USCIS to welcome 11 new citizens at Knappton Cove Heritage Center

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Portland Field Office Director Michael Hickman will administer the Oath of Allegiance to 11 of America’s newest citizens during a special naturalization ceremony at Knappton Cove Heritage Center in Naselle on September 16 at 1 p.m. Between 1899 and 1938, this site served as a quarantine center for new immigrants.

The keynote speaker is U.S. Public Health Service Captain Louis Glass. Other guests will be dressed in period costume as they participate in the ceremony and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. NPS Ranger Debbie Kaspar will give welcoming remarks on behalf of the National Park Service, and Nancy Anderson will offer welcoming remarks on behalf of the center. The national anthem will be sung by Aubrey McMahan, this year’s Astoria Regatta Queen.

Those being sworn in that day come from Mexico (5), Thailand (2), Korea, El Salvador, Iran and South Africa. Each is saving an approximately 200-mile round-trip by being sworn in locally.

USCIS invites new citizens and their families and friends to share the experience and photos at their ceremonies via Twitter using the hashtag #newUScitizen.

For more information about USCIS and its programs, visit http://www.uscis.gov or follow them on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon.