SAN ANTONIO — More than 800 individuals hailing from nearly 90 countries reached the finish line in their naturalization journeys in San Antonio, the largest citizenship ceremony to ever take place at downtown's Lila Cockrell Theatre, according to city officials.
Immigration officials said the city worked alongside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the regional federal district court "to meet the goal of 800" in commemoration of Citizenship Day, which was on Sunday. Across three events held earlier this year, the City of San Antonio welcomed 319 new citizens; Tuesday morning's ceremony more than doubled that total.
One of those 806 new citizens is Paulina Livingston, who arrived in the U.S. from Chile as a child. After a four-month citizenship process – which typically involves getting one's fingerprints documented during a “biometrics appointment,” an interview with a USCIS officer, English language and civics tests, and a cost of about $725 – she was ready to celebrate.
Tuesday morning, Livingston said, came with "lots of butterflies," as well as excitement.
"It’s the land of opportunity," she said about the U.S. "Everywhere you look, there’s the ability to do or become what you want. That’s very inspiring."
Another of the country's newest citizens, Tonye Jamabo, said he would see what's happening here as a child in Nigeria, and dreamt of traveling across the Atlantic to be part of it.
"Today, we're part of it," Jamabo said Tuesday. "All glory to God. The road has not been very easy, but the lord made it possible for us to get to these heights."
Other freshly naturalized citizens come from Afghanistan, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Hungary and dozens of other nations still.
More than 1,100 San Antonians are navigating the naturalization process, as of Sept. 15. After Tuesday's ceremony, nearly 5,000 Alamo City residents have received their citizenship this year.
New opportunities await the new citizens, as well as fresh responsibility. Up next for Livingston after the celebration: “Going back home.... and registering to vote.”
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