Gastón

“I’m originally from Paraná, which is in the Argentinian countryside. Before moving to the states, I had my bachelors in medical engineering, a masters in chemistry, and had moved to France and got my PhD in physics. I moved to the United States for the first time 12 years ago to do postdoctoral work at MIT.

Before I moved, I was already familiar with American culture because I saw everything through movies—so then putting it into reality when I moved was exciting. At first, I didn’t speak English very well because I am a Spanish speaker learning with a French accent—this was difficult but was really the only barrier.

During that time, I met my husband, and a bit after, we moved back to Argentina for a while where I held a tenure track position. We applied for the green card in 2019 and moved back to the states in 2021. Now, I still have my appointment there while looking for an academic position in the USA.

I became a citizen because I want to build a life with my husband here. My husband worked at the Mass Eye and Ear, where they had offered information for spouses who are immigrants. Through them, I  learned about Project Citizenship, and I was able to take a JVS Citizenship Course. A few months later, I contacted Project Citizenship again and asked for their help in applying for citizenship.

People always think it’s a fast  process—that you just arrive and become a citizen. But really, the process is kind of slow and there’s lots of steps—which is why you have to be patient and follow the rules. Being with Project Citizenship helped me a lot because I was not alone in the process.”