USCIS Travel to Sea to Welcome New Citizens

On October 9, 2010, the Deputy Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bangkok District Office, Stacy Strong, traveled out to sea on board the USS George Washington Navy aircraft carrier to provide immigration training to the crew and to direct a naturalization ceremony for 22 sailors from nine different countries.

Two days before the actual ceremony, Strong and another USCIS officer boarded the ship in order to interview the citizenship candidates and administer the naturalization test. They also conducted immigration training and outreach to the ship’s legal staff and crew. During the officers’ stay, other sailors aboard the aircraft carrier learned that USCIS expedite naturalization applications for members of the military and they began working with the legal staff to start the naturalization process.

For more information on immigration services and benefits for members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/military.

To read the complete article on USCIS’ trip to sea, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4e800d1fd9bab210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

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USCIS Brings Naturalization Ceremony to Troops Stationed Overseas

Since September 2001, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has naturalized more than 63,800 members of the military in ceremonies across the United States and in 21 countries. Last Friday, October 1, 2010, USCIS conducted the first naturalization ceremony to be held at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. In keeping with the commitment to “bring immigration services to the troops wherever they serve,” USCIS officials administered the oath of naturalization to 88 service men and women. Currently, USCIS offers a streamlined naturalization process for permanent residents who are on active duty with the U.S. military. Expedited naturalization processing is also available to the spouses and children of U.S. citizen military members, provided they meet all eligibility requirements and their U.S. Citizen spouse has been deployed abroad for a year or more.

Find more information on citizenship and services available to U.S. military personnel at USCIS’ website:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

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America’s 234th Birthday Celebrated by Welcoming New Citizens

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will commemorate America’s 234th birthday by naturalizing more than 3,800 citizenship candidates in approximately 55 special ceremonies held across the United States and abroad. Nine of these ceremonies are specifically for members of the U.S. armed forces and military spouses. This year’s ceremonies will celebrate the theme, “A Spirit of Independence.”
“Independence Day reminds us all what it means to be an American,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “Today let us celebrate our newest Americans who, in taking the Oath of Allegiance and becoming United States citizens, will truly cherish this right, and will renew our highest aspirations to be the best that we can be as a nation of immigrants.”
This year, USCIS’s weeklong celebration of citizenship is highlighted by various special events, including a ceremony on July 1 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pa., where 25 candidates will take the Oath of Allegiance only steps from the location where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. On July 2, a special ceremony will be held aboard the USS Midway in San Diego, Calif. for approximately 300 military candidates who pledged to protect our nation’s independence even before becoming American citizens.
Special ceremonies will also be held at Ellis Island, N.Y., for approximately 150 candidates; the Seattle Center, Wash., where approximately 500 candidates will participate in Seattle’s 26th Annual Independence Day Naturalization Ceremony; and the John F. Kennedy Space Center near Orlando, Fla. where approximately 100 candidates will become U.S. citizens.
Also during this week’s Independence Day celebrations, more than 500 service members will take the Oath of Allegiance at nine all-military ceremonies, including in Baghdad, Iraq; Seoul, Korea; Frankfurt, Germany; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma

To view a complete list of 2010 Independence Day naturalization ceremonies, please visit www.uscis.gov/news

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