Fort Scott National Historic Site is hosting the U.S. Federal Court proceeding by the U.S. District Court, Kansas District, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday, September 20 at 10:30 a.m.

“The park hosts the proceedings by providing the venue, and, working with the community and state, offers added value to the new citizens, their families, and the community,” said Carl Brenner, Program Manager for Interpretation and Resource Management
Fort Scott National Historic Site (www.nps.gov/fosc.)

“This includes snacks for the naturalizing citizens before the ceremony, a beautiful and historic setting for the event, information about the community and its businesses, and the opportunity to fulfill the civic duty by registering to vote.” he said. “There are also a series of clubs, organizations, and state and local groups helping to make this happen (it takes a village). The Kansas Secretary of State’s office will have a representative here to register voters, new citizens or otherwise.”

What does one have to do to become a citizen?

“Section 312 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires naturalization applicants to demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language, and demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government (civics). To meet the requirements of Section 312 of the INA, applicants must pass a naturalization test to become U.S. citizens. The naturalization test consists of two components: an English language and a civics component. The English language component tests applicants on their ability to speak, read, write, and understand the English language. Applicants who fail one or both test components will have a second opportunity to pass both portions of the test, called a re-exam.  More info at www.uscis.gov/citizenship We have been running some of the questions on our Facebook page this week.”

Today’s questions on its Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/FortScottNPS

www.instagram.com/FortScottNPS

http://twitter.com/FortScottNPS

The Ceremony

“Check-in begins at 9 a.m., and the ceremony begins at 10:30. Fort Scott VFW Post 1165, Olson-Frary-Burkhart Post, will be the Color Guard. Musical performances from the Fort Scott High School Orchestra, with welcoming remarks by Fort Scott National Historic Site Superintendent Jill Jaworski and Fort Scott City Manager Brad Matkin. A keynote address will be made by Angela Bates, founder, past president, and current executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society and Museum,” he said.

“We are looking at 201 naturalized citizens from 57 different countries. One of the largest ceremonies in the National Park Service,” he said.

Countries represented are  Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Cameroon, Canada, China, Colombia, Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, United Kingdom, and Vietnam.