From Brazil to America: A man’s 20-year journey to citizenship
Rafael Francis (Courtesy: Shift Media Relations)
(WPRI) — A Massachusetts man is celebrating his new life as a United States citizen more than two decades after immigrating from Brazil.
In 2004, Rafael Francis visited Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at 17 years old, unaware that the trip would change his life and inspire him to stay, seeking a more open life as a gay man.
“Being a gay man in Brazil is not easy,” he said. “I have more opportunities and can be more free to be who I am here than over there.”
He started working as a crew member at McDonald’s, cleaning floors and prepping food without knowing any English.
“I asked the manager if I could start wearing a headset so I could listen to people and start learning English,” he explained.
While some crew members thought it strange to wear a headset while cooking or unloading boxes, he was determined to build a life in America.
Over the next 20 years, he worked his way up in positions at McDonald’s, honing his leadership skills while becoming fluent in English through interactions with coworkers and customers.
In 2021, Francis was promoted to operations manager and now oversees 13 McDonald’s locations across New England.
“If you are open to learning, if you make that a goal and it is something you really want to do, you will be able to,” he said.
While Francis was grateful for his career, he wanted more and looked ahead to the next step.
“I want to be someone. I want to be able to do more for myself, for my family, to help people,” he said. “Being back there on the grill was not enough for me.”
He then decided to start the process of becoming an American citizen.
“Some people don’t respect you when they know you are in the process of immigration, or you just have a green card,” he added.
After seven challenging years of working to secure his citizenship, Francis achieved his goal in October, just in time to vote in the 2024 General Election.
His McDonald’s colleagues, friends, and family threw a surprise celebration to honor his accomplishment.
“To see how happy they were for me,” Francis said. “It meant a lot to me.”
Now, Francis is ready to embark on his plans for the future as a citizen.
“Buy a house, adopt a kid, I have a thousand things I want to do in my mind and I am really excited for it,” he said.
Francis is using his story to help guide other employees through the citizenship process.
