Business owner shares her journey to U.S. citizenship

Rock Hill business owner and Vietnam native Thi Le has lived in York County for 30 years. Today, she will take an oath and become a citizen at the U.S. District Court in Mount Pleasant.

Le, 47 and the mother of four grown children, owns two restaurants, Thi's Place on Main Street in downtown Rock Hill and Pho 98 on South Boulevard in Charlotte. She has been active in the community, serving on city and county boards.

In 1975, Le arrived in North Carolina as a teenage refugee from Vietnam. In 1978, she came to Rock Hill and became a permanent resident.

Family and friends plan to celebrate her citizenship with a party next month. The Herald talked with Le on Tuesday about her experience.

Why do you want to become a citizen? My daughter told me the government status with immigrants is changing. She told me all this stuff and I got really scared and nervous about deportation.

Why did you wait so long to become a citizen? I waited because of money, and it is time-consuming. You have to take time off from work to get fingerprinted and take the test.

I have four kids who went to college. I had to pay airline tickets for them to go back and forth. I still have one child in law school and one at Notre Dame.

Was it difficult to become a citizen? I took it very seriously. The children kept calling me and quizzing me. They burned me a CD, and I kept studying. The customers even quizzed me. You have to memorize and find a system in your head to remember it.

The thing about me was I kept saying to myself "You can't fail. How are you going to face your friends?" I passed the test the first time and didn't miss any questions.

What is the first thing you are going to do as an American? I am going to register to vote and apply for a passport. I am so excited. I'm looking forward to it. It will be the first time I can vote. My children keep asking me who I'm going to vote for. I tell them I am going to make my own decision.

Are you still connected to your Vietnamese roots? I still have many Vietnamese friends. I still have traditional clothes that I wear and the Vietnamese traditions. No matter where I live there is always a Vietnamese part inside of me. We eat Vietnamese food and go to functions where Vietnamese people get together. Some of my friends say that I'm denouncing my country by getting an American citizenship. I'm not denouncing my country. I'm taking on a new country. That refugee part will always be with me. Sometimes it makes it hard to see eye-to-eye with people here. The things people take for granted, I can't.

What is something you've always wanted to do? When I can work less, I long to get a four-year degree in college. I want to be a high school counselor. I see so many kids not utilizing their talent. I want to tell these kids that anything is possible in this country.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers a test to immigrants applying for citizenship.

On Oct. 1, the test will be redesigned and new questions will be used. Listed below are some of the questions that could appear on the current test.

1. How many stars are there in our flag?

2. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?

3. Who elects the president of the United States?

4. What is the Constitution?

5. Can you name the 13 original states?

For the complete question list, visit usgovinfo.about.com/blinstst.htm. For the answers, see 6B.

-- Mary Jo Balasco

This story was originally published September 17, 2008 at 12:35 AM with the headline "Business owner shares her journey to U.S. citizenship."