Dutchess County Government Presents

Naturalization Ceremony at Richard B. Fisher Center

On Friday, April 5, the Dutchess County Clerk’s Office will hold a naturalization ceremony at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. At the ceremony, Dutchess County Clerk Bradford H. Kendall will administer the Oath of Allegiance to approximately 50 individuals. The Honorable Edward T. McLoughlin, Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice and Dutchess County Court Judge, will preside over the ceremony. The Honorable Christopher P. Gibson will deliver the keynote address welcoming participants as newly naturalized American Citizens. Gibson, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and retired U.S. Army Colonel, is the Stanley Kaplan Distinguished Visiting Professor of American Foreign Policy at Williams College. Bard President Leon Botstein will deliver opening remarks. Madison Bishop will provide musical accompaniment. The ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. and is open to the public.

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes all naturalization applications and provides the clerk’s office with a list of the candidates selected to be naturalized. All petitioners must then participate in a Naturalization Ceremony and swear to the Oath of Allegiance in a formal court proceeding. 

In Dutchess County, naturalization ceremonies are held bimonthly to induct new citizens of the United States of America and are open to the public with all invited to attend.

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For more information, call 845-486-2133, or e-mail civic@bard.edu.

Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Fisher Center

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