Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff | Posted: Monday, May 19, 2008 11:00 pm
|
For Boramy Em, 31,
citizenship didn't come a moment too soon.
Her husband, Air
Force Tech. Sgt. Suntara Nop, has a four-year assignment in
Germany. The family leaves from Florida on June 5.
The Nops are both
Cambodian. Suntara Nop, 39, immigrated with his family 20 years
ago. He has been a citizen for 15 years and has served in the Air
Force for 12 years. The couple has been married for 10
years.
Both admit that
relinquishing their Cambodian citizenship was not an easy decision,
but they value the opportunity to make that choice.
"I think we
appreciate it more, because we come from the other country," Nop
said. "A lot of people here take things for granted."
Nop recalled
suggesting a hiking trip into the mountains when they were living
in Colorado Springs, Colo., shortly after the couple married.
Fearing mine fields, Em refused to go into the wooded mountains.
Children growing up in Cambodia are taught not to go into the woods
because of buried mines, Nop said.
Em has not seen her
family since leaving 10 years ago, and her parents have never met
their grandparents.
"It's not safe," Em
said.
After she has an
American passport, Em hopes it will be possible to take her
children to meet her parents.
Proudly watching
their mom become an American citizen were Samantha Nop, 10, and
Emily Nop, 7. The girls know how hard their mom worked preparing
for Tuesday's ceremony.
Samantha and Emily
helped Em study for the citizenship test, frequently reading and
quizzing her on the test questions. With her daughters' support, Em
managed to study for the test without taking any
classes.
Second-grader Emily
can tell you who South Dakota's governor is, name the state's U.S.
senators, along with identifying the president and the
vice-president of the United States and Rapid City's
mayor.
Mom was a good
student, according to Samantha.
Em praised her
daughters' knowledge of American history. "They know all," Em said,
smiling at her daughters.
When Em went to
Sioux Falls May 6 for her test, the girls stayed behind in Rapid
City with family friend Carol Seitz.
Nop said Andrew
Jensen, the applications support center manager for the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, and other officials were very helpful
in hurrying his wife's citizenship through.
Em has always
planned on becoming a citizen, but the cost of the application
process - $680 - is costly, her husband said.
When Nop received
his assignment for Germany, the family faced a dilemma because Em's
Cambodian passport had expired. While they waited on arrangements
for her to complete the U.S. citizenship process, they renewed her
Cambodian passport at a cost of $800.
Then, they learned
that her naturalization application could be hurried along.
Tuesday's ceremony invalidated Em's Cambodian
passport.
Jensen also
assisted in smoothing the way for Liliya Aumiller, from Russia, to
complete her citizenship ahead of the normal quarterly
procedures.
Her husband, Jeremy
Aumiller, is also in the Air Force. The family, which includes
daughters Angelina, 3, and Kamiliya, 18 months, will leave for the
United Kingdom in August.
After the ceremony
and tearful goodbyes, the Nop family left immediately for Denver so
Em can apply for an expedited U.S. passport.
"She has to be
there in person, and they didn't say the price, either," Nop said,
smiling. "That can't be good."
But, whatever the
price, Nop and Em both savor the freedoms they have as United
States citizens.
"We feel blessed to
be here," Nop said.
Contact Andrea Cook
at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com
