I have been dealing with USCIS offices in all 50 states, but the one in Fresno has always been one of my favorites. We process many adoptions cases and family petitions at that office, and I often fly over there to represent local clients. Don Riding (The Chief) staff are always on the ball and very helpful. I wasn’t surprised to read about his unusual service to sick and elderly clients that can not come to the Citizenship ceremony:
When Freydoon Alexandrous, who grew up in Iran and lives in Turlock, heard his citizenship request had been approved, he no longer had the strength to attend the naturalization ceremony in Fresno. Heart and orthopedic problems and a recent fall made the 85-mile trek to the Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Fresno impossible.
So Don Riding, CIS field office director, came to him.
When Riding walks into a home, ailing people sometimes too weak to hold a glass to their mouths will sit up straight and greet him as though he were about to guide them into paradise and away from troubled pasts.
“It’s fun,” Riding said. “I try to do it on weekends so family can come.”
Saturday, Riding, who works
out of the CIS regional office in Fresno, visited five homes in Turlock and one in Hilmar. He naturalizes about 1,500 people a month, individually or in large ceremonies.
Read More and wish there were more officers like Mr. Riding.