ROAD TO CITIZENSHIP ROCKY

Refugee Overcomes Obstacles Becoming A U.S. Citizen

The federal courthouse in Tulsa has been the scene of some high highs
and some low lows for Vietnamese immigrant Trung Truong.

"This is a long story with a happy ending," said Truong, 57.

Last year at this time, Truong was locked in a federal prison in
Texarkana, Texas, serving a 15-year sentence.

But his conviction was reversed and he was set free, only to return
to the courthouse so a judge could swear him in as a U.S. citizen
earlier this month.

"I wish I could say the system worked. . . . It did work eventually,"
said Assistant Federal Public Defender Robert Ridenour, who
represented Truong during his ordeal. "Mr. Truong was patient and
persistent, and now he's where he wants to be."

When Truong was convicted, he collapsed. When he took the oath of
citizenship, he cried.

"This is, in my case, a government mistake, but now I'm happy that
everything is clear," Truong said.

Truong grew up in Vietnam, served in that country's military and was
granted refugee status by the United States after he was imprisoned
in a Viet Cong work camp for five years in the 1970s.

He stayed in Vietnam until his parents died and then came to the
United States through Los Angeles with his wife and children in the 1990s.

By 1998, he was the owner of a convenience store at 70 N. Sheridan
Road in Tulsa. It looked like a good business opportunity, but it
turned out to be a major downfall for him.

In 2002, Oklahoma legislators passed a law making it illegal for
retailers to sell over-the-counter pseudoephedrine tablets, a key
ingredient for making methamphetamine.

In June 2004, a federal judge sentenced Truong to 15 years and 10
months in prison after he was convicted of possessing and
distributing pseudoephedrine while knowing it would be used to make
methamphetamine.

A few months earlier, a jury found him guilty of two counts centering
on the July 19, 2001, sale of pseudoephedrine pills from his
convenience store. During the trial, prosecutors introduced testimony
from three people who claimed to have bought thousands of pills from him.

He was sent to federal prison, where he spent 21 months.

"I just kept praying that I would be home soon," he said.

In October 2005, a federal appeals court in Denver reversed the
conviction, finding that it was supported by insufficient evidence.

The appellate court wrote that the prosecution had presented no
evidence that Truong knew that the people who bought pseudoephedrine
from him would use it to manufacture methamphetamine.

Once freed, Truong continued his goal of becoming a U.S. citizen. He
said he does not feel bitter toward the United States.

"People make mistakes" is all he says.

To become a naturalized citizen, applicants must have been lawfully
admitted for permanent U.S. residence as a legal immigrant, according
to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

In addition, they must have lived continuously as a lawful permanent
U.S. resident for at least five years in good moral standing. They
also must pass a naturalization quiz about U.S. history and show the
ability to write and speak in English.