People who came here from Europe, South America, Asia and Africa were among those sworn in Saturday in Somerville.
SOMERVILLE -- Twenty-seven people hailing from Europe, South America, Asia and Africa stood under the mid-day sun Saturday on the Somerset County Courthouse Green and completed the last step to become a naturalized citizen.
The ceremony was part of a day-long Flag Day Festival put together by the Somerville Elks Lodge #1068 that's held along North Bridge Street. The more than two dozen people who officially became United States citizens all currently live in Somerset County but immigrated from places that included China, Egypt, Peru, Poland, Ghana and Honduras.
Kids jumped nearby in a bounce house while their parents sat with their backs straight and huge grins on their faces in folding chairs assembled at the foot of the courthouse steps waiting to recite the Oath of Allegiance.
They renounced all allegiance to foreign sovereignties and promised to bear arms on behalf of the United States and support its laws.
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"I feel like I want to cry," said Karen Guardado, of Plainfield, who first came to America 16 years ago when she was 11. She returned to her native Colombia to study but came back to the United States to pursue the the American dream.
"I did this for my kids," she said, her daughter 6 years old and son, 18 months in a stroller watched with family. "There are a lot of opportunities here. And I want to be an example for them."
Congressman Leonard Lance, the keynote speaker for the event, told each of the new citizens that the American dream is now theirs to achieve.
"From today forward, each of you has a chance to live it fully," he said.
Madhuri Sudha, of Somerset, waited, camera in hand, with the other eager family members jockeying to get a picture of their loved one receiving their certificate of citizenship.
She just earned hers a few months ago, she said.
"It's a great feeling," the India-native said. "Now we can participate in decisions and really be a part of the country."
"It's a memorable day," her husband Siva Sudha said. "I'm very proud of it."
The certificate that Krasimira Kaneva held represented another chapter in a love story.
The Bulgaria-native moved to America five years ago after maintaining a long-distance relationship with her now husband, Yani Kaneva.
The two first met when they were in high school. He later moved to America and became a citizen. They reconnected in the summer of 2009 and after three years of a cross-continental courtship, she moved here too.
The North Plainfield residents plan to celebrate her citizenship with a walk and a nice dinner, they said.
"I feel proud to be an American now," she said. "It's a great country."
Somerset County residents raise their right hand and recite the Oath of Allegiance to become naturalized citizens. (Allison Pries | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.