RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Forty-four immigrants from 32 countries are expected to take the oath of United States citizenship at the Virginia State Capitol.

The clerks of the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates have announced that the naturalization ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Friday in the House chamber. They say it is fitting that the ceremony will take place in the home of the oldest elected law- making body in the Western Hemisphere.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Hannah Lauck will preside and deliver remarks on the meaning of U.S. citizenship.

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