From Brazil to Nashville: Vilars Share Path to American Citizenship

Last week, two naturalized citizens shared their journey to becoming Americans during a presentation to the Nashville Rotary Club.

Ricardo and Renata Vilar, originally from São Paulo, Brazil, spoke about the path that eventually brought them to Nashville, Arkansas.

Ricardo Vilar had visited the United States several times before moving here. During one of those visits, he appeared as a contestant on the television show Forged in Fire, where he met fellow knifemaker Jerry Fisk. The two became friends, and Fisk and his wife later helped facilitate the Vilars’ move to the United States.

Vilar said he and his wife decided to move to America in 2014, but the process was lengthy. It took three years for them to obtain the paperwork required to receive their Green Cards.

Vilar told Rotarians that immigrants must wait five years after receiving a Green Card before applying for citizenship. In total, he said the process took about 12 years for him and his wife to become American citizens.

Vilar said one of the main reasons the family chose to move to the United States was for their two sons, Lucas and Nicholas.

Lucas is currently a business student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Nicholas is an eighth-grade student at Nashville Junior High School and will be inducted into the National Junior Honor Society this year.

Vilar also shared his perspective on immigration, saying many people who enter the United States illegally are taught in their home countries that there will be no consequences for doing so. He said that is not the case and emphasized that following the legal process avoids those problems.

Vilar said that while their family still enjoys Brazilian meals at home and speaks Portuguese, they have fully embraced life in the United States.

Ricardo and Renata Vilar officially took the oath of citizenship earlier this year at the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith.

Vilar said many Americans may not realize how fortunate they are to live in the United States, which is one of the main reasons he and his family chose to make it their home