Naturalization courses announced for next month

It was seven years before French native Pierre-Etienne Plessier decided he wanted to become a U.S. citizen.

Plessier enrolled in local citizenship and naturalization classes in Bloomington in 2012 to learn about U.S. history and government in preparation for the citizenship exam.

For the third year, the city of Bloomington will be offering citizenship and naturalization classes for English language learners, permanent residents and newcomers.

The class will run from May 21 through June 20 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at City Hall.

To register, students need to pay a $30 fee and turn in a registration form by May 10.
“This is the third year we are offering it, so it’s still a fairly new program,” Latino Outreach Coordinator Melissa Britton said.

Plessier said the class was very helpful, allowing him to not only recall numerous parts of U.S. history he had learned through his years of schooling, but also to become better acquainted with how federal, state and local governments work in the United States.

“The class made it easy and entertaining to go through each and every single question we could be asked during the test, all 100 of them,” Plessier said.

Britton said students study U.S. history, learn how the government functions and familiarize themselves with the Bloomington community while preparing for the naturalization exam and the process of becoming a citizen.

“It’s a little bit of lecture, a lot of interaction, a lot of question and answer and quizzing,” Britton said.

Plessier said the class brought in guest speakers like Mayor Mark Kruzan to help make the class livelier.

Britton said while the class welcomes English language learners. It is taught entirely in English, primarily because that is the language in which the test is offered.

“So, we try to get them prepared as possible, and teaching in English is a big part of that,” Britton said.

Plessier said because he had studied English at a younger age while living in France, language was less of a barrier for him.

Britton said each student who has taken the course and went on to become a citizen has written to her and mentioned how helpful the class has been.

Plessier said the class was well organized, involving a lot of shared learning.

“I could have studied alone with books or online, but meeting other people from various regions of the world and learning along was very enriching and motivating,” Plessier said.

The naturalization test includes both a written component and a speaking component.

After students pass the naturalization exam, they are given a date to be sworn along with others as an official American citizen.

The most recent set of new citizens and graduates of the class in Bloomington were recognized March 6 during a city council meeting.
 
After completing the course and registration steps for naturalization, Plessier received his letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

His test was June 9, 2012 — right between America’s Independence Day and France’s Bastille Day. 

“The immigration officer seemed impressed that I was able to answer the very first question so promptly and even said, ‘Oh, you studied,’” Plessier said.

After passing the test, Plessier said the wait for final approval was frustrating but well
worth the wait in the end.

Plessier was officially naturalized Aug. 16, 2012, in Indianapolis. He is now a dual citizen, holding both French and American citizenship.

“I have been very proud of being a citizen of this great nation,” Plessier said. “Being able to vote was a great feeling.”