US Based Nigerian Doctor Acquires US Citizenship, Shares Story on LinkedIn

Benedict Nwachukwu, a Nigerian-born US based orthopedic surgeon has narrated his 17-year journey from being a study to becoming a US citizen. He shared this on LinkedIn after scaling the US Naturilisation interview and test to become a US Citizen.

His post reads thus:

” Today I took and passed my naturalization test to become a U.S. citizen. It’s been a long journey. I came to America in 2001 on a student visa. I stayed on that visa status for 12 years through the end of medical school. If you know anyone on a student visa you know that it requires yearly renewals, constant proof of education and is quite a burden for a teenager/young adult. After my schooling I was fortunate that Hospitaal for Special Sugrgey bet on me by giving me an H1B visa which is a visa not commonly given to surgical trainees and that required the hospital at the time to prove to the government that there was no better qualified American. A few years after my H1B I decided to bet on myself and apply for a green card through the EB1 program which gives green cards to scientists of exceptional ability. As part of that process I had to solicit 10 references from leaders in my field who could vouch that I was an “exceptional scientist”. The process was humbling, I got some “no”s but I found 10 people willing to objectively look at my CV and write to the US Government to state their case on my behalf. Now 6 years later from my green card I ve been approved to become a U.S. citizen. I’ve essentially been an immigrant all my life, I left Nigeria at age 6 to find better opportunities along with my mom. Ultimately I CHOSE America as the place where I want to settle, build a career and eventually raise a family. I believe in the American dream. I am the American Dream. I hope that my fellow Americans never take for granted all of the rights and opportunities that you are given and that others work so hard to attain.”

Find out the verdant pathways to US Citizenship on our forum.

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