FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 9, 2019
MEDIA ADVISORY: Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington Partners
with the American Immigration Lawyers Association to Host Citizenship Day
Application Workshop
Assists Eligible
Green Card Holders in Achieving the Dream of U.S. Citizenship
ARLINGTON, VA – On Friday, September 13, Catholic
Charities of the Diocese of Arlington is partnering with the American
Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on its annual Citizenship Day Workshop.
The workshop is one of 10 AILA is offering in Virginia, Maryland and Washington
D.C. in the lead up to national Citizenship Day and Constitution Day on
Tuesday, September 17[SJ1] .
Catholic Charities’ annual partnership with AILA
adds to the approximately 8-10 workshops that Catholic Charities [SJ2] hosts each year, [SJ3] in conjunction with the New Americans Campaign, helping an average of 250
individuals[SJ4] [AR5] [AR6] .
Each 2019 Citizenship Day workshop provides
practical assistance to those who wish to become U.S. citizens, including consultation,
application preparation and postage. The Friday workshop is $110 per person. A
list of all the documents applicants must bring is here. Individuals may call Catholic Charities at 703-534-9805,
ext. 252, to pre-register as an applicant, to become a volunteer, or for more
information.
WHO: Catholic
Charities of the Diocese of Arlington,
the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and
qualified
applicants for U.S. citizenship.
WHEN: Friday, September 13, 2019
10 a.m.-12 p.m.[SJ7]
(Applicants checked in prior
to 12 p.m. will be processed.)
WHERE: Catholic
Charities of the Diocese of Arlington
Hogar [SJ8] Immigrant Services
6301 Little River Turnpike
Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22312
General naturalization eligibility, as prescribed by
the Immigration and Naturalization Act, includes:
- Being at least 18 years old;
- Having been a lawful permanent resident, commonly
referred to as a “green card holder,” for five years, or three years if married
to a U.S. citizen;
- Being physically present in the U.S. for at least
half of the last five years[SJ9] [AR10] ;
- Living as a resident of the state in which the application
is being filled out for a least three months;
- Having the ability to speak, read and write in
English;
- Being able to pass a U.S. history and civics exam; and
- Having “good moral character” – applicants who have been
convicted of certain crimes, have not paid their taxes, have not financially
supported their children[SJ11] , have presented false information
on any previous immigration applications or misrepresented themselves to any
government agency, or have failed to register for the Selective Service when
required, among other things, may not meet this requirement and so may not be eligible
for naturalization.
For additional information, contact Amber Roseboom,
Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.
# # #
Catholic
Charities of the Diocese of Arlington serves the poor and vulnerable who live
within the 21 counties and seven cities of the Diocese of Arlington, which is
led by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. Catholic Charities provides food for
the hungry, a free medical clinic for adults including prenatal care, adoption
services, transformational housing for the homeless, mental health counseling,
emergency financial assistance, prison ministry, workforce development, and
immigration and refugee services. Catholic Charities serves all, regardless of
faith. www.ccda.net.
[SJ1]Not
sure if you want to include a link here to AILA DC’s flyer with info for all of
the 10 workshops? Read-only versions of
the flyers in various languages including English are available here - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U6xNqvarNtAk4KTh1xHn6tH6C-Cgn0io.
[SJ2]Might
want to specify “of the Diocese of Arlington” here to avoid confusion?
[SJ3]I’d
add maybe here or somewhere in this part that our regular workshops are also
supported by the New Americans Campaign (NAC) – they help fund us, and we’re
supposed to mention that we are NAC members whenever we talk about our
naturalization work (their logos are on our flyers too). More information at https://www.newamericanscampaign.org/.
[SJ4]For
naturalization, this just means their applications are approved/they become US
citizens, so this can probably be simplified!
[AR5]I
pulled this language from the document?
[AR6]
[SJ7]The
workshop will run longer than this, we just only let new applicants come in
between 10 and 12 (not sure if you need to clarify that or not)
[SJ8]“Hogar”
is not an acronym, it means “home” in Spanish
[SJ9]It’s
in the aggregate, not necessarily 2.5 years straight, so I think just saying
half is a little less potentially misleading
[AR10]I
got this directly from the document?
[SJ11] [SJ11](this
is really required whether or not there is a formal court order specifying
“child support”)