A US judge has temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s travel ban and customs officials have told airlines that they can allow passengers who had been barred from entering the US to board planes.

The travel ban affects people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the US and includes an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees as well as a 120 day suspension on all refugee admissions. The order, however, does not apply to naturalized citizens holding dual nationality with or travelling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Protests have taken place all over the world with many Americans saying it doesn’t reflect the place they call home. As the US has often billed itself a nation of immigrants, we asked readers who came to the US and tackled the citizenship process to tell us what becoming a citizen meant to them. From fleeing oppression and finding sanctuary to moving for love, here’s what some of them said.

Walia Hasan, 53, IN and MN: ‘On the day I was naturalized I saw myself as an American and nothing more’



My reason to move to the US were simple – my kids kept getting sick and I saw limited opportunities for my engineering degree in Pakistan. Above all, I wanted my children to have access to the best education.

It took 11 years for me to move from my skilled worker H1B visa to green card to naturalisation in 2007. It has been an emotionally and financially exhausting road. My emotions were frozen at the ceremony. But I came back to my office only to be welcomed by a surprise party with a cake. I had tears in my eyes. The love and support I got from my colleagues made me an American long before my ceremony. My office had people from all over the world. This is what made it so beautiful, and gave me a sense of belonging.

On the day I was naturalized I saw myself as an American and nothing more. Now I see myself as a brown, Muslim, female immigrant. This shift is not intentional. Itis a reflection of how people see me.

JudyB, 92, North Carolina: ‘As a Jewish refugee I felt proud, grateful and hopeful the day I became a citizen’



My Dutch family fled Europe in 1940 as Jewish refugees. It is difficult, 70 years later, to adequately describe my feelings of relief, of the sense of possibilities restored, and of being safe.



I felt proud, grateful and hopeful the day I became a citizen. Proud of being a citizen of the premier land of democracy – the land of hope for people like myself who were forced to flee for our lives. Grateful to those who were now my fellow citizens willing to give us a chance. And hopeful that, as a college student aged 21, I would contribute to the society that helped me. Now I feel sad and ashamed. The very land that welcomed me and my fellow refugees so many years ago has withdrawn its welcome because of unfounded fears into rejection of those in perilous need.

I feel ashamed that while I found acceptance, my country does not offer it to those in similar circumstances. At the age of 92, my abilities are limited but I feel the need to actively oppose the reversal of civil liberties, the curtailment of the use of scientific data, and the denial of climate change that are current policies of my government.



Ashkan Monadjemi, 38, Kenner, LA: ‘I felt a sense of loyalty to my new home’



I am a ship agent who moved to the US from Iran via the diversity immigration visa program. I believe the US is one of the few democracies in the world based on multiculturalism, and when I became a citizen I felt a sense of loyalty to my new home.

Although I am a US citizen I have roots in my home country, Iran. Trump’s executive order is offensive to me and my family. My fiancée was meant to join me but her visa application was stopped due to the ban. How can I call this country my home when I cannot live with the girl I love?

Anonymous, 30s, North Carolina: ‘It was humbling making the oath of allegiance for the first time’



I was born in Singapore which does not recognize dual citizenship. I wavered with the decision for eight years, until 2016, when I decided to naturalize so I could vote and make my voice heard in the presidential election. When I recited the pledge as a child in Singapore, I just parroted the words. So when I made the oath of allegiance for the first time, it was humbling because American citizens are given heavy responsibilities in exchange for their many freedoms, and I was cognizant of that.



As a queer person of color, I have always felt as though I didn’t belong, even where I was born. I feel rather betrayed by the people I live and work with as it seems that they want the fruits of foreign cultures, the cuisines and technologies, the literature and art, but they also refuse the people who have made these things possible. I’m going to keep going, keep resisting until the end. It’s the only option I have and it is my duty as a citizen of the US. That was what I signed up for when I naturalized - what I took on in exchange for the freedoms I gained.

Maia Ettinger, 55, Connecticut: ‘It felt like taking my rightful place among the likes of Bobby Kennedy and Malcolm X’



Maia Ettinger pictured with her partner. Photograph: Maia Ettinger/Studio Foto

My mother, who was a Jewish Holocaust survivor, travelled to the US with me in 1967. I was a freshman in college when I turned 18 and applied to become a citizen. My mother was furious – not because I applied, but because a month before my birthday I’d been arrested for protesting the movie Cruising, which was seen as anti-gay.



At the time homosexuality was grounds for denial of citizenship, but I was already a real American who believed in my right to speak out! My mom made me hire a lawyer who got the charges dropped, and my citizenship hearing went off without a hitch. It felt like taking my rightful place among my American heroes, from Bobby Kennedy to Malcolm X.



Wrolf Courtney, 54, Brooklyn, NY: ‘My son was born the day I was scheduled to attend the ceremony’

After moving to the US from Dartford, Kent I decided to become a citizen because of the impending birth of my first son, and our decision to raise our children in New York.

