Achieving his American dream

Thanksgiving was special for Port Washington resident Viktor Petrov this year.

It was the first time the Bulgarian native celebrated the holiday as a U.S. citizen. 

Petrov took the oath of citizenship less than a week earlier, on Friday, Nov. 22, in a ceremony at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee attended by his wife Michelle, her mother and Port Washington Fire Chief Mark Mitchell.

“It was great. I was excited all day,” he said. “This was the next step of the journey we started four years ago.”

Although he may have become a citizen only recently, Petrov has become a part of the community in the four years he’s lived in the U.S.

He is employed by the Village of Grafton at its wastewater treatment plant — Petrov said he enjoys the job. “It’s a great opportunity for me to be given the chance to work in a field related to my degree” — and has been a member of the Port Washington Fire Department for two years. 

“I never had any drive or desire to become a fireman, but I love it,” he said, adding he was motivated by a close friend who’s a firefighter here. “ I like being helpful to people in need.”

Mitchell said Petrov has been embraced by the department.

“He’s a great guy,” Mitchell said.

The firefighters threw a “Welcome to America” party for Petrov a few weeks before the ceremony, he added.

Petrov noted that Mitchell is more than just the chief to him.

“He’s helped me a lot,” he said. “He’s guided me.”

Petrov was living in Sofia, Bulgaria, when he met his future wife Michelle Damico roughly six years ago at the top of Vitosha, a mountain near the capital city. Each was hiking with friends, and Petrov said when he and his buddy heard the two women talking they decided they wanted to meet them. They helped the women get a better view of the city and, he said, “the rest is history.”

Damico grew up in Saukville, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was teaching at the American College of Sophia at the time.

Petrov had earned his engineering degree and was working as a sales engineer for a company that sold water purification equipment at the time.

They dated for about two years, then got engaged. But Michelle missed her home, so they packed their bags and moved to the U.S.

“You start with a blank page,” Petrov said. “I had to start from ground zero — everything, even simple things like building credit.

“But getting out of your comfort zone is a challenge, and I always liked a challenge.”

He came to the U.S. with a fiance visa in July 2015 and the couple were married the next month, meeting the requirement that they wed within 90 days.

Petrov said his transition was made easier by his wife’s family and friends, who made him feel a part of the community from the start.

“They welcomed me,” he said. “I was fortunate her family and friends and the people I met were really nice people.”

The Port area is much like Bulgaria, Petrov said, with a similar climate and terrain — although instead of a mountain Port has hills and the lake.

“I felt like (it was) home almost from day one,” he said. “I think I fit good with the Wisconsin lifestyle.”

Even with the current political climate in the U.S., Petrov said he hasn’t experienced any anti-immigrant sentiments.

“I’ve never felt discriminated by or offended by anyone,” he said. “If you follow all the rules and are a productive member of society, I don’t see why you should have any trouble.”

He decided to apply for citizenship because it was the next logical step in his journey, Petrov said. 

“The U.S., it’s my second home. We really were at the point where we might stay here longer than we originally thought,” he said. “It’s the next step in our life.”

He said the decision was made easier by the fact he didn’t have to renounce his Bulgarian citizenship.

“I don’t know that if I had to give up my citizenship, I would have done it,” Petrov said. 

He still has ties to Bulgaria, and he and his wife try to visit annually. But it’s been a difficult year — his brother and mother both died this year — but his sister lives in Switzerland and his extended family remains in Bulgaria. 

Petrov said the process of becoming a citizen took him four years and a significant amount of money, something that deters many people from taking the same action.

He used a study guide to prepare for the citizenship test, which included 10 of the 100 questions in the book.

It wasn’t a difficult test, Petrov said.

“It’s really the basics of U.S. history,” he said. “It’s the basic things everyone should know.”

People often tell him he probably knows more of the country’s history than they do, Petrov said, but that’s only true because he’s studied it recently.

The citizenship test included a verbal quiz and a check of reading and writing skills, he said. Applicants can request a translator, something he didn’t need. In addition to Bulgarian, he has studied English since kindergarten.

“In Europe, knowing at least one other language is really important. That’s a key to success,” Petrov said.

He hasn’t stopped working to improve his language skills.

“I try to learn every day,” he said. “I want to get better.”

Citizenship bestowed on him one important right he didn’t have before, Petrov said. He can now vote in federal elections — a right he plans to exercise next year.