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               Sandeep Singh               June 04, 2008 The Department of Homeland Security last week showcased an India-born soldier, one of the six foreign-born members of the military, at a special naturalisation ceremony for new citizens of the United States.Ludhiana-born Sandeep Singh, 23, a soldier in the US Army's 3rd US Infantry Continental Color Guard Team, said he had "followed his desire to serve his adopted nation after the terrorist attacks of 9/11."He was among 26 men and women from 21 countries who were administered the Oath of Allegiance by...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 27, 2008 – The poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty beckons “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free,” but on this Memorial Day, quite the opposite was true, as 44 members of the U.S. military marched forward to become America’s newest citizens. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff congratulates a soldier May 26, 2008, on his new U.S. citizenship at a ceremony on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Forty-four soldiers and Marines became citizens at a naturalization ceremony. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Scott Davis  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

CLEARWATER — This month's death of Army Spc. Arturo Huerta-Cruz in Iraq cast a spotlight on troops serving in the U.S. military who are not American citizens. Huerta-Cruz, 23, was born in a small town in rural Mexico and moved to Clearwater with his family when he was 10. He was a legal permanent resident, or a "green card" soldier. That made him an exception. Noncitizens account for about 5 percent of the troops in all the branches of the U.S. military. Noncitizens now must have green cards to enlist. But as the nation fights wars on two fronts, some...

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2008 – Marine Lance Cpl. Evan Eskharia, a basic water systems technician with Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), received his United States citizenship during a naturalization ceremony at Al Faw Palace here April 12. Marine Lance Cpl. Evan Eskharia shows off his certificate of naturalization after a ceremony at Al-Faw Palace, Baghdad, April 12. Eskharia has wanted to be a U.S. citizen since coming to America when he was a child. He serves as a basic water systems technician assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S....

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, April 14, 2008 – Two hundred fifty-nine foreign-born U.S. troops serving throughout Iraq became American citizens at Al Faw Palace here April 12 in the largest U.S. naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq. Army Spc. Simon Nbenye, an Arabic interpreter with Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, admires his American flag and certificate of naturalization April 12, 2008, at Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory, in Baghdad, during the largest American naturalization ceremony to date in Iraq. Nbenye, a former citizen of war-torn Sudan, entered the United States...

Package of a Marine born in Baghdad becoming an American Citizen at a ceremony held at Al-Faw Palace in Baghdad. Produced by Staff Sgt. Ryan O' Hare. Also see "Iraqi Marine Becomes American Citizen" in the b-roll section.

Soldiers become American citizens in Africa DJIBOUTI (March 16, 2008) — Seven Soldiers supporting the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa mission became U.S. citizens during a Military Naturalization Ceremony at the U.S. Embassy March 13. After enlisting in the Army and serving the United States, Four Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry (Light), Delta Company, and three Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Delta Company, raised their right hands and said the Oath of Allegiance. During the ceremony, Ambassador W. Stuart Symington, U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti and keynote speaker, addressed the candidates reminding them about the oath...

U.S. Marine Cpl. Mario Ramos-Villalta put on his freshly pressed uniform early Thursday as a citizen of El Salvador. By the end of the day, he would be a citizen of the United States of America. Ramos-Villalta told CNN: "It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments." 3 of 3more photos » "I am an American," he said with a smile, moments after his paperwork cleared. "It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments, I finally get it, being an American. We are happy about it."

U.S. Marine Cpl. Mario Ramos-Villalta put on his freshly pressed uniform early Thursday as a citizen of El Salvador. By the end of the day, he would be a citizen of the United States of America. I am an American," he said with a smile moments after his paperwork cleared. "It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments, I finally get it, being an American. We are happy about it." "It's all thanks to CNN -- my news coming out, my story. That helped me out a lot," he said, referring to a story...

A lawsuit filed Thursday in a New York federal court by Latino immigrants seeks to force immigration authorities to complete hundreds of thousands of stalled naturalization petitions in time for the new citizens to vote in November. (snip) The class action suit was brought by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund on behalf of legal Hispanic immigrants in the New York City area who are eager to vote... (snip) “It is astonishing the government should be so unresponsive to immigrants who have enthusiastically taken all the steps to become Americans,” said Janet Murguía, president of the National Council...

