Owner of Mexican restaurant takes final step toward becoming a citizen of the United States
Jose Velarde (at right), owner of the Fiesta Vallarta Mexican restaurant on Main Street in Waukon, is pictured, left to right, with his wife, Londy, and their two children, Mariela and Jose, following the naturalization ceremony the elder Jose completed September 17 to become a citizen of the United States. Submitted photo.
by Bob Beach
Jose Velarde, owner and proprietor of the Fiesta Vallarta Mexican restaurant on Main Street in Waukon, took the final step towards becoming an American citizen during a naturalization ceremony held at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch September 17. Velarde joined 68 others from 37 countries in taking the oath of citizenship to the United States.
Velarde came to the United States in 1998 by himself on a work visa to help a cousin in Iowa. He received his resident card (more commonly known as a “green card”) six years ago in order to stay in the United States and continue working. He met his wife, Londy, here in 2004 and they now have two children, Jose (7) and Mariela (9). A third addition to the family is expected this December. Londy took the oath of citizenship herself in 2008. Velarde said his parents still live in Mexico and have no immediate plans to come to the United States.
Velarde said that he could have applied for citizenship three months after receiving his resident card, but decided to wait until he became more comfortable speaking English. He applied for citizenship about a year ago, and with the help of some friends who assisted him with preparing for the citizenship exam and an immigration attorney, he said he was able to complete the process without much difficulty.
He said that he found the test itself to be fairly easy, explaining that there were 100 questions he needed to know the answers to, though only ten would be presented on the test, which covers American History, geography and civics. “They ask you ten questions,” Velarde said, “but if you get six right, they don’t ask any more questions. So I only had to answer six.”
“I’m happy in this country,” Velarde said. “You can do a lot of things if you work hard.” His restaurant, for example, has been a big success since opening in Waukon and an expansion of the dining area was recently completed.
Velarde said the naturalization ceremony was exciting and informative. He said he learned that immigrants to this country are enriched by the opportunities that citizenship offers while the United States is also enriched by the diversity of ideas and experiences that immigrants bring with them. “It made me feel good,” he said.
