From the National Park Service:
MASNASSAS, Va. – In cooperation with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Manassas National Battlefield Park will host a naturalization ceremony on Thursday, July 21, 2016, in recognition of the Centennial of the National Park Service. The ceremony will coincide with the 155th anniversary of the First Battle of Manassas, the first major battle of the American Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861.
At 10 a.m., 40 candidates for U.S. citizenship, their families, friends and supporters will gather at the Henry Hill Visitor Center. The ceremony will take place on the grounds adjacent to the Visitor Center, where the heaviest action occurred during the First Battle of Manassas and within view of many key landmarks of the battlefield. The public is invited to attend and witness the ceremony.
Sarah Taylor, district director of the Washington District, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, will offer opening remarks and administer the oath of allegiance. Park Superintendent Jon G. James will welcome attendees to the park, and National Capital Regional Director Bob Vogel will offer congratulatory remarks. The Honorable Barbara Comstock, U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, will give the keynote address.
The National Park Service has spent the last 100 years serving as a stalwart sentinel for our most treasured and beautiful natural and historical lands and landmarks. In celebration of this achievement and in celebration of our country, USCIS is partnering with the NPS to hold more than 100 naturalization ceremonies on National Park sites in 2016.
This will be the second U.S. citizenship ceremony to be held in the Manassas area in less than a month.
Hundreds filled the Hylton Performing Arts Center on June 29 and 30 and were sworn in as U.S. citizens. It was the first time the venue had been used for such an event.
