Nearly $10 Million Will Expand Citizenship Preparation Services in 25 States
Introduction
On Sept. 20, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the award of $10 million in grants to 40 organizations that prepare lawful permanent residents (LPRs) for naturalization. The grants also aim to promote prospective citizens' integration into American civic life by funding educational programs designed to increase their knowledge of English, U.S. history and civics. Located in 25 states, these organizations will receive federal funding to support citizenship preparation services for LPRs through September 2023.
Background
Since it began in 2009, the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has awarded more than $112 million through 513 competitive grants to immigrant-serving organizations in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Now in its 13th year, the program has helped more than 290,500 LPRs prepare for citizenship.
USCIS anticipates that approximately 25,000 LPRs will receive citizenship preparation services by Sept. 30, 2023, as a result of the fiscal year (FY) 2021 awards issued through the grant program. An additional 12,500 LPRs will be served by the ongoing FY 2020 program, which continues through Sept. 30, 2022.
USCIS awarded the grants through two funding opportunities, both of which support organizations that provide citizenship instruction and naturalization application assistance to LPRs. Through grant funding, USCIS seeks to expand high-quality citizenship preparation programs to help LPRs integrate into American society and become successful U.S. citizens, ready to embrace and fulfill their responsibilities
In making final award decisions, USCIS took into account various program and organizational factors, including past grantee performance.
Organizations that receive awards under this program can only use grant funds to provide services to immigrants who have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence.
Grant Recipient Organizations
Under the Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services (DHS-21-CIS-010-002 (PDF, 642.51 KB)) and the Refugee and Asylee Integration Services (DHS-21-CIS-010-003 (PDF, 645.89 KB)) funding opportunities, grant recipients are public or private nonprofit organizations with recent experience providing citizenship instruction and naturalization application assistance to LPRs. These organizations include community and faith-based groups, public libraries and adult education and literacy organizations.
FY 2021 recipient organizations serve both traditional immigrant population centers and emerging immigrant population centers in 25 states. Grant recipients will provide citizenship preparation services to approximately 25,000 LPRs originally from more than 50 countries. Grant recipients represent:
- Eight out of the top 10 states with the greatest increase in their LPR population between FY 2017 and 2019, including California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; and
- Eight out of the top 10 states with the most naturalizations between FY 2016 and 2018, including California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington.
- Eight out of the top 10 metropolitan areas with the most naturalizations between FY 2017 and 2019, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.
FY 2021 Grant Recipients
Grant recipients (in alphabetical order):
Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services
| Organization | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1199SEIU League Training and Upgrading Fund | New York, NY | $250,000 |
| Access California Services | Anaheim, CA | $250,000 |
| Asian Counseling and Referral Service | Seattle, WA | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans | New Orleans, LA | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio | San Antonio, TX | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, Inc. | Overland Park, KS | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa | Santa Rosa, CA | $250,000 |
| Center for Pan Asian Community Services | Atlanta, GA | $250,000 |
| Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) | Los Angeles, CA | $250,000 |
| Community Refugee and Immigration Services, Inc. | Columbus, OH | $250,000 |
| Emerald Isle Immigration Center | Woodside, NY | $250,000 |
| End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin | Madison, WI | $250,000 |
| English Skills Learning Center | Salt Lake City, UT | $235,661 |
| Fresno Unified School District | Fresno, CA | $250,000 |
| Hartford Public Library | Hartford, CT | $250,000 |
| HIAS and Council Migration Services | Philadelpia, PA | $250,000 |
| HopeWorks | Memphis, TN | $250,000 |
| Instituto del Progreso Latino | Chicago, IL | $250,000 |
| Interfaith Works of Central New York, Inc. | Syracuse, NY | $249,987 |
| International Institute of Metropolitan Saint Louis | Saint Louis, MO | $250,000 |
| International Institute of Minnesota | Saint Paul, MN | $246,507 |
| International Rescue Committee | Baltimore, MD | $250,000 |
| International Rescue Committee, Inc., SeaTac | Seattle, WA | $250,000 |
| International Rescue Committee, San Diego | San Diego, CA | $250,000 |
| Jewish Family & Vocational Service of Middlesex | Milltown, NJ | $250,000 |
| Jewish Family Services of Western MA | Springfield, MA | $250,000 |
| Kentucky Refugee Ministries | Louisville, KY | $250,000 |
| Laredo College | Laredo, TX | $250,000 |
| Learning Empowered | Largo, FL | $249,448 |
| Lutheran Community Services Northwest | Portland, OR | $250,000 |
| Lutheran Social Services of Colorado | Denver, CO | $219,321 |
| Mid‐Minnesota Legal Assistance | Minneapolis, MN | $250,000 |
| Montgomery College | Rockville, MD | $250,000 |
| Pars Equality Center | Sherman Oaks, CA | $250,000 |
| Progreso Latino | Central Falls, RI | $250,000 |
| School Board of Miami-Dade | Miami, FL | $250,000 |
| Shorefront YM-YWHA | Brooklyn, NY | $250,000 |
| Women for Afghan Women, Inc. | Fresh Meadows, NY | $250,000 |
| YMCA of the Greater Houston Area | Houston, TX | $250,000 |
Refugee and Asylee Integration Services
| Organization | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic Charities of Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN | $299,076 |
Review Process
As part of the grant review process, USCIS reviewed more than 95 eligible applications using two-member teams to evaluate each proposal. The reviewers scored applications numerically using published evaluation criteria. USCIS ranked the applications under each funding opportunity based on their average scores. The USCIS internal review panel determined the final list of recipients based on the ranked order, as well as the published strategic program priorities found on page 18 of the notice of funding opportunity for DHS-21-CIS-010-002 (PDF, 642.51 KB) and on pages 21-22 of the notice of funding opportunity for DHS-21-CIS-010-003 (PDF, 645.89 KB).
Contact Information
For additional information on the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, please contact the USCIS Office of Citizenship at citizenshipgrantprogram@uscis.dhs.gov or visit uscis.gov/grants.
To learn more about applying for federal funding opportunities, visit grants.gov or call 800-518-4726.
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