125 will become new US Citizens Sunday

Mr. Jeffrey Sapko, Raleigh-Durham Field Office Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security will administer the Oath of United States Citizenship to 125 candidates, in a ceremony beginning at 4:00 PM on the Ft. Johnston Garrison House lawn on July 4, 2010. Also attending from the USCIS headquarters in Washington DC will be Ms. Theresa Bertucci, Associate Director of Enterprise Services.

The ceremony, the 14th annual event, is a significant part of the NC 4th of July Festival held annually in Southport, NC. This will be among the largest number of new citizens to ever participate in the Southport ceremony. The keynote speaker for this annual event will be Brunswick County Resident Superior Court Judge Ola M. Lewis.

The new citizens represent 52 countries from around the world. The largest number of new citizens, 13, originates from India, with another 10 each from Mexico and the United Kingdom, and 8 from China. Among our new fellow citizens 36% immigrated from Asia, nearly 21% from Europe, 12% from Canada and Mexico, just over 11% from Africa, 9 ½% from Central America and the Caribbean, 8% from South America, two (2) people from Oceania, and one (1) person from Australia. Among the total there are six (6) couples, 2 from India and 1 each from China, Jamaica, Israel and the United Kingdom, scheduled to take their oaths of citizenship.

INFORMATION FROM A NEWS RELEASE SENT TO THE WWAY NEWSCHANNEL 3 NEWSROOM….