A brand-new US citizen walks us through the 'hell' it takes to go from foreigner to American

Jon Yildiz was sworn in as a US citizen in January 2019 — roughly seven years after he first moved to the country from Turkey to marry his American fiancée.Like many newcomers to America, Yildiz's immigration process was a minefield of bureaucratic hurdles and lengthy wait times that lasted years, cost thousands of dollars, and left him with anxiety and depression.Here's what it takes for a foreign national to become an American citizen.Jon Yildiz will never forget the moment during his citizenship ceremony when President Donald Trump appeared on the screen at the front of the room.In the same aggressive tone he uses to rile up supporters at his infamous rallies, Trump barked out a welcome message to the group of new citizens who had just sworn the Oath of Allegiance.“There were a couple of laughs across the room when we were facing just Donald Trump screaming at us, telling us how proud he was, and all of this stuff we know is not really true,” Yildiz told INSIDER, laughing.For Yildiz, it was a bizarre, but emotional moment. He felt a mixture of pride in his new country and bitterness toward the immigration process that got him there.Like so many other naturalized citizens, Yildiz's journey from immigrant to American was a years-long struggle that cost thousands of dollars, crippled him with anxiety and depression, and even contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.In a Reddit post that he was surprised to see grow wildly popular, Yildiz described the “huge, difficult process” it took to immigrate to the US. He put up series of photos from his ceremony, which showed him smiling proudly as he held his new naturalization certificate and a tiny American flag, and watched as the comments and upvotes rolled in, congratulating him on the milestone.Here's the story of how it all happened: