USCIS Announces "Citizenship Corners" for L.A. Libraries

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Wednesday, September 19, 2012, a new initiative to provide the Los Angeles Public Library's 73 locations with citizenship resources and training for library staff. This initiative further expands upon the agency and city’s partnership announced in January 2010 to strengthen and enhance local immigrant integration efforts. 

“Today we take a further step to expand citizenship resources for immigrants in Los Angeles by providing information about the naturalization process in libraries,” said Mayorkas. “We are proud to yet again partner with Mayor Villaraigosa and the City of Los Angeles on this important initiative and to support immigrants on their journey to become American citizens.”

 Some highlights of this new initiative include:

               Training for library personnel on the naturalization process and available USCIS resources;

               Designating space in each library as ‘citizenship corners,’ which will contain citizenship material and resources;

               Offering a list of non-profit groups providing naturalization assistance in the local community; and

               Providing access to library community rooms for citizenship and English language classes.

As the second largest city in the country, Los Angeles is home to immigrants from more than 140 countries who speak 224 languages. The State of California is home to nearly 3.4 million permanent residents, 2.5 million of whom are estimated to be eligible to apply for naturalization. 

“This joint initiative expands our efforts to educate the city’s immigrant community about citizenship and establishes our libraries as local citizenship information centers,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “We are excited about the opportunity to support the many immigrants and their families that hope to one day achieve their goal of U.S. citizenship.”

USCIS and the City of Los Angeles first established a partnership when they signed a Letter of Agreement for a two-year pilot project. Originally scheduled to conclude in January 2012, the two parties renewed the agreement for an additional year in April 2012.

USCIS Pairs with Smithsonian Museum to Create Citizenship Preparation Tool

On May 25, 2012 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History launched "Preparing for the Oath: U.S. History and Civics for Citizenship," a Web-based learning tool designed to help immigrants prepare for the civics portion of the naturalization test. This interactive resource features videos and multimedia activities that showcase artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution’s collections and exhibitions.

“Preparing for the Oath is an invaluable addition to the citizenship preparation materials we offer to aspiring citizens,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “Using the Smithsonian Institution's extensive collection, this online tool will help individuals learn about the founding principles of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a meaningful way.”

Designed as a self-study tool to prepare for the civics portion of the naturalization test, Preparing for the Oath is based on the 100 civics questions and answers from which USCIS draws when administering the test. Preparing for the Oath is organized into themes related to U.S. history, government and civics, with a short video and self-test on the content of each civics question. Many questions prompt users to explore an artifact from the Smithsonian collection; others have accompanying interactive learning activities. A section for teachers provides materials and strategies to use Preparing for the Oathin a classroom setting.

Preparing for the Oath was launched during a special naturalization ceremony on May 25, at the National Museum of American History, featuring keynote remarks from former Secretary of State Dr. Madeleine K. Albright. USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas administered the Oath of Allegiance to 12 new citizens from 12 countries, including three members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

“The naturalization ceremony and release of Preparing for the Oath highlight the strong partnership between USCIS and the Smithsonian. During the past four years, the two entities have worked together to provide immigrants, adult educators and the public with a better understanding of American history and the naturalization process,” said Marc Pachter, interim director of the museum.

The National Museum of American History collects, preserves and displays American heritage in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history.