Vienna Naturalization Ceremony For New Citizens Planned For Second Year

VIENNA, VA — As part of Vienna's Liberty Amendments Month celebrating Constitutional Amendments that extended rights to new groups of people, 15 new U.S. citizens will get new rights during their naturalization ceremony.

This is the second year Vienna will host a naturalization ceremony as part of Liberty Amendments Month. Vienna's first naturalization ceremony happened on July 2, 2022, welcoming 15 new citizens from countries ranging from Canada to Congo.

This year's ceremony will be Saturday, June 29 at 5 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center 120 Cherry St. SE in Vienna.

At the naturalization ceremony, citizenship candidates take the Oath of Allegiance to renounce allegiance to their home countries. By becoming citizens, they receive full voting rights and liberties that native-born Americans have.

"This ceremony is so inspiring and reminds those who are native-born Americans of the freedoms and liberties the U.S. Constitution grants to all U.S. citizens – freedoms that are not enjoyed by citizens of other nations," said Lily Widman, the Town of Vienna's Parks and Recreation event coordinator. "It’s an honor and a privilege for the Town to work with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to hold this special ceremony during Liberty Amendments Month, and I know this year’s event will be just as inspiring and heartfelt as the inaugural event in 2022."

The ceremony will include remarks by Mayor Linda Colbert, Director of U.S. Trade and Development Enoh Ebong, and U.S. Citizenship and immigration Services Washington Field Office Acting Director, Juan Wood. Girl Scout Troops 50157 and 1489 will present the colors and lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Liberty Amendments Month is a month-long celebration with events from June 15 to July 15. The month-long observance highlights local history in relation to the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments. See the full lineup of Liberty Amendments Month events.