“We want to make a difference by voting and serving our community.”
Amando Vicente Carino Peña, California
For decades, Amando Vicente Carino Peña has worked and lived in the United States as a farm worker, dedicating his life towards contributing to our country and towards ensuring the wellbeing of his family. Starting as a farm worker in 1977, Amando would travel from Mexico to the United States every work season where he worked in pruning, picking grapes, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, etc. It wasn’t until 1990 that he decided to stay in the United States with his family.
Amando, who is married for 60 years with 6 kids (five boys and one daughter), is currently retired from farm work and recently decided to become a U.S. Citizen because of his family.
“I was motivated because my daughter in law became a U.S. citizen,” he said. “I also wanted to petition for my wife to help her be able to vote. We want to make a difference by voting and serving our community.”
Amando’s journey towards citizenship was a tumultuous one, having to endure bad experiences with two individuals who claimed they would help him with his application, took his money, and did not help him. After numerous unanswered and unreturned phone calls to their office, Amando began to be discouraged. It wasn’t until he was referred to the UFW Foundation that he began to have some faith in the legal process, while at the same time experiencing an injury that prevented him from leaving his home.
“I was very skeptical about the UFWF at first because of past experiences I had,” he said. “But then I saw that they submitted my application and advocated for me with the USCIS about doing the interview at my house. They even arranged for USCIS to do my oath ceremony at my home and officially become a U.S. citizen. I will forever be grateful for all the help the UFW Foundation offered me and being a part of this huge accomplishment for me and my family.”
Amando has some practical advice for those who find themselves in similar circumstances.
“Que Si Se Puede!” he said. “Find the right organization or help so they can help with this process. I found the right one for me in the UFW Foundation.”
Related Stories
“We can't waste time on this. Field work is hard, but when you're just starting in the States, we have no other choice.”
“I am thankful to the UFW Foundation because with their help, I was able to get my citizenship.”
“Artemio was issued his green card and is now moving on to apply for citizenship with the help of the UFW Foundation.”
Stay Informed
Keep up with our programs and stay informed about policy developments in immigration, workers’ rights and more with our weekly newsletter.