NBA Star Dirk Nowitzki, Swedish-Kenyan Wife Jessica Olsson Begin Process of Becoming US Citizens

Dirk Nowitzki and his wife Jessica Olsson have started the immigration process that will eventually have home become United States citizen, the just-retire NBA star recently said.

Speaking to Dallas Morning News, Nowitzki, a German citizen who played his entire 21-year NBA career for the Dallas Mavericks, says he and his wife Jessica are in the process of getting green cards, hoping to eventually become US citizens in five years.

"We're in the process of getting a green card. So once we accomplish that, then you have to be a green-card holder for, I think, over five years before you can even think about doing that [becoming a U.S. citizen]. So we're going to do that and see how it goes. But obviously our kids were born here and they all have U.S. passports and the wifey and I have been on a visa for the last few years,” Nowitzki told Dallas Morning News.

Nowitzki announced his retirement from playing professional basketball at the end of the 2019 season.

Jessica Olsson is a Swedish citizen - her dad is Swedish while her mother was born in Kenya. The two wed in Nanyuki, Kenya in 2012. They have three children.