ROCHESTER, N.Y. – What may have been a regular day for many of us, was an unforgettable one for 77 people. The United States welcomed 77 news citizens on Wednesday during a ceremony at the George Eastman Museum.

Those 77 people came from 34 countries like Colombia, Russia and Turkey. And one man from Dublin, Ireland wanted his citizenship for a few different reasons.    

“I just think it means that we’re like one big happy American family,” Darren’s son Eoin said.

Darren Wynne is from Ireland, but has lived in the United States with his family for 18 years.

He says that becoming a US citizen was always part of the plan.

“Well, obviously, it’s a part of the naturalization of coming here and being a part of the American dream, if you want to put it that way. And it’s been 18 years in the process, like from start to finish, but just to be able to vote and kind of, you know, obviously give my family a little bit of a normality of being a citizen as well,” Darren said.

Voting was a big push for Darren to become a US citizen. He says being able to voice his opinion in the country he lives in matters.

“I think when it comes down to voting and having a voice, is always good as well and being able to kind of give my thoughts and concerns to the American people of our country, now that I’m actually now a citizen, kind of makes things a little bit more valid,” Darren said.

Darren still visits Ireland, but says his home is here in Rochester. And now it’ll be easier to come back to it.

“Coming back through immigration as I was being, how I get to have a green card, you have to have your passport. So it takes a little bit longer to go through that where, you know, being an American citizen, having the American passport, you’re like, hey, ‘welcome home’ is always is always good to hear,” Darren said.

If you’re looking to test your knowledge and want to try a sample U.S. citizenship test, you can do so here.