Citizen Ale

On Tuesday, September 25, 2012, Ale participated in a naturalization ceremony. The previous week she had her naturalization interview where she was also administered the citizenship test.  She had to answer 6 questions orally including:
How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
What is the rule of law?

If you're interested, go here to take a practice test.  

The officer then gave Ale the option to participate in a ceremony in Austin on the 25th or to wait until the end of October for a ceremony to take place in San Antonio.  Ale opted to participate in the ceremony on the 25th as she would be able to make the voter registration deadline to be able to vote in November.

So, on Tuesday we drove up to Austin.  My Mom drove down from Flower Mound and met us there. I had heard that in previous years the ceremonies in Austin would take place at the State Capitol or at the Texas State Museum.  We were a little disappointed when this ceremony ended up taking place at a school gym.  But I suppose the venue isn't really what matters.

Ale waiting in line to turn in her permanent resident card

There were around 970 people taking the oath that day.  Apparently, The key is to arrive late because the last people to get there got to sit in padded chairs with back support.  They also didn't have to wait in line to check in.

We have a Mickey for every occasion - graduation, birthday, naturalization, you name it...

In addition to my disappointment with the venue, I can't say I was terribly excited about the color guard.  I appreciate the Sons of the Revolution's willingness to help out, but I just think getting one of the local military reserve units to do the color guard would have been way cooler.

However it was nice of them to pose for pictures

The Judge from the Federal District Court administering the oath.  That's a court reporter sitting at the table, since it technically is court.

Despite the venue and the color guard, it was a nice ceremony.  The director of USCIS for the region gave a good speech on what it means to be American and the Texas Land Commissioner spoke about the importance of immigrants in U.S. history.  A local high school a capella group sang patriotic songs - they were quite good.

In case you're wondering, this is what naturalized citizens swear to in the ceremony:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

It's been a long journey.  Ale has been through many obstacles and hurdles and she was happy for this day to finally arrive.  We appreciate all the help and support from our family and friends that made this special day possible.  

P.S. Ale was also happy about this day for another reason.  Since a judge administers the oath, you can also request a name change.  Her legal name is now Alejandra Rios Hyer.  That's a 40% reduction in names!