For the past 13 years, people have been asking Theodora Letz when she will be going home. After yesterday’s ceremony at Bellevue City Hall to welcome 46 new naturalized citizens to the city and nation, she now has an answer.

“There’s no going back,” Letz said after she and 45 others, including her husband Paul Blinzer, took part in the second annual ceremony to welcome new naturalized citizens.

The couple originally emigrated from Germany to Canada, before Paul’s work brought them to Bellevue, where they have remained for more than a decade. Theodora found that while the community was always welcoming of their family regardless of citizenship status, she always felt it would be a fulfilling and important step to take.

“I was registering friends to vote, but I couldn’t vote myself,” she said.

Bellevue Mayor Conrad Lee, himself a naturalized citizen, offered his own congratulations to the group and said encouraging civic responsibility among Bellevue’s large immigrant population is one of the most important responsibilities of the city and its offices.

“The government needs to do whatever we can to encourage those principles,” he said. “There’s no bigger responsibility than to vote.”

Roughly one in every three Bellevue residents was born outside of the United States and the city prides itself on being a cultural hub with events like Aki Matsuri and others throughout the year.

Applicants for naturalization go through a rigorous process that includes oral exams in English, U.S. History and Civics.

Lee, who was born in China, and guest speaker Jose Garcia-Pabon, an assistant professor at Washington State University and also a naturalized citizen, emphasized that natural born citizens and naturalized ones have a voice in their communities.

““This could be the beginning of a great journey as a U.S. citizen,” Garcia-Pabon said.

Candidates take the Oath of Allegiance. “When you sit down again, it will be as Americans,” a USCIS official said. JOSH SUMAN, BELLEVUE REPORTER

Candidates and family members listen as a USCIS official opens the ceremony. JOSH SUMAN, BELLEVUE REPORTER

A new citizen looks at his naturalization papers. JOSH SUMAN, BELLEVUE REPORTER

Two women take the Oath of Allegiance. JOSH SUMAN, BELLEVUE REPORTER

Bellevue Mayor Conrad Lee speaks to the candidates. JOSH SUMAN, BELLEVUE REPORTER

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