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County courthouse the setting as the U.S. gets 17 new citizens

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New citizens take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony Friday at Washington County Courthouse.

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Judge John DiSalle hands out flags to new citizens during a naturalization ceremony Friday at Washington County Courthouse.

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Judge John DiSalle gives a flag to Priya Iyer during a naturalization ceremony Friday at Washington County Courthouse.

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Elizabeth Swackhammer, who was attending a naturalization ceremony Friday at Washington County Courthouse, gives A.J. Williams a hug as Mystro’s Movement held a “Love and Hugs Against Racism” event.

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Abiraman Srinivasan, who was attending a naturalization ceremony Friday at Washington County Courthouse, prepares to give Suzanne Kelley a hug as Mystro’s Movement held a “Love and Hugs Against Racism” gathering.

Jingtao Wang described the excitement he felt when he arrived in the United States in 2002 – an emotion he said was mixed with anxiety as he tried to make his way in a new country and the loneliness he felt at leaving his family back in China.

Despite those challenges, Wang, originally from Xi’an in northwest China, went on to earn his doctorate. He’s now an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Pittsburgh.

“At this moment, I live happily with my wife, two kids and dog in a beautiful house in the southern region of Pittsburgh,” he said.

Wang was one of 17 Pittsburgh-area residents who became full-fledged U.S. citizens during a ceremony Friday in Washington County Courthouse attended by family members, friends, federal officials, members of the county bench and county officials. Those who swore allegiance to the country during the afternoon ceremony hailed from countries that included China, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, India, Jordan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Applicants to become naturalized citizens must live in the United States for at least five years – three if they’re married to a citizen – and usually must pass a naturalization test that includes English and civics. Almost 753,000 Americans were naturalized last year, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Todd Fine, supervisory immigration services officer with the USCIS’s Pittsburgh office, said Friday’s naturalization ceremony was the first held in Washington County in more than 12 years. He said his office has been “starting to do more outreach with local courts” in the last several years “to get more outreach and exposure in communities about the whole immigration process.”

Washington County President Judge Katherine Emery told the new citizens they joined the ranks of the 20 million naturalized citizens who are in the country today, “among them, the first woman secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, many accomplished athletes, including a Pittsburgh favorite, Mario Lemieux, multiple Nobel Prize winners in physics, astrophysics, literature. The richness of the diversity this group provides to America defines who we are as a nation,” Emery said. “Open to new ideas … respecting all religions and creeds, embracing all, and protecting those in need.”

From the passage of the country’s first naturalization law in 1790 through much of the 20th century, the citizenship oath could be administered in any court of record. Most people went to the most convenient court, usually a county courthouse. The Washington County prothonotary’s office has naturalization dockets and a card file from early in the 20th century as part of its public records.

Among those in the audience Friday was Abiraman Srinivasan, 45, of Monroeville, who originally came from southern India, arrived in the United States about 14 years ago and was sworn in last month during a ceremony in Allegheny County.

Srinivasan’s wife, 41-year-old Priya Iyer, took the oath Friday – the end of what she said “has been a journey.”

“You guys have the process in place, you guys know how to do it,” she said. “It’s just that the people who have to do it feel it’s a long and tedious process.”

Staff writer Barbara S. Miller contributed to this report.

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