Berks County welcomes 38 new U.S. citizens

Long before Zaire Fellananga stood inside a courtroom on the fifth floor of the Berks County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon, he already felt at home in the U.S.

That’s because the 35-year-old Reading resident has spent the majority of his life living here.

He first moved from the African nation of Guinea to the U.S. when he was just 9 years old. His mother brought him and his siblings here because their father, much to her dismay, wanted to have his younger sister circumcised.

Although illegal in Guinea, it is still widely practiced. And Fellananga’s father’s family wanted the procedure, which is considered female genital mutilation, performed.

“So we left him behind,” Fellananga said.

Fellananga’s mother worked two jobs to support him and his siblings. She made a life for them in the U.S., he said, which made them feel like their new country was their home.

So standing with more than three dozen other immigrants inside that courtroom Wednesday taking the oath of citizenship was really just a formality for him.

“I feel like I’m already and American,” he said. “It’s just paperwork.”

Fellananga was one of 38 local residents who officially became American citizens Wednesday during a naturalization ceremony. The event was organized by the Berks County Bar Association and presided over by Berks County Judge Jill M. Scheidt.

The ceremony welcomed new citizens from 15 different home countries, ranging from Egypt to Israel to Togo to Canada to Mexico.

Each had a unique story about their journey to citizenship.

For Johannys Cordero, that journey began when she was 6 years old. That’s when her father, who was already living in the U.S., brought her from the Dominican Republic to Rhode Island.

“He wanted for me to grow up in a better place,” she explained.

Cordero would later move to New York, before settling in Berks County. The Shillington resident said that while she has long felt like the U.S. is her home, she decided in part to become a citizen because of her 4-year-old daughter.

“I just want to be secure, you never know what can happen,” she said, explaining that her daughter was born in the U.S. and she feared being separated from her.

As for what differences she expected to experience after taking the oath, Cordero said she didn’t anticipate much would change. Traveling might be a little easier, she said, but other than that life will likely just go on like normal.

“I’ve been here for so long, I think it’s just going to be the same thing,” the 25-year-old said. “I already feel like a citizen.”

Felix Igharo’s arrival in the U.S. is much more recent.

The 42-year-old Reading man moved here from his native Nigeria in 2018. For him, immigrating was a matter of marital harmony.

He said his wife’s mother and other family members were already living in America, and she longed to join them. So, they packed up and moved to the U.S. as permanent residents.

“It’s been good,” Igharo said of his time in the state. “My wife is more happy.”

Igharo said that he enjoys taking road trips, and has had a chance over the past six years to see a good bit of the country. He said he loves the diversity of the U.S.

As for becoming a citizen, Igharo said it was always the plan to remain permanently in the U.S. So getting naturalized was simply part of that process.

He said becoming a citizen would open some new doors for him, including being able to vote.

“That’s key for me,” he said, smiling widely. “I’m excited for new things like that.”