The courtroom usually is packed with about 50 applicants for U.S. citizenship at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse, but a special ceremony was held Thursday for a sailor who was preparing to be deployed to serve his new home country.
U.S. Navy Seaman Moses Aseda, 27, was sworn in as a citizen by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan before deployment to the Persian Gulf onboard the guided missile cruiser USS Hue City.
Aseda is from Nigeria, but during an internship with the United Nations in New York as a student at London's Middlesex University, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy.
Navy citizenship requirements for enlisted men are: "You must be a U.S. citizen or, if you're a non-citizen, you may join the Navy if you entered the United States on a permanent residence visa or have an Alien Registration Green Card and have 1) established a bona fide residence, and 2) established a home of record in the United States," according to the Navy's website. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen to join the Navy as an officer.
"I'm proud to be a U.S. citizen. The United States offers endless opportunities to its citizens," said Aseda.
"This is a happy day in this court," Corrigan said.
"That's not what regularly happens in this courtroom because someone usually leaves in distress. That's just the nature of what we do," said Corrigan.
Corrigan said he was impressed with Aseda's commitment to his new home country. He said he has presided over many naturalization ceremonies where new citizens pledged their allegiance to the United States, but not as many have immediately walked out of the courtroom to fulfill that pledge.
"It will be my pleasure to administer the oath to the honoree today," said Corrigan.
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