Jose Ignancio Villatoro Rios immigrated to the United States and lived in Los Angeles for a while. In 1987, he moved to Bakersfield to work as a farm worker, quickly establishing a love of working with potato crops. He decided to become a United States citizen because he wanted to feel more comfortable in this country by having protected status and also wanted to participate in the democratic process and vote. 

Jose has applied to become a U.S. Citizen two times, having failed the civics test the first time around due to his inability to read or write in either English or Spanish and his memory issues. He was beginning to worry that he wouldn’t pass the test, but he was relieved to hear from the immigration officer that he passed and that he could take the Oath of Citizenship that day.  

Jose is extremely thankful to the UFW Foundation because of our help in getting him his citizenship. When he went to his citizenship interview and failed the civics exam and the officer handed him the medical forms, Jose did not know what to do with it. It was the attorneys and staff from the UFW Foundation who were able to sit down with him and explain everything to help him. He was able to get my doctor to fill out the form so that he could be exempt from the civics exam, which was the only thing that was blocking his way to becoming a citizen.  

Now that Jose has earned his citizenship, his main goal is to vote for the very first time in the election this upcoming November. He thinks this is an incredibly important part in being a citizen and need to participate to help make a difference in his country. 

Si Se Puede!!