Marin residents become U.S. citizens in Point Reyes naturalization ceremony
For Ian Joseph of Novato, the U.S. is the fourth country he's lived in, but the only one where he has truly felt at home. He moved to California in 1999 for a job and was fortunate enough to land in Marin.
"Marin County is the best place in the world I've lived," he said. "It's the people, food, climate, culture, everything."
Joseph was among 20 people from around the Bay Area who officially became U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony Friday at Point Reyes National Seashore. As West Marin middle schoolers sang the national anthem, participants waved miniature American flags and took the Oath of Allegiance as their family members snapped photos and celebrated by eating cupcakes with red, white and blue frosting.
Joseph, 61, was born in South Africa and moved to Israel when he was 21 years old, staying there for seven years. He and his Israeli wife moved back to South Africa in 1990 to raise their children, but they left for Canada three years later.
Joseph said South Africa was a violent place at that time, with high murder rates.
"We were concerned about our own safety," he said.
In Canada he earned his master's degree in information systems and management, and was soon off to Marin with a job offer in hand. Fourteen years later he's officially a U.S. citizen and proud to have raised his now adult children in the states.
"I've found people very welcoming of differences," he said about the country.
Joseph is one of more than 18,000 people who will become U.S. citizens during approximately 180 naturalization ceremonies taking place from Sept. 16 through Monday in honor of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. To be naturalized, each person had to apply for the honor and meet certain requirements, such as being a permanent resident of the states for at least five years.
During the last decade, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department has naturalized more than 6.6 million citizens. Each year, approximately 680,000 people are naturalized in ceremonies across the nation and around the world.
Joseph's wife, Michal Joseph, 52, took part in Friday's naturalization ceremony alongside her husband. She said her daughter also recently became a citizen and her son hopes to soon. She said her children grew up in a country like no other.
"They're very appreciative of the American experience in terms of their ability to express themselves and experience different cultures," Michal Joseph said. "We feel very privileged to live here."
New citizen Vanessa Vega, 35, of San Rafael, moved to the U.S. a decade ago from Peru in search of personal independence. She's now gainfully employed as a nanny and supporting her American husband, who recently decided to get a college degree.
"It would be different if I was living in Peru. It's a little bit harder to get a job and get enough money to save up," Vega said. "Even being a nanny I can still save and live in an apartment and go out to places here and there."
Vega said she'd likely have to live with her parents if she were in Peru. She said the air is so much cleaner in the U.S., the landscape is greener and people are more organized when it comes to things like recycling.
Native Australian Marc Gillard, 43, of Petaluma, initially came to the U.S. — specifically to San Rafael — in 1996 as a dog trainer for Guide Dogs For the Blind, which pairs and trains guide dogs and their blind owners. Things got complicated when he fell in love with a colleague, his now wife, and they decided to try living together in Australia. Six years after moving, Gillard said they both wanted to move back to the states to raise their two young sons.
"I felt more at home here. I have so many friends here," Gillard said.
The couple moved back to the area. He got a job again with Guide Dogs For the Blind and she works as a disability adviser at Sonoma State University.
"I was hired as a guide dog instructor, then I was a field representative and now I work in the new support center," Gillard said.
Gillard and his fellow naturalized citizens are thriving in their new roles, but Ian Joseph said it wasn't an easy road to naturalization.
He said the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the reorganization of immigration services into the Department of Homeland Security created a huge backlog of applicants.
"Our whole immigration process is a bit broken here," he said.