U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Regional Media Manager Marie Thérèse Sebrechts said USCIS is conducting another naturalization ceremony this week.
Sebrechts said the ceremony will be conducted at the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands with newly installed Chief Judge Ramona Villagomez Manglona presiding at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 2.
She said, “The candidates hail from the following countries of birth: 1, Japan; 2, Korea; 2, People’s Republic of China; and 7, the Philippines.
She said the youngest of the candidates for naturalization is 24 years old while the oldest is 66.
According to the USCIS website, “Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act. In most cases, an applicant for naturalization must be a permanent resident (green card holder) before filing. Except for certain U.S. military members and their dependents, naturalization can only be granted in the United States.”
The USCIS website also stated that to qualify, an applicant must have been a permanent U.S. resident for at least five years and meet all other eligibility requirements; a resident for three years or more and meet all eligibility requirements to file as a spouse of a U.S. citizen; or qualifying service in the U.S. armed forces and meet all eligibility requirements; children of U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S. may qualify for naturalization U.S. by meeting all eligibility requirements. For more information on the naturalization process, check www.uscis.gov.
According to a Government Accountability Office report, as of June 1, 2011, USCIS had processed 1,033 CNMI applications for permanent residency and 96 CNMI applications for naturalization or citizenship.
A total of 6,966 requests for advance parole had been filed with the USCIS as of June 2011 with 97 percent of these requests granted. There were also 2,625 individuals granted parole-in-place status according to this same GAO report.
