PK U.S.A. associate becomes naturalized United States citizen

Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM

By Staff report

Photo provided: Alex Payan is now a Naturalized United States citizen, and his office shows his pride of achievement.

Thirteen years ago, Alex Payan was in his home country of Mexico working as an engineer at American Axle. Little did he know at the time, that the United States would come calling, ready to take him in not only as an engineer, but as a future American citizen as well.

Born in Aquascalientes, Payan is one of five children. After attending college in Mexico, he began his career in engineering and quickly became an important asset to his prior employer.

Travel to the United States became frequent with visits to Davenport, Iowa; Moline, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Dayton, Ohio.

“I enjoyed my many travels to the United States during that time, and I even had the opportunity to go to a Cincinnati Reds game,” said Payan. “I began to better understand the United States, its customs and the people here. So when PK U.S.A. (in Shelbyville) gave me a call in 2012 about the possibility of working in the U.S., I was very interested.

“The Vice President of Engineering at PK U.S.A. met with me in Texas and wanted me to travel to Indiana. In November of 2012, I did just that. I visited the facilities and soon after had an interview. I was offered the position but knew I had a lot of work to do.”

Since November of 2012, Payan has been working toward his United States citizenship, and in July of this year, the hard work and perseverance paid off.

“Naturalization is not an easy, or inexpensive process, but it shouldn’t be,” he said. “I’m proud of my Hispanic heritage, where I came from, and what I learned while I was there – but I can honestly say – there’s no place as wonderful as the United States of America! And remember, don’t take what you have here for granted.”

For more information on applying for naturalization, citizenship and naturalization-based forms and the entire naturalization process, visits https://www.dhs.gov/become-citizen.

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