National Archives to Host Naturalization Ceremony
Press Release · Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Washington, DC

September 15 Ceremony to Celebrate Constitution Day/Citizenship Day

To celebrate Constitution and Citizenship Day (Sept. 17), 30 new citizens from 22 nations will be sworn in as new U.S. citizens in front of the original “Charters of Freedom” (The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights) in the Rotunda of the National Archives Museum. The ceremony will take place on Friday, September 15, at 10 a.m. It is closed to the public.

The press is invited to cover the ceremony. Accredited media representatives should use the Constitution Avenue special events entrance, at 7th Street, NW, and set up by 9:45 a.m., as the ceremony begins promptly at 10 a.m. RSVP to public.affairs@nara.gov.

Constitution Day, September 17, 2017, marks the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Learn more online about the U.S. Constitution through our public programs, family activities, and online resources.

The September 15 ceremony will include a welcome from Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and remarks from Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Elaine Duke and Acting Director U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services James McCament.

The  Honorable Beryl A. Howell, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, will preside as the petitioners for United States citizenship take the oath of citizenship at the National Archives. The new citizens are from 22 nations: Benin, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Cote D'Ivoire, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Guyana, India, Italy, Liberia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, Togo, and Vietnam.

The Use of Flash and Additional Lights is Prohibited in the Rotunda.

The National Archives Museum in the National Archives Building is located at Constitution Ave. and 7th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station.

This program is presented in partnership with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Please note: due to the ceremony, the Rotunda and the National Archives Museum will open to the public at 11:30 a.m. and remain open until 5:30 p.m. Regular hours of 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. resume on September 16.