigrants are outsiders, second class, until they prove their loyalty.
"I wanted to show people how much I love this country, how much I want to be a part of this country," she said. As a young woman in Pakistan, she said, she would never have been able to enjoy the sense of equality she has here. In America, she and her sisters can do anything.
"It's like the dream my father had for us when he came here is coming true," she said.
She called her father, who works for a limousine company in Boston.
"Papa," she said into the phone, "I am a citizen today."
martha.quillin@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8989
Ellie
They've been serving, now they're sworn in as citizens: 'I hereby declare ... that I will bear true faith and allegiance'
By Martha Quillin, Staff Writer
DURHAM - Sixty-three soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, serving the U.S. government but not yet recognized by it, lined up on the steps of the Triangle's new immigration office Friday, ready to swear an oath to their adopted country.
A breeze ruffled a high-flying flag and morning sunlight glinted off brass buttons as Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, led the candidates in their oath. With traffic rumbling down Interstate 40 and the smell of pizza wafting from a restaurant next door, the somber-faced service members forsook foreign princes and potentates and promised to defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies.
These new citizens were already fulfilling the promise to defend. Since the Revolutionary War, Scharfen said, the American military has relied on foreign-born fighters and recognized their service by making them citizens. A federal law that went into effect in 2004 streamlined the naturalization process for those who have served. All legal immigrants in good standing who have served since Sept. 11, 2001, are immediately eligible to apply.
Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in October 2001, Immigration Services has naturalized more than 37,250 service members, 111 of those posthumously. The agency holds ceremonies at military installations all over the world, naturalizing hundreds of members of the armed forces every day.
Scharfen said he wasn't worried that the military's lowered enlistment standards, in combination with the accelerated naturalization process, would result in regrettable decisions.
"This is the least worrisome of any group of applicants," he said.
Aside from the sense of pride soldiers derive from their new status, citizenship has its benefits.
"I'll be able to apply for different jobs in and out of the Marines," said Lance Cpl. Danilo Arevalo, referring to stipulations that disallow foreigners from holding certain federal jobs. Only citizens are allowed to vote, to hold U.S. passports and to get help from American embassies and consulates abroad. And when they leave, only citizens are guaranteed the right to return.
Clutching his naturalization certificate, Arevalo said he followed his mother to the United States from Colombia. A recruiter convinced him the military was the place to start his new life.
"It was a good job, with good benefits, and I could go to college," said Arevalo, who is taking business courses while serving as a clerk at Camp Lejeune.
To further hasten the naturalization process, citizenship agents are training the legal staff at military bases in the state to complete immigration forms, and the agency now accepts fingerprints recorded by the military, saving applicants one trip to an agency office.
Until Friday's opening of the office off N.C. 54 near Research Triangle Park, all North Carolina residents applying for citizenship or permanent residency had to drive to Charlotte and find the buildings where immigration agents distribute paperwork, collect fingerprints and conduct interviews. The Charlotte office has ranked No. 1 in the nation for the number of applicants it sees who had to drive at least 100 miles.
The 35 people who will work at the RTP office will nearly double the number of employees processing applications in the state. Charlotte and RTP will effectively split responsibility for the state
An outsider no more
After the ceremony, Pfc. Tooba Awan wore her new citizenship as proudly as she did her Army uniform.
"It's something I have wanted ever since I came to the United States," said Awan, who immigrated from Pakistan with her family when she was about 15.
Awan said she was surprised at how fast her application went through. She began exploring the possibility of citizenship last summer, with help from the legal office at Fort Bragg, where she is a water treatment specialist for the 82nd Airborne Division. She filled out a lot of paperwork but then deployed to Iraq. She got back about a month ago.
Awan joined the military because in this country, she said, no matter their job, immigrants are outsiders, second class, until they prove their loyalty.
"I wanted to show people how much I love this country, how much I want to be a part of this country," she said. As a young woman in Pakistan, she said, she would never have been able to enjoy the sense of equality she has here. In America, she and her sisters can do anything.
"It's like the dream my father had for us when he came here is coming true," she said.
She called her father, who works for a limousine company in Boston.
"Papa," she said into the phone, "I am a citizen today."
martha.quillin@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8989
Ellie