Trini doctor becomes US citizen

After nearly two years of pursuing United States citizenship, Crichlow, an opthamologist at Mid-Atlantic Eye Physicians, is now an American — and he’s excited to vote in the upcoming election.

The Trinidad native came to Minnesota in 1990 to attend Carleton College. His father, also an opthamologist, studied in England and Crichlow’s family encouraged him to study abroad, too. He chose Minnesota because he had an uncle living there.

“It’s not a connection that many people from Trinidad make because of the climate,” he explained.

Initially, Crichlow planned to return to Trinidad once he finished school.

But after attending medical school at Duke University and meeting his wife, Anna, he knew he wanted to stay.

He completed his residency in Philadelphia and a one-year fellowship in Coral Gables, Florida, but the couple wanted to return to North Carolina. Crichlow started a job at Mid-Atlantic Eye Physicians and they moved to Littleton in 2004.

“We didn’t know we were going to be this far from Raleigh or Durham when we first envisioned it,” Crichlow said, adding that he and Anna enjoy living in the community.

Crichlow soon knew that he wanted to stay here permanently, and began the application process for US citizenship in early 2006.

“This is our home, so I thought now would be a good time to become a citizen,” he explained.

The process required an application, a formal interview, a test of US history, government and civics and a test of written and spoken English. Crichlow took the tests and the oath of allegiance on Monday in Charlotte along with about 50 other people.

“And I’ve got to tell you, there’s no experience like that,” he said. “It was very, very exciting. To be able to take the oath of allegiance was just powerful.”

Now that he’s a citizen, Crichlow is excited not only to vote, but also to travel with a US passport.

All these years, he and Anna have needed to go through separate customs lines when they travel — and his line has always been a lot longer, he noted with a laugh.

More than that, though, he feels relieved to finally be an American citizen.

“There’s something that does feel different. It’s kind of hard to put your finger on what it is.

“Living here is one thing, but to be eligible to truly participate in everything else, there’s a difference.”