New Citizen Campaign
Click below to jump to each section:
2017 Citizenship Clinics and Citizenship Information
About the New Citizen Campaign (NCC)
About the New Citizen Program (NCP)
To Volunteer for a Citizenship Event
Naturalize NOW
The City of Seattle is joining the Cities for Citizenship national campaign Naturalize NOW to help lawful permanent residents all over the U.S. become citizens! The goal of this naturalization surge is to mobilize one million immigrants for citizenship in 2017. We believe Seattle can contribute to this goal because 971,242 people applied for citizenship in 2016, a dramatic increase since 2012, and we already have monthly citizenship clinics scheduled for the rest of 2017 (see below). Expect to see more about Naturalize Now from us as this year continues!
2017 Citizenship Clinics
A team of volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and interpreters will help you with your N-400 citizenship application. It's FREE for all eligible legal permanent residents (green card holders). Similar to the larger-scale Citizenship Workshops, Citizenship Clinics are smaller in scale, with attendee goals of 30-50 people legal permanent residents.
For more information, you can also call our hotline at (206) 386-9090.
Please go here to volunteer for one of the events below.
What to Bring to a Citizenship Clinic
Citizenship Application Eligibility
- Be at least 18 years old by the date you file.
- Have been a lawful permanent resident for at least the last 5 years (or 3 years, if married to a U.S. citizen).
- Have been present in the U.S. for 2.5 of the past 5 years (or 1.5 of the past 3, if married to a U.S. citizen) and have not been outside the U.S. for 1 year or more within the last 5 years (or 3 years, if married to a U.S. citizen).
Why You Should Become a U.S. Citizen
I. U.S. citizenship provides several unique rights and benefits:
- Right to vote.
- A U.S. passport.
- Serve on a jury.
- Become an elected official.
- Become eligible for federal jobs.
- Increased access to public benefits, employment, and educational opportunities.
- Full protection under the United States Constitution.
- Live outside the United States and take long trips outside the United States.
- U.S. citizenship for children under 18.
- You cannot be deported.
- U.S. comes to your aid if traveling overseas.
- You have priority if you want to help family members immigrate to the U.S.
- You may benefit from dual citizenship.
- Naturalized citizens tend to make more than 11% more than legal permanent residents. (Source: dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/731/docs/citizen_gain_web.pdf)
- Increases civic participation.
- Increases English fluency.
- Increases self-worth, asset-building, and sense of belonging.
New Citizen Campaign
The New Citizen Campaign is an effort to help the tens of thousands of Seattle legal permanent residents (LPRs) become U.S. citizens. This campaign utilizes outreach and education, citizenship curriculum and legal assistance, and engagement with local and national partners to achieve our goal of naturalizing the over 75,000 LPRs living in the Seattle/King County area.
Because of our 2016 and 2017 citizenship workshops, the campaign is well on its way of achieving our goals. We anticipate a 63% increase in the number of eligible residents served to become naturalized citizens. In 2017, we expect a 125% increase.
New Citizen Campaign Action Items
- Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union partnership has developed a citizenship loan product to reduce financial barriers and increase access to banking services. You can find out more about this loan here.
- USCIS partnership to promote citizenship and make resources easily available.
- Broad public awareness campaign utilizing ethnic media and social media in multiple languages to highlight the benefits of citizenship.
- New Citizen Campaign web portal will act as a clearinghouse for information and resources relevant to Seattle residents.
- Citizenship Clinics and Workshops: group processing events and clinics in immigrant-dense neighborhoods.
- New partnerships with national coalitions, local networks, financial institutions, business, labor, and community-based organizations.
Download a flyer about the New Citizen Campaign. (Right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and save to your computer.)
For more information about the New Citizen Campaign, contact Christina Guros at (206) 684-5705 or christina.guros@seattle.gov.
New Citizen Program
Can't make it to a Citizenship Clinic or Citizenship Workshop event? Consider attending a class or program with a New Citizen Program organization (NCP). NCP is a component of the New Citizen Campaign. Through a consortium of 13 community-based organization partners (see below), NCP provides free naturalization services to immigrants and refugees who are low-income, elderly, illiterate, or have limited English skills living in Seattle/King County. Services include citizenship instruction/tutoring, interview preparation, assistance with submitting applications/waivers, and referrals for legal assistance. In-language services are available in Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Cantonese, Tongan, Samoan, Korean, Amharic, Tigrinya, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Moldavian, Spanish, Burmese, Polish, French, and Arabic.
Since its inception, NCP has served over 17,800 people, provided naturalization assistance to over 11,300 legal permanent residents (LPRs), successfully naturalized 8,900 LPRs, and provided over 82,800 hours of instruction.
These 13 nonprofit organizations are members of the NCP consortium. Located across Seattle/King County, they offer classes that can help you become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Click below to find out more information about English as a second language and citizenship classes near you:
Asian Counseling and Referral Service
Catholic Community Services of Western Washington
Chinese Information and Service Center
Lutheran Community Services Northwest
Multicultural Self-Sufficiency Movement
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Sea Mar Community Health Centers
St. James Immigrant Assistance
Ukrainian Community Center of Washington
Download a flyer about the New Citizen Program. (Right-click, then select, "Save link as..." and save to your computer.)
For more information about the New Citizen Program, contact Meghan Kelly-Stallings at (206) 386-1882 or meghan.kelly-stallings@seattle.gov.
Funding for NCP is provided by the City of Seattle, Seattle Housing Authority, and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
Banner photo credit: Alabastro Photography.