Shalom’s Citizenship Story

Shalom’s journey from refugee to U.S. citizen

 

Becoming a U.S. citizen offers many lifechanging benefits and protections, such as the right to vote, better opportunities for financial stability, and the permanency of a safe home. But high costs and language barriers prevent many from applying. During the month of August, the New Americans Campaign is raising critical funds to make sure eligible New Americans can receive low-cost citizenship help. Shalom’s story shares the joy and possibility many of our clients strive for.

Give Now

One year to the day after proposing to his childhood sweetheart, Shalom raised his right hand, recited the Oath of Allegiance, and became a U.S. citizen. That day, with his fiancé Agnes at his side, the couple dreamed of a future full of both love and new opportunities.

“I am so excited. My heart is beating!” said Shalom, a former refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

When the song “This Land is Your Land” played during his naturalization ceremony, Shalom smiled and mouthed along to the words displayed on the screen.

“I felt surprised and happy,” he said, thinking about the idea of American land being part of him now, too.

Shalom’s Growing Up Years

Shalom, his parents and his eight siblings fled Kinshasa to a refugee camp in Rwanda when he was 3 years old. He grew up moving frequently between tents and one-room structures too small for all 11 of them.

The displacement situation in the DRC “is the most complex and long-standing humanitarian crisis in Africa,” with ongoing fighting and violence since 1960, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Those who managed to flee and find safety, like Shalom and his family, have the chance to rebuild their lives and contribute to their new communities. In 2024, people from the DRC make up the second largest group of refugees resettled in Minnesota.

The Institute resettled Shalom in 2019.

I feel so excited to get citizenship in this country with a lot of opportunities.

“The time I arrived in America, I was totally confused. It was big city, big houses, a lot of technology,” Shalom said. He credits his Institute case manager and volunteers for helping him find a job, start English classes and learn simple tasks like going to the grocery store and riding the bus.

“I was surprised how people who don’t know me treat me like a king,” Shalom said. “Coming from a country where they don’t treat you well – it feels better here.”

Since then, each of his siblings and his parents have also resettled in the United States, reuniting as a family once again.

Shalom and Agnes dated for seven years in Rwanda before he had the chance to be resettled. When he left, he knew he’d have to be patient and wait for her chance to join him. After four years of separation, Shalom met her as she arrived at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

He proposed the next day.

Shalom’s Dreams for the Future

Shalom worked, built a new life, and waited the required five years before applying for citizenship, returning to the Institute for help with his application.

“It’s a long process. It’s hard to do for yourself,” Shalom said, explaining his gratitude to the Institute for its citizenship application help and previously, with help applying for his green card.

“I am the first one in the family to get citizenship,” he continued. “I feel so excited to get citizenship in this country with a lot of opportunities. I’m very happy.”

Shalom especially looks forward to voting and being able to travel freely to places like Europe or back to Africa with a U.S. passport.

Through the years of living in tents and wondering about his future, Shalom imagined a life where he could go to college and get a good job. He has since gone to truck driving school and now is a professional driver for a trucking company. Before his family’s arrival, he sent money home to help them buy food. Now that they’re together and working, Shalom supports himself and Agnes, who completed the Institute’s Nursing Assistant Training and works as a certified nursing assistant (CNA).

Shalom and his bride married in May. Together, they look forward to their future and plan to support each other through additional schooling. Shalom plans to fulfill his lifelong dream of studying to become a civil engineer. Agnes plans to go back to school for nursing. One day, they’ll buy a home.

“I’m going to keep going,” Shalom said. “This is just the beginning.”

Community support makes citizenship accessible and affordable to our clients, many of whom are refugees. For New Americans like Shalom, you can make a difference.