Forty-five children of naturalized U.S. citizens will take the oath of allegiance and receive formal acknowledgement of their status as citizens at a ceremony Saturday at Jamestown Settlement.
The people participating in the ceremony — the youngest of whom is 11 — come from 27 countries across the globe. Children are eligible to receive certificates of citizenship if their parents are naturalized as U.S. citizens.
The event, which starts at 2 p.m. and is open to the public, is hosted by the Williamsburg chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, which have partnered with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office of the Department of Homeland Security.
“We are proud to join with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and USCIS to sponsor this truly special ceremony for a fourth year,” said Jane M. Stewart, regent for NSDAR’s Williamsburg chapter. The chapter also co-sponsors two naturalization ceremonies annually in June and December with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The oath of allegiance will be administered by USCIS Norfolk Field Office Director Frank Reffel. Immigration Services Officer Lauren Lipchak will present the certificates of citizenship. The participants will be led into Jamestown Settlement’s Robins Foundation Theater by the settlement’s honor guard.
Bill Barker, a Williamsburg resident known for his portrayal of Thomas Jefferson, will speak at the event. The Philadelphia native enjoys researching and portraying Jefferson, first appearing as the founding father in 1984 at Independence Hall. He has appeared as Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg since 1993.
The participants in Saturday’s event come from the following countries: Belize, Benin, Bhutan, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Korea, Libya, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Vietnam
The event begins at 2 p.m. at Jamestown Settlement and is open to the public, though space is limited.
