Magistrate Judge Leo I. Brisbois congratulates Thuy Meinz at the end of the Naturalization Ceremony in Duluth on September 24.
In a ceremony at the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building in Duluth on Saturday, September 24, 2012, before Magistrate Judge Leo I. Brisbois, 39 new citizens representing 24 countries participated in a Naturalization Ceremony. Among the new citizens of the United States was Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy of Vietnam—now Thuy Meinz of Lutsen, Minnesota, U.S.A.
Thuy and her husband Gary Meinz met with the Cook County News-Herald last week, describing the meaningful ceremony—the presentation of the flag by a group of Girl Scouts, the National Anthem sung by the Hermantown High School Choir, the raising of the right hand for the oath of citizenship, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, hearing a message from President Barack Obama and a welcome from Judge Brisbois.
The whole process of obtaining citizenship, Thuy said was a “blessing from the Lord” as things proceeded fairly quickly. Some applicants must wait one to three years. For Thuy, it took less than a year.
“God guided the paperwork,” said Gary Meinz, noting that the paperwork actually began when the couple got married in Saigon—twice—in 2008. In a communist country, Gary explained, people go to a government building to get married. A few signatures on a piece of paper was all it took. But Gary and Thuy wanted more so they had a wedding in their church as well.
“So we have two anniversaries,” said Gary with a grin.
It seems fitting for a couple who may have never met if paperwork had not thwarted Thuy’s plans. She moved to Saigon in 2000 and went to work at a church. In 2003, she was sent to serve in Malaysia. She lived there with an American woman and learned English. It wasn’t easy however. Thuy remembers, “It was hard. I had my dictionary, but one word in English has three meanings in Vietnamese. She would ask me to do one thing and I did another!” she said.
She returned to Vietnam and committed to a fulltime job at the church, but her goal was to travel to Australia. She has family members there and she began the paperwork to move there. That visa was denied.
Before she could try again, Jim Holzer of Grand Marais visited the first time and Thuy helped him fulfill his mission of delivering Bibles and school supplies. On his second trip in 2005, Holzer was accompanied by his wife, Karen Holzer and friend Gary Meinz. They all worked together to share the message of the Gospel.
And eventually Gary and Thuy were married. Instead of Australia, she applied for a visa—a green card—for the United States. The visa was good for three years. After three years in Lutsen, they started the paperwork for Thuy to become a U.S. citizen, which meant a lot of paperwork and a lot of studying.
The Naturalization test includes an interview in which the applicant must write a sentence dictated to her in English; must read an article in a U.S. publication and answer questions about it; and must answer multiple-choice questions. The questions range from historical such as “Who wrote the Declaration of Independence” to current events such as “What is the name of the Speaker of the House right now?” to civics such as “If both the president and vice president can no longer serve, who becomes president?”
Thuy studied every chance she could and her co-workers at Gene’s Foods noticed and encouraged her. When they heard she had successfully completed the Naturalization interview, they surprised her the next day at work with flags and stars at her register. On her break they brought out a cake decorated with the U.S. and Vietnam flag. “They were very good to me,” said Thuy.
As were their friends Jim and Karen Holzer of Grand Marais and Gary Meinz’s family who were able to attend Thuy’s Naturalization Ceremony.
Does she miss Vietnam? Thuy said no. “I was from the north—communism is very strong there. I was born there and grew up there, but I don’t want to be there,” she said.
Also, she added, with a smile, “I’m married and I follow my husband. I am adopted here. I’m proud to be a U.S. citizen.”
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