The ceremony that officially made Dr. Anton Garcia-Fernandez a nationalized American citizen was held on Dec. 9, but the hard work that brought about this incredible moment began long ago.
Before an individual can become an American citizen they have to first be a permanent resident of the U.S., which requires a green card. A green card or an American citizenship can be applied for based on either marriage or employment. If it is sought through employment, the process requires a five-year wait before applying to become an American citizen after acquiring a green card, where if sought through marriage it is only three years.
“The paperwork and process to acquire the permanent residence is much more complicated than the process to become an American citizen, because by the time you get ready to apply for citizenship you have already been a resident for three years, and gone through so many interviews, fingerprinting and paperwork,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
The renewal application for his green card required over five hundred pages of documentation. He started the paperwork before his daughter, Libby, was born and actually submitted ultrasound pictures to help serve as evidence of his legitimate marriage to Dr. Erin Garcia-Fernandez.
After applying for citizenship and sending in all the required paperwork, he was fingerprinted and eventually was called in for an interview. He took Libby’s birth certificate with him to the interview, but it was pretty obvious his marriage was real because his wife, Dr. Erin Garcia-Fernandez, and his daughter, Libby, were with him to support him on such a special day.
When the big day finally arrived, his wife, daughter and some of their friends from Memphis joined Garcia-Fernandez.
“The citizenship ceremony was held at the Western District Court House in downtown Memphis on Dec. 9. It was incredibly cold, and I think it was one of the most moving experiences of my life, because there were 56 people becoming naturalized American citizens on that day from different parts of the World, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and I was one of them,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
He explained that the ceremony began with the judge’s opening remarks, which included his own life story.
“They didn’t choose just any old judge to preside over this; not just someone who was doing it as part of his or her job and did it half-heartedly. They chose a judge who was a naturalized citizen himself. He was from Vietnam. He had been in a refugee camp and had come to America with his parents, and six brothers and sisters. They had all gone to college and he had become a judge. One of his sisters had received an Emmy Award nomination for a documentary that she put together about their family’s history. It was incredibly moving. He had me in tears most of the time. He told the whole story, and he knew what he was talking about. It was a part of who he was,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
After the judge spoke, they each stood and stated their name and country of origin, next they were asked to swear to several things such as being loyal to the country. They then said the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and they then sang the “Star Spangled Banner” while it was played. After the judge made his closing remarks, the certificates with their name on them were passed out so they could sign them and have their pictures made.
“It was a very moving ceremony. Erin and Libby were there and really all I can say is that it was an unforgettable day for me, because I had been living in this country for so long, but I had never applied for citizenship and then finally after so much paperwork, you finally become an American citizen and you suddenly feel like you are more a part of the country than you were before. It looks like it is just a piece of paper that says you are an American, but it means a lot when you have made your home here,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
At the ceremony, each of the new American citizens were told several things that they must remember to do. Among them were to update their social security card, register to vote and obtain a passport before leaving the country, even if they are still considered a citizen of the country to which they plan to visit.
“I don’t think I will ever forget the moment when I became a citizen. I had Erin and Libby there with me and I also wore a lapel pin that one of my students gave me. It was a flag surrounded by a heart. The student told me that her father had worn it when he went into the military, and she asked me to wear it when I became a citizen,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
Go to the photo gallery “Garcia-Fernandez” view more photos of the ceremony and other family photos.
