A 100-year-old refugee has finally received his U.S. citizenship, a moment he’s been waiting for his entire life.
Gobin Rai, who is Bhutanese, had his naturalization ceremony in his Missouri home, and Judge E. Richard Webber Jr. came to help make it official for Rai, who is bedridden.
The judge presented him with a small American flag, a pin and a certificate of citizenship in honor of the big moment.
"I want to tell all my people that this country, America, is a great country. There is no other country better than this in the world," Rai told KMOV through a translator.
Rai fled Bhutan 20 years ago due to violence, according to the station, and was living as a refugee in Nepal until 2012. It was then he was granted a green card and moved to St. Louis.
He passed the naturalization test after being granted a waiver usually given to those who have had a mental of physical disability for more than 12 months.
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