Fifteen Montana residents received their citizenship in a naturalization ceremony at Glacier National Park on Thursday.
Presiding over the Sept. 25 ceremony, federal Judge Kathleen Soto compared the process of adding new citizens to the creation of a mosaic.
“Each individual tile contributes to the beauty and the majesty of that picture, and that is what citizens are,” said Soto. “You’re all individuals. You bring with you your individuality and your culture and your background, but you form part of our greater union.”
The newly minted citizens hailed from 12 countries: Canada, Chile, China, Germany, Iran, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland and Thailand. While their stories vary, Soto’s remarks to the cohort emphasized that the path to naturalized citizenship is never easy.
“I became a citizen the easy way, by being born to American parents,” she said. “You have taken a much more difficult route.”
That rang true for Elena Petersen, 52, who started the citizenship process nearly a decade ago. While born in Belarus, Petersen was a citizen of New Zealand and previously lived in Australia with her husband — an American citizen — and three sons. In 2017, the family moved to the United States.
The couple’s three sons automatically qualified for citizenship because their father was an American citizen, but the process was much longer for Petersen. She initially moved to the country on a green card visa, which allowed her to legally work and reside in the United States while she applied for full citizenship.
She was still in the process when the Covid-19 pandemic sent much of the world into lockdown. Petersen had returned to Australia to handle some of the family’s assets, and, without American citizenship, she was unable to enter the United States.
“For me, the process was very difficult,” she recalled.
Petersen didn’t see her sons or husband for two years. It took another three years of residency in Montana before Petersen finally received her citizenship.
“Now that everything is over, I don’t even feel relief. I feel very proud,” she said. “I’ve had a long journey.”
For Lindsey Giesy, 41, the path to citizenship took about four years. Originally from Canada, Giesy met her partner while on vacation in Whitefish. The couple made multiple trips to Helena to be interviewed by immigration officials and file the necessary forms and documents.
“I was just always worried that we wouldn’t be able to be together,” said Giesy.
Standing on a rock beach near Lake McDonald, her arms full of flowers and gifts from friends, Giesy beamed and said she was “so happy” to finally have her American citizenship. When asked what would be next, Giesy and her husband shrugged.
“We’ll probably go to Rita’s,” said Giesy’s husband. “Hang out in the sunshine. I mean, what else do you do on a day like this?”