850 trading in green card for blue one
Record turnout for citizenship oath ceremony

Alia Herrod thought she'd spend her entire life in her native Ukraine. But there she stood in front a judge raising her right hand as she repeated the U.S. citizenship oath.

She turned after the recitation, smiled broadly at her American-born husband, Chris, and pumped her fist in the air."I never dreamed about living here, and now I'm an American," she said.

Alia Herrod is anxious now to trade in her green card. "I want to be free," she said. "I want to have a blue passport so I can go wherever I want."

Herrod was among some 850 people who received citizenship Thursday at the Delta Center in what is believed to be the largest naturalization ceremony in Utah history. A backlog of people who qualified led to the mass event, said Allan Speirs, supervisory district adjudication officer for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. "We needed a large ceremony to take care of everybody," he said.

The crowd spontaneously stood as a Girl Scout troop carrying an American flag moved into position several minutes before the program started. The false start prompted INS district director Joseph R. Greene to the podium. "Folks, that was the last test. And you passed."

U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball presided over the event that turned people of 92 different nationalities into Americans. Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, Salt Lake City Mayor-elect Rocky Anderson and Rep. Merrill Cook, R-Utah, joined Kimball in congratulating and handing out advice to the newly sworn citizens.

"Keep the best of what you brought and adopt the best of what you find," Kimball admonished the new citizens.

Those naturalized Thursday were a diverse group. Mexico, Vietnam and China had the largest representations.

Federal judges in Utah confer citizenship on about 3,000 people each year.

Immigrants must have lived five years -- three years if married to an American citizen -- in a lawful, permanent residence in the United States, meaning they must have a valid green card, before they can apply for citizenship. Applicants pay a $225 filing fee and $25 to be fingerprinted. They must know English, successfully complete an FBI background check, pass an American history and government test and do well in a rigorous oral interview. The process takes about eight to 10 months.

For some, it takes much longer.

Roy Biran, 25, was the last member of his family to obtain citizenship after coming to the United States from Israel 17 years ago.

"It's been an ongoing process since 1986," he said.