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Sep 17, 2010
12:25 PM
The Daily Scoop

Proud Americans

By Leigh Wills

The number of United States citizens grew by 32 on Friday after the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site hosted a naturalization ceremony in its outdoor amphitheater. The ceremony was the result of a partnership between the National Park Service and the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Service, and it marked the first time that such a ceremony has been held at the Sandburg Home or in Western North Carolina for that matter.

The 32 new citizens hail from countries as diverse as Mexico, Bulgaria, China, Laos and Nicaragua, to name a few, and all now live in counties throughout Western North Carolina. The newly-minted citizens took an oath of allegiance administered by Richard Gottlieb, Charlotte field office director for the USCIS, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem. Following the singing, keynote speaker Dan T. Carter, University of South Carolina emeritus professor, joked to the new Americans, "If you can sing the National Anthem, you can do anything."

Socorro Ordonez Vilchiz was among the 32 people who became a new American. Her wide smile was all needed to see to realize what a big deal Friday's ceremony was for her.

"I'm so excited because now I'm a citizen," she said after the ceremony. "I wanted to stay here."

To become a citizen, Vilchiz and her fellow honorees had to submit an application, undergo an interview, and take a test that quizzes them on American government and history. The process was nerve-wracking, she said, but she quickly added, "I did great."
Gottlieb said this is the first time a naturalization ceremony has been held in Western North Carolina. "We've wanted to come to the Asheville area for a long period of time," he said. "
Gottlieb said to become a citizen a person must first hold a green card.
"The normal rule of thumb is once you are a permanent resident and have a green card for five years you're eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship," he said. "There's an application and there's a fee. They have to go through a biometric and fingerprint process and get those clearances. You come in for an interview and have to pass civics testing and English testing. Now it's fairly quick. Between sending in an application and being sworn in it's generally about four or five months. It used to be a lot longer."
He added that the swearing in of new citizens happens weekly at the USCIS office, but they don't happen that often outside the office. "Last year we swore in about 5,500 new citizens. We do them in the courts also," he said.

Following the ceremony, the Henderson County League of Women Voters was on hand to help the new citizens take care of that most basic of American rights: registering to vote.

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