As America prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, some in South Florida are marking a milestone of their own: their first year as U.S. citizens.
Four who spoke to The Palm Beach Post say their U.S. passports have let them travel freely both abroad and in their own communities, no longer afraid of being swept up in the Trump administration’s efforts to target those living in the U.S. without documentation.
Their first year as U.S. citizens unfolded alongside the nation’s anniversary celebrations, but instead of fireworks and parades, many pointed to their personal accomplishments — enrolling in schools, registering to vote and reuniting with family — as the highlights of their year.
“This has been a year of progress,” said Katherine Cardonet, a native of Cuba who moved to the U.S. after winning a visa lottery in 2019. “It’s been a year of advancing with purpose.”
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‘Now I belong’: Citizenship paved way for college, travel
Cardonet took the Oath of Allegiance in a Miami courtroom in May 2025, along with 93 other people who became citizens that day, several of whom shared their experiences with The Palm Beach Post. She’s thrown a party every Fourth of July since she arrived in the U.S., she said, but last year’s gathering felt even more special.
“The citizen, here comes the citizen,” her family joked around the dinner table. “I felt even more proud,” Cardonet said. “Like now I belong. This is my country.”
She applied for a U.S. passport after her naturalization ceremony and traveled to Cuba to reunite with her parents, a trip she had delayed until she became a citizen. She filed a petition to request a green card for her father so he can visit her in Miami.
Cardonet also enrolled at Miami-Dade College to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology, building on her work as a registered behavior technician with the goal of becoming a children’s behavior analyst.
“Before, I didn’t have the courage to enroll,” she said. “Getting my citizenship gave me the final push to start college.”
Her next goal is to see more of the country that took her in. She’s already traveled to the Northeast, coming within 15 minutes of the Canadian border, and hopes to take more road trips across the U.S.
Still, she said she thinks often of the family and friends she left behind in Cuba.
“I hope everything improves in Cuba so I can also continue improving here,” Cardonet said.
Ukrainian business student says he embodies American work ethic
Twenty-year-old Yasha Amchislaviskiy still has the Russian accent that earned him the nickname “Borat” in high school, but, armed with a U.S. passport, customs agents wave him through the airport like any other American.
“I used to wait, like, in line for ages. It was a horrible experience,” said Amchislaviskiy, who was born in Kyiv and was naturalized during the same ceremony as Cardonet.
“Now they just asked me, ‘How was your vacation?’ I say, ‘Perfect,’ and they let me back in.”
Amchislaviskiy described himself as a workaholic sold on the American belief that you can work hard to achieve more. In the year since his naturalization, he’s tried to do exactly that.
He’s studying international business at Barry University and is working toward launching his own alcohol brand when he turns 21 in October. He said he gets his drive from his parents, and from watching those who stayed behind in Ukraine.
“I know a lot of people in their 30s and 40s who still live in the same town they grew up in,” he said. “I don’t want that.”
Latvian sales analyst says he can travel without worry
Alex Chepulsky, 34, and his wife moved to the U.S. from Latvia after winning the green card lottery. Even as green card holders, Chepulsky said they sometimes worried about a traffic stop or a run-in with police.
A friend of theirs was once pulled over on Interstate 95 and taken into custody, he said, despite being in the country legally.
“Obviously after several days, when their status was cleared and confirmed, they were released, but still,” Chepulsky said. “American jail is something that I don’t want to end up in, even for a couple of days.”
Newly naturalized, he and his wife no longer worry when visiting Miami neighborhoods with large immigrant populations from former Soviet countries, he said.
The change has shown up in other ways too. On a recent trip to Jamaica, Chepulsky said he wasn’t asked the string of questions he used to get as a green card holder: How much currency he was carrying? Why was he traveling for two weeks instead of three? What did he plan to bring back?
“Now it’s mostly just, ‘Are you bringing anything in? No? Welcome to the United States,’ ” he said.
Chepulsky registered to vote and plans to cast his first ballot this August.
“With the green card, I felt more like a foreigner,” he said. “Now I feel like a more important part of society — someone who can vote and participate in social life.”
Colombian architect’s love of America grew after citizenship ceremony
Leila Nieto, 46, is an architect from Colombia who spent four years away from her husband as she waited to get residency status in the U.S. The wait, she said, was worth it.
“This has been my dream since I was little,” said Nieto, who has lived in North Miami for a decade. “I love America. I just love everything about it — the architecture, the people and the way of living.”
Nieto said her first year as a citizen has reaffirmed the feeling she’s had since childhood.
“I love that this country gives opportunities to everyone, not only a few well-connected individuals,” she said. “No one has treated me differently, but I feel I belong.”
Staff writer Maya Washburn contributed to this story.
Valentina Palm and Hannah Phillips are journalists at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach them at vpalm@pbpost.com and hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: As America turns 250, new citizens find their place in its story
Reporting by Hannah Phillips and Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Phillips and Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
