Eighteen new U.S. citizens were sworn in Friday afternoon as part of Constitution Week, surrounded by family and friends in the City County Chambers downtown.
They immigrated from Australia, Bhutan, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Syria and the United Kingdom.
Manoj Kumar Verma, a newly naturalized citizen from India, gave a speech during the ceremony.
"We have decided to move to the U.S. and call this our home, it requires a lot of faith, determination and courage to do it," he said. "It doesn't happen just by chance, and what [we] have done is already a remarkable journey."
Verma said he lived in four countries before coming to the U.S.
"I can tell you, after looking at all the countries, different places, cultures, this is the land of opportunities," he said.
More than 30,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens this week at more than 200 naturalization ceremonies across the country.
