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New Americans take the oath
50 foreigners become U.S. citizens in ceremony at courthouse
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Kelli Persons, an advocacy director with the League of Women Voters of Georgia, helps Manap Khatiwada make a copy of his certificate Friday after a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. District Court in Gainesville. Khatiwada is originally from Bhutan. - photo by Erin O. Smith
Fifty men and women, young and old, walked into the U.S. District Courthouse and Federal Building as foreigners Friday. They walked out as American citizens. A naturalization ceremony was held at the courthouse Friday morning in downtown Gainesville, the culmination of a lengthy citizenship process for many.