Monthly naturalization ceremonies at Memorial Auditorium draw early-morning vendors, including volunteers who help the new citizens register to vote. The line begins forming before 8 a.m., and it takes nearly two hours for candidates to check in and be seated.
Zain, 6, waves two American flags. When his parents take the oath of citizenship, he and his brother also become U.S. citizens.
Khaleel Yasir and his wife, Zuhal Al Ameen, stand in a long line with sons Zain and Mostafa. They came to Sacramento from Iraq on a Special Immigrant Visa in 2012, and daughter Baan (not with them) was born here the following year.
As new citizens file in, they are directed to a designated section on the floor of Memorial Auditorium. Friends and family sit in the upper levels
Inside the auditorium, Khaleel and the boys are seated in a separate section from Zuhal.
When the list of nations is announced, Khaleel rises and waves his American flag. “It has been my dream since I was a child” to be a U.S. citizen, says Khaleel, who served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Iraq.
Khaleel raises his hand to take the oath of U.S. citizenship. More than 1,000 people from 81 countries are sworn in and receive their naturalization certificate.
On the way out of the auditorium, Khaleel picks up paperwork to apply for Social Security. Information is also available for passport applications and voter registration.
Zuhal receives congratulations from Joy Justus, who works at World Relief, where Khaleel is a caseworker helping refugees settle in Sacramento.
Immediately after the ceremony, the family poses with their sponsor, former 1st Lt. Josh Fjelstad, for whom Khaleel served as a military interpreter in Iraq.
Khaleel and his boys celebrate their U.S. citizenship.