For new citizens, the happiest 4th

It took seven years, but Arnulfo Deray finally became a citizen of the United States yesterday.

"It feels great," said Deray, a 38-year-old doctor originally from the Philippines. Dressed in a business suit and clutching a small American flag, he said, "I've been dreaming about this for a long, long time."

Deray was one of 26 people who became citizens after pledging to defend the Constitution, "bear true faith and allegiance" to the United States, and protect the United States against all enemies, at a special Independence Day celebration on the Charles River Esplanade.

It was one of two ceremonies that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services held yesterday. Ten Massachusetts residents became citizens on the historic USS Constitution, during the ship's annual July Fourth cruise.

Deray and the nation's other newest citizens represent about 30 countries, including Peru, Azerbaijan, Cape Verde, Cuba, Haiti, and Ireland. They are among an estimated 600,000 men, woman, and children who will become American citizens in 2007, according to the Citizenship and Immigration Services.

At the festive afternoon ceremony on the Esplanade, Chief Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman of the US District Court reminded the new citizens that they can vote, participate in government, and sit on juries.

"They are precious," he told them, referring to those rights, "and they must be exercised to remain vibrant and alive."

Neiman also told the crowd that immigrants have played a critical role in shaping this nation. In fact, he said, his own grandparents emigrated from Russia many years ago.

"Can you imagine how they would feel, to see their grandson swearing in new citizens?" he said.

He encouraged the citizens to keep contributing to their new country.

"We congratulate you, and welcome you, and wish you the best of what the United States has to offer," he said.

Then there was tremendous applause. Most of it came from the tens of thousands of people who had gathered along the river, and in front of the Esplanade, for the city's annual July Fourth concert and fireworks. As part of their wait, they watched the naturalization ceremony.

In his comments, Neiman also made a brief, passing reference to the raging national debate over US immigration policy, but most of the new citizens said they didn't want to discuss the controversial topic on such a happy day. They said they preferred to discuss their new, legally obtained, citizenship status.

For Deray, American citizenship has been a long time goal. He left the Philippines in 2001 to train as an internal medicine doctor.

"I wanted to get the best training, and Boston was the place to go," said Deray, who now works at a hospital in Springfield.

After obtaining a green card, he had to wait five years before applying for citizenship. "It was a long process, but it was worth it," he said yesterday.

Others took different paths to citizenship.

Sinon Chockey, for example, was raised in India. She arrived in the United States in 2002 and joined the Army, a move that helped speed up her citizenship process. In 2002, President Bush signed an executive order that allows immediate application for citizenship for anyone on active military duty. Chockey is one of at least 26,000 foreign-born members of the US military who have become citizens.

"This is a really big milestone in my life," a beaming Chockey said yesterday. Now 29, she works as a nurse at Brockton Hospital.

The ceremony was an equally important life event for Srinivasan Meka, a 35-year-old computer consultant from Westborough. He has been in the United States for 10 years, and finally achieved citizen status yesterday.

Now, he said with a grin, he can bring his wife over from India.

"I can't wait," he said.

Christine McConville can be reached at cmcconville@globe.com.