Three adults and 28 children will receive their certificate of naturalization today during a ceremony in the Nevada State Capitol.
The 31 participants, who hail from 12 countries and range from 2 years of age to 34, are already U.S. citizens whose parents either gave birth in the United States or became naturalized before their children turned 18.
Devyani Tanna, an 18-year-old sophomore at the University of Nevada, Reno who is studying computer information engineering, will be among those tomorrow earning her certificate of naturalization.
She moved to the United States from India when she was 13 and became a U.S. citizen in August when her mother became one. She turned 18 one week ago.
"It's really meaningful to me that I get to be a citizen of this country," Tanna said. "The education and everything means a lot to me ... I can get the resources for that here."
Today's ceremony, administered by the U.S. Citizen-ship and Immigration Services, will present each participant with a certificate to prove their status as a U.S. citizen. The certificate takes the place of a birth certificate.
At the ceremony, which starts at 10 a.m., Gov. Jim Gibbons will give a keynote speech and BAC Stage Kids will perform the national anthem and "Home Means Nevada."