US urges Green Card holders to become citizens
May 27th, 2011 - 12:27 pm ICT by IANSLos Angeles, May 27 (IANS/EFE) US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a campaign emphasising the benefits of being a US citizen with the goal of convincing more than seven million Green Card holders to become naturalised.
“It’s very important for people who are already permanent residents to consider citizenship for all the benefits that that will bring them,” Mariana Gitomer, the USCIS spokesperson in Los Angeles, told EFE.
The Citizen Public Education and Awareness Initiative will include radio and television advertisements, written press and Internet dissemination nationwide.
The messages will be broadcast in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and English with special emphasis on the cities of Los Angeles and New York, and also on the states of Florida and Texas, where there are high numbers of permanent residents.
The first sentence of the message in Spanish, which will be spoken by an Hispanic woman, states: “I was born in Mexico and being an American citizen makes me proud.”
“The campaign will last for three years and the funds, which amount to $11 million, are coming from an allocation made by the federal Congress in Fiscal Year 2010,” Gitomer said.
“We’re going to channel part of those funds to community organisations that help immigrants so they can help us to educate and convince people to become citizens,” she added.
The USCIS spokesperson said that, according to the government’s database, there are about 12.5 million permanent residents in the US, of whom 7.9 million are already eligible to get US citizenship, the majority of them being Hispanics.
In California alone, there are approximately three million people who obtained Green Cards more than five years ago.
“There are many reasons why people don’t become citizens, some people don’t know the benefits and feel that if they already have a residence card they can work, they can travel, then they feel they don’t need citizenship,” said Gitomer.
“But citizenship gives them the benefit of voting, obtaining a US passport to travel without restrictions, obtain better jobs,” she said, citing studies that show that people who become citizens began to earn more money.
–IANS/EFE
rd
- Videogame sparks controversy - Feb 09, 2011
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seeks public comment on new immigration fees proposal - Jun 09, 2010
- Canada busts single biggest immigration racket - Jan 07, 2011
- Indians among top three among new US green card holders - Apr 01, 2011
- Mexican gangs using kids to smuggle drugs to US - Jan 09, 2012
- 1,800 Canadians to lose citizenship - Jul 21, 2011
- More people leaving than immigrating to Spain - Nov 28, 2011
- Angelina Jolie to be part of Almodovar's film - Jan 16, 2012
- Over 500,000 seek Spanish citizenship - Apr 02, 2012
- Pulitzer Prize winner admits to being illegal immigrant - Jun 23, 2011
- Venezuelan composer doesn't like vulgarity in music - Nov 24, 2011
- Spanish singer to perform at laundromats - Oct 18, 2011
- Lawmaker arrested in immigration protest at White House - Jul 28, 2011
- Penelope Cruz sings praises of motherhood - May 12, 2011
- Hollywood stars Hayek, Banderas shatter stereotypes - Oct 28, 2011
Tags: 5 million, american citizen, citizenship and immigration, citizenship and immigration services, citizenship and immigration services uscis, community organisations, federal congress, fiscal year, green card, green cards, hispanic woman, hispanics in california, immigrants, internet dissemination, more than five years, permanent residents, public education, spokesperson, television advertisements, vietnamese