10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3.2. 1. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and this is the 10 news, where we get the lowdown on what's up in the world. It's Tuesday, June 29th.

With the 4th of July coming up, we're seeing red, white, and blue. Whether you were born in the United States or emigrated here,

Independence Day is a celebration for all people who live, work hard, and make up these United States of America.

Today we're talking about citizenship, and we'll hear from a young activist,

Idalia Quinteros, fighting for the rights of youth in the U.S.

So let's dive in.

The U.S. has a lot of candles to blow out.

This July 4th marks 245 years since the original colonies declared their independence from England.

Awesome.

And their celebration went all out with patriotic parades and speeches like we still do these days.

Hear ye, hear ye!

With the addition of awesome fireworks shows and backyard barbecues.

It's also a tradition in the United States to hold citizenship ceremonies on Independence Day. A citizenship or naturalization ceremony

is the final step in becoming a citizen of the United States. It's where applicants take what's

called the oath of allegiance to

the country. So how do you become a U.S. citizen? If you're born in the United States, you're

automatically won. Yes. But since its founding, the U.S. has been a nation of immigrants. Over the

centuries, millions looking for new lives have come to the U.S.

Many come for a job, school, or to be near family. And to stay, people are issued a travel

document called a visa, which allows them to remain in the country for a certain period of time.

Some immigrants choose to become citizens, and to do that, they need to go through an

application process. Today, it's estimated that more than 40 million people living in the U.S.

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