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After 2 Iraq tours, Marine gets U.S. citizenship

Carolyn Hileman - The Voice* | March 29, 2008 

By Wayne Drash
CNN

CNN) — U.S. Marine Cpl. Mario Ramos-Villalta put on his freshly pressed uniform early Thursday as a citizen of El Salvador. By the end of the day, he would be a citizen of the United States of America.

“I am an American,” he said with a smile moments after his paperwork cleared.

“It means a lot to me after so many years and two combat deployments, I finally get it, being an American. We are happy about it.”

“It’s all thanks to CNN — my news coming out, my story. That helped me out a lot,” he said, referring to a story about his plight run March 20 by CNN.com.
Ramos-Villalta, with his father at his side, went to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in downtown Los Angeles, California, where dozens of other immigrants were crowded in hopes of becoming American citizens.

After about an hour, Ramos-Villalta, 22, was called into an office where he answered some questions before his citizenship was finally cleared. A few hours later, he was sworn in at a naturalization ceremony with another Marine, Lance Cpl. Jose M. Tress, 23, of Mexico, and a sailor, Cpl. Marco A. Guzman, 28, of the Phillipines.

For Ramos-Villalta’s dad, it was a lifelong dream: His son is the first family member to become an American citizen.

“I’m very proud of him, as is his mother, and all his brothers and sisters,” Mario Ramos said. The father came to the United States from El Salvador in the 1980s.

He said his son wanted to be a member of the U.S. military since he was very young.

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