Laken Tomlinson is now a U.S. citizen.

The Detroit Lions offensive lineman was sworn in as one of the country's newest citizens on Thursday, he told ESPN, the culmination of a process he first contemplated in 2012.

Tomlinson started the citizenship process in 2015, completing the N-400 application form for naturalization, a criminal background check and a biometric appointment. He then took a 10-question civics test and an English exam and was sworn in as a citizen.

“I’m just excited,” Tomlinson told ESPN on Sunday. “I’ve been waiting to get it done for, like, forever, and it’s finally done. That’s all I can say right now.” He said this just before boarding a plane to California, where he had been spending part of his offseason.

Tomlinson, who was born in Jamaica and has been in the U.S. since 2003 when he moved to Chicago at age 10, started thinking about the naturalization process as he prepared to help with a well-digging project in Ethiopia in 2012.

He was going with Duke’s offensive line, but there was just one issue: His passport from Jamaica had not arrived yet. That meant a drive from Durham, North Carolina, to Washington, D.C., the day before he was supposed to leave for the trip to wait outside the Jamaican Embassy to get the passport. Then he had to drive to the Ethiopian Embassy to make sure his visa was still valid, before heading back to North Carolina to make his flight.

The ordeal made him wonder why he didn’t just become a full-fledged American citizen instead. It took a while, but now, it’s done. He’s the latest member of his family to become an American citizen. His mother, Audrey Wilson, had previously applied for and received citizenship. And last month, two of his younger siblings also became American citizens.

Now, Tomlinson can say he's joined them.