BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - An Italian woman who has been married to an American for 25 years is heading home to Europe a United States citizen after a federal judge approved a special request to naturalize her.
Maria Fears was naturalized Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Burlington by Judge Christina Reiss.
The St. Albans office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a special request of the court to naturalize Fears. She visited Vermont along with her husband Carl Fears, who is retired from the U.S. Army and is now a civilian employee of the U.S. military in Germany.
USCIS spokeswoman Anita Moore says such requests are rare in Vermont.
The Fears say it made sense for Maria to become a citizen because they are preparing to retire in the U.S.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.