Coast Guard Member Becomes Citizen Aboard St. Pete Cutter

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard’s cutter Resolute helped one of its own members realize a life-long dream Tuesday. Its members took part in Seaman Samuel Gonzalez’s Oath of Allegiance ceremony, which officially made him a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

"This day is something I have been working toward my entire life," Gonzalez said in a statement released following the Nov. 1 ceremony. "My Resolute family being present was the best part, and I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else but my shipmates on this cutter."

Gonzalez is a native of Monterrey, Mexico. He joined the Coast Guard in 2015 and began working on the naturalization process right after, the guard wrote in an email to media. He was required to take part in a series of tests and interviews conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of his naturalization process.

In order to serve in the coast guard, members must be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals who legally reside in the United States.

The Resolute is a 210-foot cutter that is homeported in St. Petersburg.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard