Forty-eight new Americans from 28 countries took the oath of citizenship at a naturalization ceremony on Friday, May 23, 2025, in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. The ceremony was presided over by Frank W. Volk (standing, background), chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
New American Dr. Inas Hassan Al-Attar, formerly of Germany, takes the citizenship oath on Friday, May 23, 2025, during a citizenship and naturalization ceremony in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Forty-eight people from 29 countries took the oath at the ceremony.
James N. Ishida, circuit executive for the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, was the keynote speaker Friday, May 23, 2025, during a citizenship and naturalization ceremony in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Forty-eight new Americans from 28 countries took the oath of citizenship at the ceremony. Ishida's family emigrated from Japan to Hawaii in the late 1800s.
Forty-eight new Americans from 28 countries took the oath of citizenship at a naturalization ceremony, on Friday, May 23, 2025, in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. The ceremony was presided over by Frank W. Volk, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Hear from Dr. Inas Hassan Al-Attar, who was a German citizen before taking the oath of citizenship, on May 23, 2025 in a ceremony at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Hassan Al-Attar is a pediatrician at WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital in Princeton, Mercer County.
Forty-eight new Americans from 28 countries took the oath of citizenship at a naturalization ceremony on Friday, May 23, 2025, in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. The ceremony was presided over by Frank W. Volk (standing, background), chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Forty-eight new Americans from 28 countries took the oath of citizenship at a naturalization ceremony, on Friday, May 23, 2025, in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. The ceremony was presided over by Frank W. Volk, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
Forty-eight people from 28 countries took the naturalization oath, received citizenship certificates and heard from two speakers. The speaker representing new citizens at the ceremony said she completed the long naturalization process for the privileges of citizenship and the ability to vote.
New American Dr. Inas Hassan Al-Attar, formerly of Germany, takes the citizenship oath on Friday, May 23, 2025, during a citizenship and naturalization ceremony in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Forty-eight people from 29 countries took the oath at the ceremony.
"I came here years ago for residency training in pediatrics, followed by some specialty training in pediatric infectious disease," Al-Attar said. "Eventually, I moved to West Virginia, where I've had the privilege of practicing medicine and serving my community."
James N. Ishida, circuit executive for the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, was the keynote speaker Friday, May 23, 2025, during a citizenship and naturalization ceremony in U.S. District Court in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Forty-eight new Americans from 28 countries took the oath of citizenship at the ceremony. Ishida's family emigrated from Japan to Hawaii in the late 1800s.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
The event's keynote speaker, James N. Ishida, identified with the new citizens. Ishida is the fourth-generation descendant of an immigrant. He shared the story of his great-great-grandfather emigrating from Japan to Hawaii in the late 1800s.
"Just as my great-great-grandfather had no idea what I would become," said Ishida, who is the circuit executive for the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, "there is no way that I could achieve what I did in my life without his sacrifice and hard work. I wanted to impress upon you the momentousness of this decision that you've made here today."
What's next
Citizenship ceremonies usually occur tri-annually at the federal courthouse in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. For information on the naturalization process, visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. Take a sample citizenship quiz that contains some of the same questions the newest citizens answered at civicsquestions.com.
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