Brian S. Weiss Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

The U.S. government wants eligible immigrants to become naturalized U.S. citizens and they are willing to pay for it. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is running its first ever paid advertising campaign to promote the benefits of  citizenship and to encourage immigrants to become more integrated into American society. The campaign will focus primarily on states with large immigrant populations including California, New York, Florida and Texas, and utilize various forms of media, including print, radio, and digital forums.

These multi-lingual advertisements will be in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese and will direct immigrants to a government website where additional information regarding naturalization may be found. The Service believes the reason that many immigrants don’t apply for citizenship is because they feel it is unnecessary or because they fear they do not speak English well enough to pass the citizenship test. However, the Service also feels that many immigrants do not have enough information on the process to help them prepare adequately for the steps required for U.S. citizenship. For example, many immigrants are probably not aware that the inability to speak English may not be a bar or obstacle for naturalization purposes if an immigrant is of a certain age and has been a lawful permanent resident for a long period of time. Others may not be aware of new dual citizenship interpretations that are more flexible and that should make them more open to citizenship.

This campaign will also try to promote the benefits of citizenship by integrating individual success stories of immigrants who have become U.S. citizens. These success stories will include individuals who have started businesses in the U.S., educated their families here, or ran for public office (although I am highly confident now that the USCIS will not choose Arnold Schwarzenegger to promote the possibility of becoming an elected official). The Service also hopes these stories will alter the belief of many immigrants that the only difference between “green card” status and citizenship is the right to vote.

I think the USCIS is on the right track in promoting the benefits of citizenship to the immigrant community. The naturalization of permanent residents will allow them to become a more vocal and active members of their communities. This will likely benefit them and the American nation as a whole.

This article has been provided courtesy of the NY immigration lawyers at Garganigo, Goldsmith & Weiss, (646) 233-2774, www.ggw.com.