The story of when I was naturalized is a funny one. I had to delay the ceremony because my son was actually born the day I was scheduled to attend. Two months later, my newborn son on my shoulder as the judge led us through reciting the oath, just as we swore “that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States”, the most enormous noise came out of his rear end and echoed around the courtroom. I felt pride then but now I feel anger. In my own small way, I am working to heal that divide by organizing student exchanges, inter -faith group visits, and pen pal programs between republicans and democrats.

Anna, 53, Virginia: ‘The courthouse was filled with people from all over the worldand excitement was palpable’



Anna pictured with her boyfriend.

Having grown up in Russia in the former Soviet Union I emigrated to the US because I wanted to live in a free country. The ceremony was a very touching and meaningful event – the courthouse was filled with people from all over the world and excitement was palpable.

When I went to work the next day my American co-workers had a surprise celebration for me, with cakes, American flags and balloons! It was a very welcoming gesture and a fiercely patriotic one! My small company had only one immigrant – me – and experiencing their excitement over my naturalization felt awesome. Right now I feel both ashamed of my country and proud for our traditions of activism. I raised two kids in this country and watching them and their friends gives me hope for the future of our country.

Phil Ganderton, 59, Albuquerque, NM: ‘At my ceremony there were people from 52 countries’



I wanted to have a say in how my contribution to this country, and the country I had chosen to live in, was organized and run so chose to become a citizen. At my ceremony there were people from 52 countries . The person who gave the speech was a military man. He said something I will never forget: He and his fellow natural-born citizens had not chosen to live in the US, but we - those leaving behind their countries of birth – had made a conscious decision to become citizens.



He said that took courage, and should be recognized and admired. I felt proud to be a US citizen at that moment. I feel very different than I did that day. The US is a country of immigrants and everyone is from somewhere else. That is what makes America great. America has always been great, and no greater than now. It doesn’t need to be made great again ...

Byong, 26, Cambridge, MA: ‘Taking the oath for the first time validated my feelings about how great this country is’



My parents sacrificed and uprooted their comfortable lives in South Korea and brought me and my sister to the US. Two years of compulsory military service in Korea played a role in my decision, but ultimately I chose to become a citizen because I knew that I could dream bigger and work hard to achieve them in this country.

Taking the oath for the first time validated my feelings about how great this country is. It made me feel proud to be a citizen of a country that is a beacon of democracy, freedom, and justice. In the current climate this means upholding the virtues and values that represent this.

Estefania, 24, Texas: ‘All the other people were just like us’



As our hometown of Juarez, Mexico, became more dangerous due to criminal drug activity we moved to El Paso when I was 13. I was 18 when I was naturalized – taking the oath was surreal. My mom failed her first test because she got nervous and wasn’t completely fluent, so it was just my dad and I at the ceremony.



I remember thinking how all the other people were just like us. How we were all leaving loved ones behind to join the US. It made it that much more special when we came back for my mom’s oath ceremony a few months later. Being a US citizen now means standing up for others like me.America has always been about acceptance, and liberty to be who you want to be and we must continue to fight for those values.

Valeria Richards, 57, Linden, VA: ‘I was proud to be in a room full of every possible race and ethnicity’

When I arrived in the US from Italy I went back to school and started working as a registered nurse in a hospital. I became a citizen after holding a permanent green card for 32 years. President Obama won me over.



I was proud to be in a room full of every possible race and ethnicity. I was part of what makes America great: its diversity and its acceptance of anyone who comes here with dreams and good intentions. What is happening now is shameful. I was proud to be an American then. Now I am proud to resist this administration.

Vesna Baric, 55, Cleveland, OH: Taking the oath felt natural



I was nine years old when I came to the US from Yugoslavia. I became a citizen when I was 25 as I realized I was more American, less Serbian. Even though I attended the University of Belgrade I could not relate to Serbian society and I did not identify with it. Since I attended public school in the US taking the oath felt natural. I had no trepidation.

I feel that what makes US great is the diversity and multitude of cultures.I am disturbed by the current rift in American society. The anti-immigrant rhetoric is disturbing and I don’t believe it is shared by the majority.



Simon Herbert, 54, Los Angeles, CA: ‘Taking the pledge with 13,000 other people I felt an alien sense of pride’



I moved to the US from the UK for love – to marry my American wife, Ellen. I became a US citizen, candidly, after being here for 13 years because it was actually cheaper than the fees to continually renew my green card.

I am not one for saluting any kind of flag but taking the pledge in downtown LA on 23 February 2016, with 13,000 other people , I felt an alien sense of pride. For the duration of it , it was kind of nice to not feel cynical if only for a few minutes. Judge Abrams, who gave the introductory oration, said immigrants are more American than those born here as they have to work hard for citizenship. His words resonated with me and remain with me during these troubled times.