For 101 naturalized here, 'it's a dream come true'

Ata dreamed of being a cardiologist and 19 years after he and his wife immigrated from Pakistan, the couple became citizens together on Valentine's Day.

The day was particularly special for the couple because their two grown children were able to naturalize with them.

The U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services held a special naturalization ceremony on Tuesday at Cholla High Magnet School to celebrate Arizona's 100th birthday. It also was on on Valentine's Day.

"Basically it's a dream come true," said Ata, a cardiologist.

Ata completed pre-medicine, a residency, a visa status changed and waited "a good five to seven years" until getting into the fellowship program at University of Arizona Medical Center, said Natasha Imran, his wife.

"I guess he was the oldest fellow there," she laughed, recounting the experience. "That's why we came here to pursue a dream and he finally can be happy. This is really exciting,"

She donned a red sweater for the special occasion.

"I love red, it describes me. What could be the better day to wear (red), on Valentine's Day and becoming a citizen," Imran said.

The couple said it means a lot to be able to naturalized on Arizona's birthday because they consider Tucson home.

"We saw the town grow," Natasha Imran said. "It's beautiful. Every season it's beautiful, the landscape, the people, the way of living."

For Lieneke Mellema and Han Mellemathe third time was the charm. The couple won a Diversity Immigrant Visa, known as the visa lottery, in 2005 and became citizens together at Tuesday's ceremony. It was the third time the couple originally from the Netherlands had entered the lottery.

When their acceptance letter came, Lieneke Mellema saw the U.S. Embassy seal on it and ran up the four flights of stairs to her apartment to show her husband.

"My face was all red, and my heart was pounding like crazy." she said. "It had his name on it so I couldn't open it. I thought it's his, it's his."

Of the 101 people who became citizens Tuesday, there were at least three couples, something that is uncommon, said Marie Therese Sebrechts, a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services spokeswoman.

"Those four people in one family together is just a complete fluke. What a beautiful day for them," she said.

Bethany Barnes is a University of Arizona journalism student who is an apprentice at the Star. Contact her at 573-4117 or at starapprentice@azstarnet.com