‘A new life.’ Ukrainian mother, father and son naturalized together at Tri-Cities event
Monday marked a big step forward for Anatoliy Kravchuk and his pursuit of the American Dream.
Standing side-by-side in the U.S. District Court in Richland, Kravchuk and his parents — Vitalii, 40, and Yuliia, 39 — took their sworn oath and became U.S. citizens.
It was an event that was years in the making for the Ukrainian family, who have lived in Pasco, Wash., the last six years.
“We love it here. We enjoy everything here, and I enjoy this country because you have freedom here,” Kravchuk, 19, told the Tri-City Herald. “You can work. I’d never thought that by 16 I’d have my license, that I could drive a car and be living my dream life.”
The family was sworn in alongside 21 other Tri-City immigrants on Monday morning by Senior Judge Ed Shea at the naturalization ceremony. The newly minted Americans came from nine countries, including Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Italy, Guatemala, Ukraine, Myanmar, Pakistan and Columbia.
Kravchuk was the youngest. And it’s rare for the court to naturalize whole families in one ceremony.
Naturalization is the way citizens who are not born in the country become U.S. citizens. The most common path to naturalization is by being a lawful permanent resident who resides in the U.S. for at least five years and completes an application process.
This process requires residency verification, a general understanding of basic English, a citizenship test and an oath of allegiance to the U.S.
Western Ukraine
Kravchuk said he learned most of the citizenship test from history and civics classes he took while in high school at Chiawana High in Pasco. His parents, on the other hand, had to put in time studying.
“My mom and my dad would watch YouTube videos, read and learn — and they got it in their first try. And I’m really proud of them,” he said.
Because Kravchuck’s parents are now officially citizens, that also means his 16-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother are also naturalized by extension. His family plans to celebrate with a barbecue.
The main reason they immigrated to the U.S. was to “start a new life and find opportunities,” he said. Much of their extended family, who lived in Pasco before they moved, say they are happy for the family of five. His father is a truck driver for a family company and his mother works for the wheelchair maker Permobil.
Kravchuk has fond memories of growing up in the Western Ukraine city of Lutsk.
He remembers learning English in school, playing soccer with his friends and traveling all over the country to play in matches. He said he hopes to go back one day, but is unsure when because of last year’s invasion that started the Russia-Ukraine war.
Today, Kravchuk attends Columbia Basin College and also works full-time as a dental assistant and part-time at McDonald’s. It’s a heavy load, but he’s excited to help his family save.
In his future, he sees a career in prosthetic dentistry, buying a house and one day visiting his friends still living in his war-torn homeland.
