Farrin Naberayeva and Amirjon Oblokulov met in the 9th grade in Uzbekistan 14 years ago and on Valentine's Day, both became American Citizens.

Naberayeva first moved to America when she was 17 years old, but knew she couldn’t be without her now husband, Oblokulov. The two married, have a child who’s a United States Citizen, and are now both Americans.

“I really wanted to do it together because being here by myself without him felt pretty weird,” Naberayeva said after receiving her certificate of citizenship. “It’s amazing.”

The couple took the Oath of Citizenship on Friday, Feb. 14 at St. James School in Cincinnati during a Naturalization Ceremony. They became citizens along with 56 other people from 35 different countries.

The ceremony was the last step of a journey that takes years to complete to become an American citizen. All the candidates were lawful residents of the United States who passed required background checks, had proven their good moral character, and passed English reading, writing, and speaking tests. They also passed a U.S. history and civics exam.

Naturalization ceremonies often take place in a federal courtroom, but The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio hosts several naturalizations at community locations across southern Ohio to showcase the important role of the judiciary and connect with the community it serves.

The couple said they really wanted to become American citizens because of the freedoms it offers.

“Our daughter was born here and is a U.S. citizen, and we decided to apply for citizenship so we could vote,” Naberayeva said. “It means freedom, we can travel to a lot of countries and have more opportunities now.”

“It means we can follow our dreams now,” Oblokulov said.