On the eve of Independence Day, the United States accepted 76 new citizens during a ceremony on the USS Hornet, which is docked in Alameda.
The newly naturalized citizens were part of a broader series of 190 nationwide ceremonies on or around July Fourth.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will end up naturalizing more than 10,000 people in total from 31 different countries.
Akash Bhatthal, one of the citizens naturalized at the USS Hornet event, was born in Canada but has been in the U.S. since the eighth grade.
"It's a great privilege and an honor to be in this great country," Bhatthal said. "I've been here a long time. I've come to consider this my home. It's about time."
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