USCIS Celebrates Its Employees During Public Service Recognition Week

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is honoring its dedicated workforce during Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) 2024. Celebrated annually during the first full week in May since 1985, PSRW is a time set aside to honor those who serve our nation as federal, state, county, and local government employees.   

"The people of USCIS work tirelessly each and every day to uphold America's promise as a nation of welcome and possibility," said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. "Their dedicated service makes the possibility of America a reality for not only immigrants and newcomers themselves, but also the communities and economies they join and our nation as a whole." 

In January, USCIS released end of fiscal year 2023 data that illustrate the agency's progress in meeting its strategic priorities to reduce backlogs, improve customer experience, address humanitarian needs, and strengthen employment-based immigration. 

This year's USCIS theme for PSRW is "It Takes All Of USCIS" and will be celebrated by highlighting the importance of public service through internal and external messaging and activities. Employees will be encouraged to use Microsoft Teams backgrounds, virtual "Thank You Cards," a "Recognize Someone at USCIS" blog, and upload group photos to the internal PSRW photo library. On May 7, USCIS will host its annual Director's Awards ceremony to recognize the extraordinary achievements of the USCIS workforce.  

Throughout the nation and the world, public servants use this occasion to educate others about the work they do and why they have chosen public service careers, as well as the many ways government services make life better for all of us. 

Since opening its doors for the first time on March 3, 2003, following the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS has grown from approximately 9,000 employees to more than 21,000 employees in more than 200 offices around the country and the world today—the highest staffing levels in the 21-year history of the agency. USCIS encourages the public to learn more about the agency's mission, its role in the nation's lawful immigration process, and how the USCIS workforce changes lives each day.