20 people from 10 countries become U.S. citizens at naturalization ceremony at City Hall

TULSA, Okla. — The City of Tulsa hosted a naturalization ceremony for nearly two dozen immigrants becoming U.S. citizens Thursday.

Twenty immigrants achieved a milestone — finally achieving their U.S. citizenship.

Ten countries were represented in the ceremony at City Hall.

After taking their oath of citizenship, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum officially welcomed them to the United States.

FOX23 was at the ceremony and spoke with some of the new citizens about how important this was for them and their families.

“I’m feeling great,” said Soner Gozulotlu, one of the new citizens. “I’m feeling very proud to be in the U.S. right now. This is a great experience for me.”

Soner Gozultlu is the first immigrant from Turkey to become a U.S. citizen in Tulsa.

He came to the country as a teacher in 2012 and wanted to further his education and career.

“I just kept my education. I continued my education, and right now I am working as the assistant principal of the Discovery Science Academy,” Soner said. “That’s a great opportunity for me. I’m really proud to be here, this country, to get better.”

Another immigrant, Muhammed, came to the U.S. from Pakistan in 2007, and later with his wife, Ravia in 2016. They both became citizens on Thursday.

“It’s like, 17 years, but yeah, it’s a really good, nice feeling,” Muhammed said. “It’s really important, everything is an opportunity, especially getting a citizenship opens new avenues, so it’s really good now.”

Chief Resilience Officer Krystal Reyes with the City said this is the 30th ceremony at City Hall since 2022 — part of the City’s ‘New Tulsans Initiative.’

“We are hoping to make Tulsa one of the most welcoming places for immigrants, so helping people take that one last initiative is part of our overall welcoming plan,” Krystal said.

After taking the oath, each person was looking forward to celebrating with loved ones, and new opportunities ahead as Americans.

“We’ll explore more opportunities open for us right now, we can do a lot of the stuff now that we were not able to do before,” Muhammed and Ravia said. “We have big plans, you know.”

“I am an assistant principal right now. I try to do a lot of things for the community, I try to do my best for my students, and as an educator, I’ll do my best,” Soner said.

In June, the City will hold another ceremony at the Gathering Place - this time with nearly 100 kids becoming U.S. citizens.