Alejandra Paterno moved to Coeur d'Alene in the summer of 2009.

Before relocating to North Idaho, she lived in Redmond, Ore., with her aunt, perfecting the English language. Before Redmond, her home was the crowded metropolis of Mexico City, Mexico, the city of her birth.

Today, at a special ceremony in Spokane, the 33-year-old will become an official United States citizen.

"I just want to share the same nationality as my girls and my husband," Paterno said. "(It) gives me the privilege to vote. There is a lot of pros, and this was a great opportunity."

Born in El Salvador, Jonathan Henriquez Chacon immigrated to California in 1987. After high school he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served a six-month tour in Iraq.

In 2004 he moved to North Idaho, where he would build a family. The 28-year-old now resides in Hayden with his wife, Danielle, and their two young children.

He will also participate in today's naturalization ceremony.

"It gives you that sense of pride, that you are now officially a citizen," Henriquez Chacon said. "Now you have the papers to prove it."

All told, 57 immigrants will be sworn in as U.S. citizens this morning. They will recite the oath of allegiance and trade their green cards for a naturalization certificate.

"That is the birth certificate of (their) nationality," said Sharon Rummery, regional media manager for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "It's fantastic. It is a very big moment in their lives. You can compare it to the day their first child is born."

The proceedings will take place in the Shaw Middle School gymnasium, with Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno presiding. The Shaw students - all 620 of them - will witness the ceremony, and some will participate.

"The court decided that it might be a nice thing to do for the youth who have been studying civics," Rummery explained.

Students will present each new citizen with an American flag.

"I am very excited," Paterno said. "The next time they ask me (anything), I have to say, 'Yes, I'm a citizen.'"

Her naturalization process began in February. She filled out a form, mailed it to a federal immigration office and soon received a reply.

"They sent me the letter so I could go to Spokane to get my fingerprints done," Paterno said. "It was very easy, actually."

A few months later, she returned to the Spokane field office for a brief interview and test. She had looked over study materials and knew what to expect.

It all went smoothly.

"They asked me a little bit of my background, my husband's family," Paterno said. "They asked me, when do we vote for president, who is commander-in-chief of the military? They asked me how many representatives we have in the Congress."

Because she is married to a U.S. citizen - she and her husband, Anthony, have two little girls - Paterno moved quickly through the naturalization procedures. She will receive her certificate after two years of permanent residency.

Once her citizenship is official, Paterno intends to exercise her right to vote. She also hopes to secure visas for her parents, so they can visit Coeur d'Alene and see her beautiful home.

"I just love this place," Paterno said. "I grew up in the city - this is such a blessing being here. It's clean, and we don't have to deal with traffic."

Henriquez Chacon passed his test with flying colors, too. The United States has been his home since he was a young man; he went to school in America, worked in America, got married and had children in America.

The ceremony will simply make it official.

"I studied for about an hour, and I was good to go," he said of the test. "It was pretty easy. Nothing to it, really."

It was also 100 percent free - the result of his military service. Typically, an immigrant will pay $600-$800 to become a citizen, he added.

The former Marine currently works for Foundation Kings. Hayden is peaceful, he said, and a good place to raise the kids.

He's looking forward to the naturalization ceremony.

"I'm pretty excited," Henriquez Chacon said. "It's been a long time overdue."