TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) About 50 immigrants became U.S. citizens at a ceremony in Tucson on Friday.
The naturalization ceremony took place at the U.S. District Court on West Congress.
Seventeen countries were represented and most of the immigrants were from Mexico. The process can be expensive, and take years for some.
To be eligible for naturalization you have to fulfill certain requirements including:
- Be 18 years of age or older.
- Be a permanent resident for usually 5 or 3 years, depending on how you obtain status.
- Be able to read, write and speak basic English.
Among those in the crowd was 86-year-old Magdalena Majalca. According to a release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), she is from Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. 60 years ago. She raised four kids in Douglas, AZ and has 20 grandchildren.
According to USCIS, nearly 240,000 people applied for naturalization in the last three months of 2016.
