City Of Tulsa Holds Ceremony For New US Citizens

Tulsa's newest U.S. citizens are celebrating Thursday afternoon after studying and taking tests for months leading up to today's naturalization ceremony.

The city held two ceremonies for 21 people from 10 different countries and they each have their own different story about the journey to become a U.S. citizen. 

"It's a long journey for us, we came here as refugees, but now we became citizens of the United States so it's very big moment for us," said Kap Sing.

He said it's a big moment for him because he's took the oath alongside his sister. He said he applied for citizenship in November 2019 after coming to Tulsa from Burma and has been waiting for this day. 

"I became a US citizen today and I'm really proud of myself," said Sing. 

There are dozens of similar stories from people who have gone through the same lengthy process.

 "This is the last piece that we are able to do here in Tulsa, so they don't have to go that one last time,” Krystal Reyes, Tulsa's Chief Resilience Officer said. “So, it involved a lot of trips, studying, taking an exam, and just doing a lot of work to get to this place.”  

Reyes helps arrange the naturalization ceremonies and it's personal for her because when she was a teenager, Reyes watched her mother take the same oath. 

"I remember her studying for this and I remember that day that we arrived to watch her take the oath and I remember that photo with the judge and so it's really important that we celebrate that," said Reyes. 

Kap said that's exactly what his family plans on doing, celebrating. 

"Have some kind of party and then thank god for everything he has done for us," said Sing. 

It costs $725 to go through the citizenship process right now. Starting October 2nd, that price goes up to $1,170.