In a packed ceremony today at the Tampa Convention Center, 413 people from 74 countries were sworn in as United States citizens while family members and friends looked on.
The naturalization ceremony started at 9 a.m. Another with about 200 people is set for this afternoon.
Among those taking the oath of allegiance was a star of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Ukraine native Oleg Prudius, billed in the ring as Vladimir Kozlov, took the citizenship oath at the convention center.
After the ceremony, Prudius described the experience as "incredible" and said becoming an American citizen was a dream come true.
"I became citizen of the best country in the world," he said.
The process of obtaining citizenship took a lot of work.
"It was a very long journey, but I made it. I'm so excited," he said.
The WWE Web site says the wrestler made his ring debut April 4, 2008, and describes him as being 6 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing more than 300 pounds.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the oath and conducts the ceremony monthly in Tampa, usually minting 800 to 1,000 new citizens each time, agency spokeswoman Sharon Scheidhauer said.
Between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, more than 740,000 people nationwide became U.S. citizens, she said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement
Advertisement