Naturalization ceremony held in Richmond on July 4 welcomes 95 new U.S. citizens

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMFA) held a naturalization ceremony on July 4, welcoming nearly 100 new U.S. citizens to Virginia.

The event celebrated people from 45 different countries, with each candidate taking Oaths of Allegiances during the ceremony.

“It’s to celebrate the achievements of these people, who have gone through a lot of hard work to become a US citizen,” said Sam Florer, VMHC manager of public programs. “It’s also to remind all Americans about the importance of citizenship.”

It was held in coordination with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Honorable Roger L. Gregory and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The citizenship process is difficult, Florer said — and people have to be legal U.S. residents for at least five years before they can even begin that process.

“After they’ve reached that five-year mark, they need to start studying history and civics questions that they are asked at their naturalization test,” he said. “There are 100 questions that they have to study and the official can ask any one of those 100 questions.”

Studying takes plenty of time, and that’s why the celebration is so important.

“It reminds us that people are still eager to become Americans,” Florer said. “So, often as Americans, we can get caught up in politics and looking at… the downsides of our government… but it’s always nice to take a step back and look at it through other perspectives.”

The event was free and open to the public. It was also livestreamed on VMHC’s Youtube.

All the new citizens and their families celebrated at the museum after the ceremony with cake and live music.

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