MARYSVILLE – If you’ve ever wondered why immigrants don’t just become U.S. citizens just thumb through a preparation workbook.

“I asked some American-born people, and they couldn’t answer,” said Manuela Niazov, a job training instructor at the Goodwill in Marysville.

She and Elizabeth Laryea taught a recent Citizenship class there to a dozen people from Mexico, El Salvador, Vietnam, Russia, Indonesia, Peru, Bolivia, Iran and Nepal.

The students are taught Geography, Civics, History and Government. They take a practice test of 100 questions. They have to read a sentence in English, and even harder, write one legibly, which is tough for many high schoolers. And they have to pass an interview.

This was the first time Goodwill offered the class daily over one week. Previously, it was twice a week evenings over eight weeks.

Some had taken the class before. When Niazov asked which they liked better, one said all at once because she didn’t forget what she learned while the other liked it twice a week because she had time to digest the information.

Niazov is the perfect person to teach, as she went through the same process just three years ago. She was born in the former Soviet Union, but was raised in Israel. She’s been in the states for 13 years.

“I can relate to my students,” she said. “Never in my life did I think I would be teaching Citizenship or ESL.”

Niazov had her own struggles with immigration, but she doesn’t share those with her students.

“It would be discouraging,” she said, adding there was an error on her green card that made the process much more difficult than it needed to be.

Niazov said when she became a citizen she studied and did it all on her own.

“I wish I could have taken a class like this,” she said. “It’s fun, engaging. You meet people from all over the world.”

Olga Smith, who still has a thick Russian accent despite being in the states for nine years, was one of Niazov’s students. She lives in Arlington with her husband, whom she met on the internet.

She wants to “be a citizen so I can stay here and be with my family.”

Smith said she loves this area because of the nature, the mountains. “Being in the U.S. is awesome,” she said.

She added that she enjoyed the class.

“More interesting people, more countries,” she said. “We share experiences, share friendship.”

Parnia Hejaz of Iran was the only one in her family to be able to get a green card to come to the states and be with her brother.

“I was lucky,” she said, even though she had to wait a year for it. She said as a computer scientist she did not have an “official” job so she was allowed to leave. Other family members are teachers or in mandatory military service. Her brother is a doctor, and she plans to get her doctorate in computers.

She’s only been in the U.S. for six months. Before obtaining her citizenship, “English, I have to improve it,” she said.

Hejaz has been her a short time, but Maria Guerrero has been here since 1968. Every 10 years she would get her green card renewed, but she got tired of that.

“I have to do this just once,” she said of obtaining her citizenship. She also said she “wants to start voting.”

Dee Dee Smith said she wants to become a citizen for her children.

“The opportunities for education,” she said, adding that she would then also be eligible for a federal job.

Smith said she also would be interested in being a volunteer.

“I’d love to work and help somebody,” she said.

Of all the students, Jose Calderon of Mexico probably was the most likely to become a citizen first. Class ended on Friday, and he was going to Tukwila to take the test the following Monday.

A teacher, Calderon said he came to the states some time ago, but lived in California, where many more people speak Spanish. When his daughter moved to Canada, he came here to be closer. He predicted he’d have no problems with the 100 questions or history test. But he was a “little nervous about the English.”

Besides Citizenship, the Goodwill offers other free classes, including English for speakers of other languages; computer courses, such as Excel and Word; and customer service, such as cashiering and life skills. For more call 360-657-4058.