n February 25, 2010, Jeffrey Kofman, ABC’s Miami-based Correspondent for Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America, became a U.S. citizen. Kofman was born in Toronto, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1997 and joined ABC News in 2001.

He was asked to deliver the keynote address to the 224 other New Americans who were sworn in at the same ceremony at the Miami headquarters of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Here are his remarks:

We are now Americans.

We ARE Americans.

To all of you – all 224 of you – congratulations!

While today’s ceremony makes it official, the significance of this moment actually hit me about six weeks ago, when I came to this same building  for my citizenship interview.  There I sat in the waiting room, perhaps with some of you along with many others.  I could tell some were anxious and nervous, awaiting what I sensed was the most important test of their lives.

I heard my name called out and I was ushered into my interview to be quizzed by a friendly but no-nonsense Immigration Officer. She went through the same routine that all of you now know. Had I ever been a member of the Communist Party? No. Had I ever been a War Criminal? No. The questions continued. I answered them honestly and appropriately.

Then I was asked to read a sentence to prove my literacy:  ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS PRESIDENT OF THE United States, or something like that.

Then I was asked to write a sentence.  I think it was something about George Washington.

And then history quiz. I knew I had to get six out of ten right. I am journalist. I grew up in Canada, English is my native language. So, the process was less daunting for me than it might have been for others. And it helps that I’ve reported and written on American politics. But I humbly did not want to take to take this important moment for granted. And so, like you, I studied the 100 possible questions in the booklet we were all given. For me, the answers to most of the questions were familiar.

And so when I was asked to name one of the two biggest rivers in the United States, I confidently responded: Mississippi.

When I was asked to name the Speaker of the House of Representatives, no problem. I knew that too:  Nancy Pelosi.

But when I was asked what the first ten amendments to the constitution are called, I was glad I had studied, because I confess I did not know the answer to that question until I did my home work: The Bill of Rights.

I was beginning to have fun. I began to feel like a contestant on a TV game show. And I guess in a certain way that’s what we all were. In this case the prize behind Door #1 is the passport so much of the world can only dream of.

Like all of you, I passed. I got the first six questions right.  But I suddenly found myself wanting to answer more questions to prove my worthiness.  So I was a little disappointed when I didn’t get to answer questions 7, 8, 9 and 10. Clearly, the process only needed correct answers for six questions, so no more were asked.

When the interview was over the immigration officer reached to the far side of her desk and grabbed a bulky rubber stamp. I watched as it hit the paper. When she lifted it, it left behind a big red imprint. In the middle, the single word “APPROVED.” As I looked at my application and at the bright red stamp, it hit me.

I am now an American.

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