Here I am, in a red blazer and shiny shoes, sitting in a small room surrounded by 34 other people and their families.

The building is not new to me. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA is where I did a lot of trips at the beginning of my life here in the US. This is where you file for residency, where you submit your employment authorization, take biometric tests, and attend interviews.

I have always had an underlying feeling of privilege when going through the security protocols as you enter the building. As a white, middle class, educated, and English-speaking person, I always felt they looked and treated me differently than other immigrants coming from South America or other places in the world. Immigration, laws, and offices shouldn’t look at the color of your skin, your accent, or the clothing you wear … but I noticed that they definitely did.

Today though, I feel they are looking at all 34 of us in the room in the very same way. We are all being welcomed as soon-to-be citizens of the USA.

Earlier that morning, my wife Sally and I got up early, and had breakfast together. I promised myself I would not get emotional, telling myself that it is just another day, doing some bureaucracy …

We dropped our 2.5 year old daughter, Harriet, at daycare and drove the 40 miles or so down to Salt Lake City. In my hand I have a folder with all my immigration history, green cards, official documents, and letters from the USCIS because most of the documents need to be returned to the officer as you check in for your naturalization ceremony. We soon won’t be needing them any more!

It’s the first (of many) good moments of the day. I give away my green card and my working permit knowing that I will not need them anymore for my life here in the United States.

The second good moment is when they hand you a folder with information for new citizens and the famous little American flag! Most of us in the room proudly keep the flag in one hand waiting for what is next.

The ceremony starts with a quick introduction from the officer in charge, explaining the order of things that will come in the next couple of hours.

Slowly things start to get more personal, videos about this ‘new’ country of ours are played to us and this is when I break the promise I made to myself earlier that day. I struggle to keep it together as I think about the privilege I have to be welcomed into another country and to call another country my home. The privilege I have to be able to marry the love of my life, to have the same rights as everybody else, and the privilege of being able to be Harriet’s mom. We too often give all that for granted.

Next they share the list of all the countries we are all from, asking us to stand up when we hear ours called out. It surprises me when I hear “Italy” as two of us stand up at the same time!! Just a couple of seats to my left a young man also rises from his seat: we look at each other and connect right away as we both come from the same little place in the world!

More than 20 countries are represented in the room, from Europe to Australasia, Asia to Africa. It feels the entire world is represented and we all have a vision and a dream - to become full Americans.

I am sobbing at this point.

We are each invited to stand up and say something and tell our own personal story. I take advantage of the opportunity and share how grateful I am to become a citizen of a country that allows me to be who I am, love who I love, and be free. Lots of stories that are shared are about opportunities, education, and the sacrifices families have made to follow the American Dream. Kids share the story of their mom who brought them here to give them an education and more opportunities to work. Another person talks about how love has brought him to the US - how he had to endure the pain of being separated from his wife while he waited for his working visa to come through. It is so touching to hear the wide range of stories about the journeys each person took from their home towns that ultimately brings us all together in this little room in Salt Lake City.

One of the hardest parts is when they ask me to say the Pledge of Allegiance and to give up fidelity to my country of origin - it’s a weird feeling after having represented Italy at the Olympic Games twice and previously pledged my service to the Italian Air Force almost 20 years ago. I like to think that I'm not really giving that up but adding an extra home in my heart and soul.

Then comes the third good moment in the day. I have my naturalization form in my hand and I am officially a dual citizen! I’ve just become an Italian American!

Lots of people come to the decision to become citizens of another country for different reasons. My main reason is to participate in the life of the country I live in. I want to be able to vote, to contact my governors, one day to be able to run for office. Democracy is only as strong as our will to participate in it and I want to have the right and the responsibility to take part. I want to belong to the country I'm raising my family in, a country that gives, and keeps giving me, endless opportunities. A place where our votes still matter and that the highest (and often hardest) decisions are still left to the people to make.

We the people of The United States of America.

It makes me so proud to be able to say that.

I can now officially call myself Italian American!

Francesca brings her experience to the 2025 Sailing Leadership Forum!