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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released promotional materials and started a media campaign with an intention to raise awareness and educate immigrants to take necessary steps and become the US citizens. The media campaign is being unveiled under one umbrella of the Task Force on New Americans and President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
Being a part of the Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative, the program is intended to elevate awareness regarding the rights, responsibilities and importance of US citizenship. Through the program, information will be provided on the naturalization process and USCIS educational resources.
Lawful permanent residents will be guided towards the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center for accurate, trustworthy and official information on topics such as naturalization and citizenship.
As a part of the media campaign, print advertisements in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese; radio public service announcements in Spanish and Chinese; digital advertisements in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese; and video public service announcements in English and Spanish will be released. From 1 July 2015 till 15 August 2015, online digital advertisements will run. In September, additional print and digital media spots will be released as a part of second phase.
USCIS Director, Leon Rodriguez, said, “USCIS is proud to expand its efforts to assist those eligible for citizenship – the highest privilege of our nation's immigration system – to take the necessary steps to complete their journey,”
“Through this initiative, USCIS continues to emphasize the importance of citizenship to both individuals and the nation while providing free preparation tools for aspiring citizens,” he added.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics estimates that 8.8 million lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for US citizenship and an average time of seven years is spent by a lawful permanent resident prior to becoming a US citizen.
In case green card holders, who meet all eligibility requirements, are married to a US citizen, they may apply for citizenship after five years, or three years.
According to a USCIS release, Immigrant-serving organizations are encouraged to support the program by sharing print and digital campaign materials and placing a USCIS banner or widget on their website. They are encouraged to register for a free copy of the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit and use the material in citizenship or English language programs.
The immigrant serving organizations may place the print advertisement posters of the media campaign in the classrooms, office waiting areas, community centers and other noticeable areas. They may support the program by requesting to download and use the available PSAs for a period of one year life of the program, without any charge. Additionally they may add the organization’s English language and/or citizenship education programs to America’s Literacy Directory at www.literacydirectory.org.
-Sumana