Safaa Wadi moved to this former mill city after his life was threatened in his native Iraq while serving as an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He expects to soon head back to Iraq — not as a civilian interpreter, but as a U.S. soldier. Wadi arrived in the United States in September with a special immigrant visa for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters. But with his savings nearly depleted and unable to land a decent job, Wadi enlisted in the Army. He begins training in South Carolina on Monday. Wadi isn't worried about returning to Iraq, where many of his...

FORT HUACHUCA — He has only been an American citizen since January, but Spc. Charles has proven himself a steadfast solider. That was proven Wednesday when Maj. Gen. John Custer, commander of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, presented Charles a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in Iraq last year. Charles — his first name — is all that can be used to identify the soldier. He is an Arabic translator who was born in Sudan and lived for a while as a refugee in Ethiopia. No photos of translators born in other nations serving in the U.S. Army are...

Julia Moreno has been following the presidential campaign and studying the issues. She has even chosen her favorite candidate: "La Señora Clinton." Moreno, a legal immigrant from Guatemala who came to Los Angeles more than 30 years ago, applied for citizenship this summer so she would be able to vote -- starting with the 2008 presidential election. But U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced recently that green card holders who applied after June 1 could have to wait 16 to 18 months for their applications to be processed. For Moreno, that means she might be unable to cast her ballot...

After being a Legal Permanent U.S. Resident for the past 35 years (Canadian citizen /my hubby is U.S. citizen by birth), yesterday December 14, 2007, I was sworn in as a U.S. CITIZEN at the U.S. District Court in Concord, NH !! I am SO PROUD and SO EXCITED !! 93 new citizens were sworn in from 33 different countries! It was a WONDERFUL ceremony ! Every nationality you could imagine was represented ! Within 3 hours of getting sworn in, I went to my local Town Hall and REGISTERED TO VOTE ! So I will be "good to go"...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Sixty U.S. service members from countries including Cuba, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Vietnam became American citizens on Monday during a ceremony in Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, congratulated the soldiers on their new citizenship and thanked them for the oath they took to defend the United States. "Today they will swear a second oath to the country they've already pledged to defend," Rodriguez said at a ceremony coinciding with Veterans Day. "An oath of allegiance to the nation they are supporting as a member of her armed forces, deployed...

The Northern Virginia office of the federal agency that processes immigration applications will hold its first public forum next month to answer questions from immigrants. The forum also is intended to spread word that the agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, is distinct from its feared federal cousins, the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. "We don't want people to fear us," said Greg Christian, director of the Vienna office of USCIS.... The agency is often assailed...as an impenetrable bureaucracy with complicated forms and a help hotline that dispenses unreliable information. It has also recently...

Clinton campaigns; Hillary wants to create a path to citizenship By TRICIA CORTEZ, LAREDO MORNING TIMES 09/15/2007 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendlyStumping for his wife, who is leading the pack in most polls, former President Bill Clinton spoke to several hundred Laredoans and Nuevo Laredoans on Friday evening and explained why Hillary is "best suited" for the White House."This next president is going to have to undo a lot of damage," Clinton said at the private fundraiser held at Palenque Grill. He made references to an economy "on the brink of recession," growing inequality between the haves and the...

Better late than never - even when it's seven years late. In 2000, Congress passed a law authorizing visas for illegal immigrant crime victims. Seven years later, federal immigration officials say they're finally ready to start issuing "U-visas" to certain victims who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes. Federal immigration officials attribute the delay to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the resulting mass reorganization of government agencies in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "We realize it took a long amount of time," U.S. Citizenship and...

Naturalization, re-enlistment ceremony held on America’s 231st birthday Thursday, 05 July 2007 Senator John McCain and Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, senior enlisted advisor for Multi-National Force-Iraq, congratulate a Soldier on becoming a U.S. citizen July 4 at Camp Victory. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey Hunnewell, Combined Press Information Center. BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Soldiers became citizens of the country they risk their lives for, while others decided to extend their time in service to continue the fight against terrorism. The U.S. Army conducted a naturalization and re-enlistment ceremony at Camp Victory on Wednesday. Over 160 Soldiers became...

I was at the swearing ceremony and it was very moving. This guy was smiling like he just won the lottery. He was happy and wanted to share it with the world. As you can see on the video, he was very proud and shared his thought in spanish.