WASHINGTON
— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is
launching new efforts to highlight U.S. citizenship and immigrant civic
integration to celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. These initiatives
will also improve customer service and support aspiring citizens on their path
to naturalization.
The initiatives
include:
Naturalization
Ceremonies
From Sept. 17-23,
USCIS will welcome more than 36,000 new citizens during more than 200
naturalization ceremonies. During this time—also known as Constitution
Week—museums, historic and public libraries, government landmarks and national
park sites will provide the backdrop for our celebration of citizenship.
Constitution Day
and Citizenship Day is celebrated each year on Sept. 17 on the anniversary of
the signing of the Constitution in 1787. Congress first highlighted the
significance of U.S. citizenship in 1940 when it designated the third Sunday in
May as “I Am an American Day.” In 1952, Congress shifted the date to Sept. 17
and renamed it “Citizenship Day.” Congress changed the designation of this day
to “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day” in 2004.
USCIS invites new
citizens and their families and friends to share their experiences from the
ceremonies via social media using the hashtag #newUScitizen.
USCIS also
announced today a renewed partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s
National Park Service (NPS) to enhance the meaning and stature of citizenship
ceremonies. Since the partnership first began in September 2006, USCIS has
coordinated special naturalization ceremonies at many of the 400 NPS sites
around the country, including eight events as part of USCIS’ 2015 Constitution
Week celebration.
Customer Service
Enhancements
Beginning Sept. 19,
naturalization
applicants will be able to use credit cards to pay the Form
N-400, Application for Naturalization, fee of $595 and the biometrics fee of
$85, if applicable. To pay using a credit card, customers may complete the new
Form
G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transaction.
USCIS will also
enter into a formal partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the
Farm Service Agency to provide temporary office space to USCIS. From there,
USCIS officers will provide services to communities with significant numbers of
immigrants who are not located near a USCIS office. Services will include
biometrics collection, case interviews and information presentations.
Addionally, USCIS
has developed new
online tools to help lawful permanent residents prepare for naturalization,
locate English and citizenship classes, determine eligibility and apply for
naturalization. As an initial effort, a new
interactive practice civics test is available in English, with other
languages to follow. Individuals can also find English language and citizenship
preparation classes in their local area using a new
online class locator.
Grants
Supporting Citizenship and Immigrant Integration
USCIS awarded
nearly $10 million in grants to 40
organizations that will help lawful permanent residents (also known as green
card holders) prepare and apply for citizenship. Located in 26 states, these
organizations will receive funding to support citizenship preparation activities
through September 2017. For more
information, visit uscis.gov/grants.
Citizenship
Public Education and Awareness
Beginning this
month, USCIS will expand the Citizenship
Public Education and Awareness Campaign, launched in
July 2015, into six additional states – New
Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington and Arizona. The 10
participating states are home to 75 percent of the country’s lawful permanent
residents.
USCIS also released
a new series of print
ads in Korean, Spanish and Tagalog, along with new widgets
(small, online applications that can be
embedded into Web pages or social media sites) in
English and Spanish.
Outreach and
Engagement with Local Governments
Today, USCIS
announced new partnerships with Houston
and Seattle
and renewed partnerships with Chicago
and the Metropolitan
Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. With these
announcements, USCIS now has a total of eight municipal
partners. Through these partnerships, USCIS provides information and
resources to help facilitate outreach and engagement, training and technical
assistance, and citizenship education.
USCIS is also
committed to supporting the White House’s Building
Welcoming Communities Campaign. Welcoming communities are cities, counties
or towns that strive to bring immigrants, refugees and native-born residents
together to create a positive environment for all residents.
A key
recommendation of the Task Force on New Americans’ action
plan was to launch a campaign to support existing integration efforts, and
encourage additional communities to develop and implement integration strategies
tailored to their needs. USCIS’ first step in responding to this recommendation
will be to provide guidance on citizenship education, citizenship outreach and
avoiding immigration services scams.
