U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will hold a special naturalization ceremony today, August 24, at the USCIS Miami Field Office where a group of 144 Miami-area candidates will become America’s newest U.S. Citizens.
Among the candidates for naturalization will be well-known Colombian artist Hector Prado. A native of Cali, Colombia, Prado is a pop-artist, graphic designer, creative director and winner of various national and international awards in those fields. Among the accolades received are top awards in creative ad campaigns and a special award for his artwork in the Steven Spielberg’s HBO series The Pacific. Mr. Prado is also the winner of this year’s Coconut Grove Arts Festival Poster. His artistic style has been described as “fantasy meets reality”. “When I paint I want to communicate with everyone,” explains Prado. “I want every person to relate to my art.”
Linda M. Swacina, USCIS district director for South Florida and the Caribbean, will be the master of ceremonies. Bettina Chwat, chief of staff for the district, will administer the Oath of Allegiance. Mr. Prado will lead his fellow new citizens in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
The 144 citizenship candidates originate from the following 25 countries: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Russia, Spain and Venezuela.
USCIS encourages new citizens and guests to share their naturalization ceremony experiences and photos through social media, using the hashtag #newUScitizen.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook(/uscis) and Instragram (uscis).
