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....September 21, 5:34 PM |
| Shoulder To Shoulder: People From More Than 50 Countries Raise Their Hands To Join U.S. Ranks
By LIZ SKALKA Perhaps like many in attendance, Zhe Zhang wanted the citizen swearing-in ceremony to go by quickly. But Zhang, who came here from China 12 years ago, had good reason for wanting it to be over with – his wife was at the hospital giving birth to another U.S. citizen.
“There are going to be two citizens at once,” Zhang joked. Zhang, who is 40, is a software developer from Fresh Meadows and came to the United States to practice his trade. “I came here to learn computer science,” he said. Zhang was one of several hundred new citizens that took part in the naturalization ceremony at Queensborough Community College on Monday. The event took place on Citizenship Day, Sept. 17, also known as Constitution Day, which commemorates the 1787 signing of the Constitution. President Harry S. Truman signed a bill in 1952 establishing Sept. 17 as Citizenship Day and as a federal holiday. People who have become U.S. citizens over the past year are recognized on this day in ceremonies held across the country. Glad To Be Here The event at QCC, one of several Citizenship Day ceremonies held at CUNY schools, drew many new citizens from Queens who lauded their new role as U.S. citizens. “I’m absolutely excited about this new chapter in my life,” said Mohammed Hasan, who emigrated 10 years ago from Saudi Arabia. “Now I get to vote and apply for government jobs.” Hasan, 23, is from Levittown and works for Cablevision and Applebees. He graduated from college in May. Tania Ahmed happened to be celebrating her 23rd birthday on the day of Sept. 17. She came to the U.S. three years ago from Bangladesh to be with her husband. “I’m very grateful,” she said. “My husband is a citizen, I had to come.” The youngest person to be sworn-in at the ceremony was Megha Shrimal, who is 18 and from Forest Hills. Shrimal is a student at Boston University and is studying biomedical engineering. She came here with her family eight years ago from India. “There are a lot of things that are different here,” she said. Zhang wasn’t the only person taking part in the ceremony who was expecting a baby on that day. Yeleana Rafaicoua, who is 23 and a student at QCC, said that Sept. 17 was her scheduled due date. “If it’s going to be right now, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said. Rafaicoua emigrated from Uzbekistan five years ago and lives in Rego Park. “Where I lived was more strict. Here you can do what you want,” she said. Why Come Here? Many of the new citizens said they immigrated to the United States in order to be with family members who had already come here. Anthony Maloney, director of Immigration Advocacy Services, which is based in Astoria, said many immigrants come here to reunite with family members. “Most come alone or come because they’ve married,” Maloney said. “If they come with families, it’s usually because they have families already here.” Maloney said that over the past several years the average time taken to process citizenship requests has decreased. It used to take up to two years, he said, but now it can take as little as six months to process a request. Candidates still must complete a five- to six-year probationary period before applying for citizenship; if married to a U.S. citizen, the probationary period is four years. |
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