The naturalization oath ceremony of 81 members of the Yongsan U.S. Army Garrison military community was celebrated by The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Seoul Field Office. The ceremony was hosted to celebrate the Military Appreciation Month in the month of May.
The 81 members, included 57 members of the U.S. armed forces, 22 spouses, and two children of members of military located across South Korea who received their U.S. citizenship at the
USCIS naturalization ceremony.
The Oath of Allegiance was administered by Kenneth Sherman, USCIS Seoul Field Office Director. He stated that while the month of May has been dedicated to military in order to honor and celebrate their service, USCIS has always extended their support to the Military officers and their families every day. He further stated that the military personnels commitment to defend the United States of America even before they were naturalized as citizens of U.S has inspired the USCIS to ensure that they receive excellent immigration services in any place they are stationed.
The Deputy Chief of Staff for the United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, Maj. Gen. Lawrence L. Wells mentioned that seeing the American service men and women recite the Oath of Allegiance to become citizens of a country that they already serve, made him immensely proud. The army personnel who received citizenship in the
citizenship ceremony belonged to 30 different countries. Since September 2001, more than 59,300 service personnel have been naturalized of which 889 became citizens in ceremonies held in South Korea.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 has made it possible for personnel serving in the U.S military to become citizens of United States, in whichever foreign nation they are stationed in. Before the act, the military service members were required to be present in the United States for the citizenship ceremony to take place.
