NEW
BERLIN
—
With
her
official
U.S.
citizenship
testing
and
ceremony
behind
her,
New
Berlin
Cultural
Center
Director,
Dance
Teacher,
and
Classical
Ballerina
Andreia
Keller
announced
her
American
citizenship
with
pride
and
love
for
America.
On
March
18,
in
Broome
County,
Keller
accepted
her
Naturalized
Citizenship
of
the
United
States
of
America
amongst
25
additional
inductees,
from
21
different
countries.
“My
decision
to
pursue
U.S.
citizenship
after
living
here
28
years
was
the
final
natural
step
for
me
to
fully
integrate
into
this
society,”
said
Keller.
“My
commitment
to
this
nation
is
based
on
values
I
respect,
compassion
and
the
rule
of
law.”
She
said
she
has
faith
in
this
country
and
swore
loyalty
to
uphold
the
ideas
of
a
U.S.
citizen.
Keller
applied
in
April
2025
and
began
studying
for
the
civics
test
non-stop,
learning
about
the
Constitution,
American
rights,
and
freedom.
“I
studied
a
lot
because
I
love
to
learn,
because
I
wanted
to
know
what
America
is
and
I’m
a
little
bit
of
a
nerd,”
Keller
said.
With
her
ability
to
speak
five
languages,
memorization
skills
and
intelligence,
she
proved
herself
by
acing
the
interview
and
tests.
“Not
to
brag,
but
I
did
really
well
in
the
interview,
and
everyone
at
the
immigration
office
was
absolutely
kind,”
she
said.
The
interview
process
included
a
civics
test,
writing
test,
and
some
interestingly
awkward
questions
such
as;
if
she
had
ever
been
in
a
terrorist
group,
learned
how
to
make
a
bomb,
worked
in
a
prison,
and
more.
At
the
end
of
the
interview,
Keller
said
they
asked
the
two
most
important
questions
of
all,
“Why
did
she
move
to
the
USA”
and
“Why
does
she
want
to
become
a
U.S.
citizen?”
Keller
noted
the
reason
she
moved
to
America
was
for
love
and
truly
believes
that
all
we
need
is
love.
Her
answer
to
her
quest
for
U.S.
citizenship
was
for
her
right
to
freedom,
freedom
of
speech,
and
to
savor
the
ideal
of
a
beautiful
America.
She
said
the
overall
experience
was
positive
and
while
her
husband
patiently
waited
outside
in
the
interview
room,
she
shared
her
entire
life
story
with
the
officer,
telling
her
childhood
story
and
art
and
dance
career,
her
grandparents
life,
and
even
baking
bread
in
New
Berlin.
After
the
interview
and
upon
entering
the
room
where
her
husband
patiently
waited,
she
said,
“I
did
it”
and
everyone,
even
the
guards
applauded.”
Keller
looks
forward
to
the
power
of
her
vote
to
help
with
the
beautiful
morals
that
were
started
by
her
immigrant
grandparents.
She
said
she
has
always
been
an
immigrant,
moving
from
her
mother’s
house
to
her
grandparents,
living
in
multiple
countries
and
cities,
learning
all
knew
things
and
in
different
schools,
so
she
has
known
the
lifestyle
very
well.
“Even
so,
I
was
very
scared,
even
though
we
hadn’t
gone
to
Brazil
for
almost
two
years,
and
still
a
green
card
holder
for
28
years,
I
was
still
a
Latina
immigrant,
legal,
but
not
yet
a
citizen
and
that
fear
stays
with
you,”
she
said.
Keller
noted
it
was
always
so
easy
to
travel
back
and
forth
from
the
United
States
to
Brazil,
until
lately,
when
she
said
it
has
become
more
difficult
and
her
friends
have
yet
to
return
to
the
states
from
their
visit.
“Now,
I
don’t
have
contact
with
them
and
we
have
no
idea
where
they
are,”
said
Keller.
“It
hit
like
a
panic.
We’re
all
legal
to
this
point,
but
I
didn’t
know
what
to
expect
next.”
“I
was
very
fearful,”
Keller
added.
She
said
one
of
her
greatest
supporters
was
Father
Steve
from
the
New
Berlin,
Episcopal
Church,
offering
a
sense
of
peace
and
protection.
“I
will
forever
be
grateful
for
that,”
said
Keller.
According
to
the
U.S.
citizenship
site,
to
apply
for
U.S.
citizenship,
you
must
be
a
18
plus
years
of
age,
a
lawful
permanent
resident
for
at
least
five
years
or
three
years
if
married
to
a
U.S.
citizen.
The
process
includes
a
fee,
interview,
testing,
and
Oath
of
Allegiance
For
further
information
on
becoming
a
U.S.
Citizenship,
visit
the
website:
https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/apply-for-naturalization.