CHARLOTTE — Celebrating Independence Day can mean something different to everyone. This year, Carlos Guzman might be celebrating his last Fourth of July as a non-citizen.
His path to citizenship has been 21 years in the making, and now he is just weeks away from his citizenship interview.
“This country is just beautiful as it is and offers you a lot. I mean, opportunity for everybody,” Guzman told Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis.
As soon as he got his green card in 2019, he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army. Being over the maximum age to enlist in active duty in the Army, this wasn’t possible, but his love for the country is clear.
“I want to give something to the country who helped me out to be who I am right now,” he said.
Guzman left El Salvador when he was 20, leaving behind his one-year-old son to flee gang recruitment and violence. He says it was not uncommon to see dead bodies on a daily basis.
“They were recruiting people to be part of the gang and that’s not what I wanted to be,” explained Guzman.
He admitted he’s made some mistakes and been surrounded by the wrong people — at one point facing deportation — but continued working hard to support his family.
“I’ve got two beautiful daughters that I love with all my heart, and everything that I do it because of them,” Guzman said. “So I can say, for Fourth of July, for me, it just, it is a peace moment that I can say I’m free now.”
When he hopefully becomes a citizen, he says he wants to make a difference, and that starts with voting. He also said he’s trying to bring his son to the country, legally.
“I always say if you don’t see good, you might as well just do good, right? You see what I’m saying?”
His upcoming interview is July 27th.
(WATCH: ‘Pathway to citizenship’: Refugee fights to stay in US while coping with wife’s death)
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