"Proud to be an American" a perfect song for the day

HOBART — Victoria Asabere was hoping her son, Baffour, wouldn’t see her in the crowd Friday afternoon.

If he did, the 21-year-old would have seen his mom crying with joy as he took the oath to become a U.S. citizen. She thought he might be embarrassed.

A total of 47 people crowded the stage of Hobart High School’s auditorium ready to finish the paperwork journey of becoming a naturalized citizen. Baffour Asabere was the only one who made a second, long journey for the privilege: He drove nine hours Thursday from college in Missouri to make the ceremony.

“I’m glad that it’s over with,” said Baffour Asabere, who moved with his family from the West African country of Ghana when he was 8.

Not that becoming a naturalized citizen is terribly difficult, but it does involve a lot of waiting, said Dan Kazmierski, district adjudications officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services.

People need to be at least 18 years of age and must have a green card, and they must have lived in the United States for at least five years. If the person is married to a U.S. citizen, or if they serve in the military, the wait is three years, he said.

Once the wait is over, applicants must file a petition for citizenship. Interviews and tests on basic history, as well as reading and speaking English, follow. Plus, applicants must be of good moral character or they will not meet the requirements.

“A year ago, I had a man come in to fill out an application, and when I asked him if he had been convicted of any felonies, he said he had been arrested two days prior for DUI,” Kazmierski said. “And that was that. He now has to wait five more years.”

Other people who typically fail the process are younger people who have been in the country for awhile but, like many teens, decide that the things they are learning in school are not important.

“A lot of them don’t know who their state senators are, or who the president is,” he said. “And that’s stuff they need to know.”

Which is why Hobart High Principal Dave Spitzer had several social studies and foreign language students attend the ceremony.

“We take so many things for granted,” Spitzer said. “I wanted the kids to see what this involves firsthand.”

The lesson was not wasted on senior Josh Hudson.

“I thought it was one of the greatest things I could’ve experienced,” said Hudson, 19. “These people came in front of all these people and just did it.”