As we embark on a new and exciting year, the New Americans Campaign is taking a look back on everything accomplished in 2014.
These are the top ten highlights of the year for the New Americans Campaign:
1. 146,000 Citizenship Applications Completed
Since July of 2011, the NAC has helped LPRs complete 146,000 citizenship applications.
2. $118 Million Saved
Aspiring citizens and their families saved over $118 million in legal and application fees since July 2011.
3. 6 Ethnic Media Roundtables
In partnership with New America Media, NAC hosted Ethnic Media Roundtables in San Jose, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, New York, and Dallas. These roundtables brought together LPRs, media contacts, and NAC partners to raise awareness of the importance of becoming a citizen and to promote upcoming citizenship workshops at NAC sites.
4. Helped LPRs in the Face of the N400 Change
In May the N400 form, the official application form for citizenship, doubled in length. The NAC promoted its citizenship workshops in the face of this change and legal service providers were there to help process naturalization applications and assist LPRs in applying for fee waivers.
Learn more here:
Citizenship? Only Twice as Many Forms Await
New Americans Campaign Prepares for the Changes to the N-400
New Americans Campaign to Counteract Tougher Path to Citizenship
New US Citizenship Application Form Criticized as Tedious
5. Improved Efficiency
In 2014, NAC sites began drafting Efficiency Improvement Plans, setting goals to increase their local and regional capabilities. Some goals include expanding the use of the volunteers at citizenship workshops, optimizing service delivery, and increasing community outreach.
6. Celebrated Citizenship Day
NAC participated in Citizenship Day 2014 throughout the entire month of September and shared stories about immigrants through the series “Great Immigrants – I’m Becoming a Citizen Because…”
7. Celebrated Immigrant Heritage Month
NAC partnered with Welcome.us to promote the first annual Immigrant Heritage Month in June. NAC partners hosted several dozen citizenship workshops as part of the month-long celebrations.
8. Twitter Party
On April 8th, the New Americans Campaign, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and Univisión Contigo hosted a special Twitter citizenship celebration to highlight the importance of becoming #newamericans.
9. Welcomed New Sites to the NAC
The NAC grew to 17 sites with 100 partner organizations.
10. Came together in May for a mega-workshop in New York
Local and national NAC partners came to NYC in May to hold a joint workshop that served over 400 aspiring citizens.
The NAC looks forward to continuing its support of the millions of aspiring new Americans in 2015!