An Airman’s journey to citizenship

Published April 11, 2016
By John Parker
Staff Writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Airman Joon-Young Choi can tell you it's not easy becoming a naturalized American citizen, but it's definitely worth it.

The 21-year-old who grew up in Springfield, Va., since the age of 5 faced a series of stops and starts in his quest for citizenship, but it became official March 29 at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Oklahoma City.

He was joined by friends and co-workers from his job as a customer service processor in the 72nd Force Support Squadron's Customer Service/ID Card Office in Bldg. 460.
Airman Choi began serving his country last year, graduating from basic training in July. As someone who grew up as everything but an official American, he didn't find out until high school what it can be like if you officially aren't.

He went to a Virginia DMV office and was told he'd need multiple alternate ID documents to get his driver's permit. He waited four hours in the lobby before calling it quits.

"That really irked me -- and a lot of things like that -- because if you're not a citizen you take the back seat to everything," the Airman said. "I'm just thinking, 'Are you kidding me?'"

He joined the Air Force in the Delayed Entry Program. "One of my recruiters told me you can become a citizen," the Airman said, "and I was like, oh, let me try that!" The Airman had to wait again, though, as citizen recruits were ordered to active duty before him.

Airman Choi's first chance to become a citizen was at the end of his basic training through an Air Force naturalization program. He got an apology instead. The paperwork didn't get processed in time.

Advisers at his subsequent technical schooling at Keesler AFB, Miss., told him he could pursue citizenship again at his first duty station. When his first supervisor at Tinker found out he wasn't a citizen, Airman Choi was told to get started on the paperwork right away.

Thanks to the Oklahoma City immigration office and rules that expedite citizenship processing for military members, Airman Choi later sailed through his final interview and was approved for naturalization.

The Airman said he was glad he finally got his citizenship. "It was like, OK, I got this done!"

"If I had to give advice to other people who are doing this, you have to be patient," Airman Choi said. "You can't rush it. Becoming a citizen is a very difficult process. Patience is the key."

The Airman's South Korean parents immigrated to the East Coast in 1999 with Choi and his brother.