When M. Reynolds left Kingston, Jamaica at 24 years old, he thought he was just visiting family. What he didn’t know was that his trip to America would turn into a permanent journey that would eventually lead him to U.S. citizenship and a new life in Houston.
When M. Reynolds left Kingston, Jamaica at 24 years old, he thought he was just visiting family. What he didn’t know was that his trip to America would turn into a permanent journey that would eventually lead him to U.S. citizenship and a new life in Houston.
Reynolds grew up in a bustling household of 15 children. His father owned a small trucking business, and his mother was a homemaker. From his father, he learned what it meant to be a man of responsibility.
“I was raised up under the standard that a man was supposed to protect his household,” he recalled. “God wants us to be the head of the household and guide our wives.”
Those early lessons stayed with him as he made his way to America, first landing in Miami before moving to Houston, where much of his family had already settled. Today, seven of his sisters and his mother are Houston residents.
At the age of 25, Reynolds met the woman who would become his wife and the couple raised two daughters together. His wife became a realtor while Reynolds carved out his own career path. For the past 16 years, he has worked as a walking foreman at the Port of Houston, keeping operations on track at one of the busiest ports in the nation.
But success didn’t come without challenges.
“When I first came here, life was different. In Jamaica, things were more expensive. In Houston, I saw that people had more — their own cars, their own homes. That motivated me. I said, ‘This is where I need to be.’”
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Reynolds did not become a U.S. citizen until 2025. He says he put it off because he never felt much threat of deportation as long as he worked and followed the rules — and, he adds candidly, the naturalization test made him nervous.
“It’s hard when you don’t really know much about American history. You can live here for years, but if you never studied it, that’s the hardest part,” he said. “You gotta know all 100 questions, even though they only ask you a handful. You don’t know which ones they will ask, so it’s all memory.”
For Reynolds, the biggest barrier he had to overcome was his own fear.
“Fear is just a hold back,” he explained. “It makes people freeze. But you have to believe in yourself. Sometimes you fear something, but you still have to do it anyway.”
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For Reynolds, the reward of citizenship far outweighed the struggle.
“It felt great, because now I had the benefits of America. I could vote, I could have the same rights as someone born here. It makes you feel like you’re fully part of the country,” he said.
He encourages others to take that final step in order to secure their future, and future generations.
“You’re not doing it for yourself alone — you’re doing it for your family too. Life doesn’t stop right here. You just have to plant your seed, and when the season comes, you’ll reap the fruits.”
Ask Reynolds why he never left Houston, and his answer comes without hesitation.
“Jobs are not hard to find here, and the cost of living isn’t too high. It’s a place you can raise your family,” he shared. “The schools are good, the city is clean, and everything you need is right here. That’s why I always tell people, ‘if you’re coming to America, come to Houston.’”
Today, his two daughters are thriving — one a registered nurse from Prairie View A&M, the other a psychiatrist from Lamar University — and he beams with pride over three grandsons.
For Reynolds, becoming a U.S. citizen wasn’t just about paperwork. It was about faith, family, and the chance to build a life rooted in opportunity.
As he put it best: “When you plant your seed and keep yourself out of trouble, God will let it be fruitful in its season.”
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Here are more resources to aid you on your path to citizenship:
https://becomeacitizentoday.com
https://houston.naturalizenow.org/resources
https://usahello.org/citizenship/prepare/
