New naturalized citizen says she is lucky to be an American

POCATELLO — After living in the United States for 18 years, 39-year-old Beixy Neu of Pocatello is now officially a U.S. citizen.

Neu, along with 45 other people living throughout Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, took the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at Yellowstone National Park on Sept. 17.

“It is an amazing feeling,” Neu tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I’ve worked my whole adult life in this country that’s given so much to me. Now I can do the same thing in return.”

Neu moved to Utah in 2000 from Venezuela. She lived as a legal resident in Utah for eight years before moving to Pocatello in 2008. Neu resisted becoming a U.S. citizen at first because she felt it would have betrayed her Venezuelan heritage. While living in the U.S. as a legal resident, Neu was unable to vote or participate in the political process. She ultimately decided becoming a citizen was the next necessary step.

“This is my country. I’m not going anywhere else,” Neu says. “To make a change, to have a voice, you have to be a U.S. citizen.”

But the best part of her story, according to Neu, is how quickly the application process fell into place for her. A process that normally takes a year and a half was completed in just seven weeks.

“I sent my application. Two weeks later, I (received) a letter informing me I needed my biometrics done. When I went to take my biometrics, the lady said ‘I’ve never seen this happen so fast.'”

Three weeks later, Neu had a citizenship interview scheduled ahead of the ceremony in Yellowstone.

The vetting process for immigrants and the way they are treated by the U.S. government is a widely debated topic nationwide.

Jackie Lee of Wyoming became a naturalized citizen in 2016. At that time, there was a lot of talk about granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. Lee recalls feeling frustrated by that conversation.

“I had been immigrating (from Canada) for 14 years and had spent thousands of dollars to come here the right way,” Lee says.

While Neu feels obeying the law is important, she feels the path to citizenship is difficult for many. She says immigrants are often misunderstood.

“People think that we come here to take and not to give. When I came here, I gave up my family. I gave up everything (that was familiar to me), but it was my choice. We (sacrifice a lot and we) work hard. Nothing is handed to us. We have to work for it.”

Neu currently works as a loan officer at Idaho Central Credit Union. Her kids attend Pocatello High School.

Neu came to the United States with her parents to escape the rule of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who Neu described as a corrupt politician who would steal property from those who did not agree with him.

Today, she’s grateful to live in a country where people are free to have their own opinion without fear of losing the material things of life.

Now that she is an American citizen, Neu says she is looking forward to getting a passport and hinted at getting involved in the political arena.

“I’d like to see kids learn more skills that will help them in their adult life, like learning how to create a budget and learning another language,” says Neu. “The United States accepts people from all over the place. It’s just a melting pot and I think the schools should push (for more of this type of instruction).”

For now though, Neu says she is lucky to be an American.

“I choose to be here. Venezuela will always be dear to me, but (the U.S.) is my country now. This is where I want to see my kids and grandkids. This is my home.”

To learn more about the citizenship application process, click here.