Five Wyomingites became U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse in Kemmerer on Monday.
Naturalization ceremonies aren’t as common in Wyoming as other states but have been more frequent this year because of the National Park Centennial. Several states co-hosted ceremonies this year at Yellowstone National Park where new citizens took the oath of allegiance.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman Debbie Cannon said Wyoming has naturalized 174 people this year compared to 137 last year and 123 the year before. She says those numbers don’t include Wyoming immigrants who travel to Denver for their ceremonies.
Cannon said naturalization ceremonies are an important recognition of the many steps it takes to become a citizen.
“We try to make it as personal and wonderful for them as possible because many of them have waited very long for it,” said Cannon, who has seen people wait as long as 61 years before naturalizing. “To them and us, it’s very special.”
Cannon says many parks request to host such ceremonies, as do schools.
“A lot of colleges and schools invite us, which I just love that,” she said. “When we go to an elementary school, the children are studying about their history and their heritage. They’re studying the constitution and also they’re studying citizenship. And so for them, it really wraps it up all to show them what it’s about.”
Cannon said at Kemmerer’s ceremony, the five immigrants originally hail from the Phillipines, Mexico and China. To become a citizen, people must have lived in the U.S. with a green card for at least five years, speak and read English well and pass a test on U.S. government and history, among other criteria.