Immigrant passes stoicism test

Sudanese immigrant Nyarot Bangout didn’t quite become a U.S. citizen on Monday, but her daughter did.

In the last step before taking the oath of citizenship, the Seattle woman was being interviewed by adjudication officer Patrick O’Kelley in the Federal Building in Spokane when she started having contractions.

“There I am contracting, and he’s asking questions,” Bangout said.

Three hours after her interview began, she delivered by Caesarean section a 9-pound, 11-ounce baby girl, Nyawarga, at Deaconess Medical Center.

The interview was easier, Bangout said.

What are the colors of our flag? Who is the president of the United States today? Those were two of the 10 citizenship questions she answered correctly between contractions.

“The interview went off without a hitch,” said O’Kelley, who didn’t notice Bangout was in pain.

When she was done with the interview, Bangout and her husband, David John, and their 22-month-old son took a cab to Deaconess. When she arrived at 9:45 a.m., Bangout was 6 centimeters dilated.

Deaconess labor and delivery nurse Jennifer Garrity was somewhat taken aback. Her patient had already delivered once by C-section. Bangout was past her due date and not in her own city.

“You don’t usually see patients that far along before they want something for the pain,” Garrity said. “To think she was able to retain her composure during the interview was just remarkable.”

Against a doctor’s advice, the family had taken a Greyhound bus to Spokane on Sunday because Bangout lived in the Tri-Cities, in the Eastern Washington District, when she applied for citizenship. Bangout came to the United States from her native Nasir, Sudan, in 1996.

At first, Bangout mistook her pains for false contractions, which she had already experienced. But by the end of the interview, she knew it was the real deal.

“I wonder how surprised (O’Kelley) would have been if I went into labor,” Bangout said.

Not as surprised as she might think.

On Jan 4, 2005, a Ukrainian woman gave birth in the Seattle immigration office. O’Kelley was present for the occasion. The woman was asked if she would like to reschedule, but at the time there was a waiting period of a year and a half.

“The husband spoke up and said, ‘No, her water hasn’t broken yet, so we can still go on with the interview,’ ” O’Kelley recalled.

Ten minutes later, that wasn’t the case.

“I don’t think they got through the interview,” he said.

The immigration process can be painful at times, but not that painful.

On Monday, Bangout, who is a homemaker, got through her interview, but she still has to take the oath. She said she can do that in Seattle at a later date. Her only regret is that her husband, a security guard, and son had to return home before the baby was born.

“They would have towed our car at the Greyhound station (in Seattle),” Bangout said.

Deaconess social services is making arrangements for her transportation back to Seattle.