Citizenship Dream Comes True for Maria de Lourdes Bailon Chavez

Maria de Lourdes Bailon Chavez was born in Mexico 49 years ago. She is the oldest of 5. At age 15, Maria de Lourdes and her 4 younger siblings came to the United States to join their mother. Her English was very limited, and she had to quit school at 16 to help raise her 4 siblings while her single mother worked to support the family. By age 16, she was able to become a lawful permanent resident. As a young adult, Maria de Lourdes worked in winery production for a few years before starting a family of her own. She first applied for United States citizenship 21 years ago but was not able to complete the process because the death of her grandfather required her to go to Mexico. Two years ago in 2019, she decided to apply again for citizenship. By now her English had improved and she studied the civics questions through YouTube videos and one of her daughters helped her with flashcards. On the day of her exam, she got lost for over one hour in the immigration building in San Francisco. The place was new to her, and she finally got the courage to ask for assistance to locate the office where her exam would take place. All her hard work studying and encouragement from her children resulted in passing the exam on the first try and she was sworn in as United States citizen the same day. She is extremely thankful to CHD for helping her become a United States citizen. She tells all her family and friends about the CHD Immigration program that helped her realize her life-long dream.