You are here: DIME Home > Travel - US > World Relief Helps Refugees to Apply for US Citizenship

World Relief Helps Refugees to Apply for US Citizenship

Many refugees in the United States wish to become US citizens and Rosol Kadhim is one of the refugees who wants to obtain US citizenship. She is an Iraqi woman and she attended the citizenship workshop in Rock Island hosted by World Relief, along with her teacher. She had come there to learn about the US citizenship process. She and her husband attended the citizenship workshop along with the other refugees.

Author: Hazel Ickes
Date: Dec 14, 2012 - 7:09:10 AM

Printer friendly page

Many refugees in the United States wish to become US citizens and Rosol Kadhim is one of the refugees who wants to obtain US citizenship. She is an Iraqi woman and she attended the citizenship workshop in Rock Island hosted by World Relief, along with her teacher. She had come there to learn about the US citizenship process. She and her husband attended the citizenship workshop along with the other refugees.

Susan Sharar, who is retired elementary teacher taught English to a group of refugees and she also taught Kadhim's family. This citizenship workshop was sponsored by a New Americas Initiative grant. Volunteers paired with refugees and immigrants and helped them to complete mock citizenship applications. This workshop helped the refugees to know about the US citizenship process.

World Relief is an agency that helps the refugees in the Quad-Cities, to re-settle. She said that the refugees will be able to go through the real application process easily after attending this workshop. The volunteers read and explained each page of the USCIS citizenship application and they also provided them information about the eligibility requirements. Kadhim has been living in the United States for 4 years and six months, along with her children and her husband. Her daughter who was born in the United States, is now a US citizen.

The program director of World Relief, Ratko Rastovic, said that the refugees who apply for US citizenship will be able to obtain their naturalization certificates within ten months. Apart from filing their applications, they must also appear for citizenship tests and interviews. Only after they get through these tests, they will be granted US citizenship. Rowell said that many refugees need help to go through the US citizenship process.

Rhonda Bowling, one of the volunteers, was helping Than Maung, a native of Burma, to complete his mock citizenship application. Maung said that he did not know English when he entered into the United States. Bowling who was helping Maung, said that he is able to complete his application and fill out the required information and said that the workshop is helping Maung.

Maung said that he cannot go back to Burma now and visit his family as he might be jailed but if he becomes a US citizen, he said that the US government would protect him. Similarly, Kadhim also said that she must become a US citizen to go back to Iraq and visit her family. She also wants to become a US citizen and vote in the elections and work in the United States.

Rowell said that they can conduct similar citizenship workshops at least twice a year. World Relief is also ready to help the refugees to complete their N-400 applications. However, people who need to complete their paperwork must schedule appointments and around 45 refugees had already scheduled appointments to complete their paperwork. Rowell said that the refugees who are still unable to speak English may not be able to apply for US citizenship.

I am Hazel Ickes from California..I am very fond of writing about United States Immigration Policies, rules and procedures..This is my first article regarding the same. Hope you all will like my articles..I need your full support to move on from this..

View all articles by Hazel Ickes

Link to this article:

Follow & Share Your Favorite Video Articles

Tell a Friend About This Site

Tweet about this site

Follow @dimeco

Recommended Associates

Do you write?

Would you like submit your articles and have them approved on a priority status? Find out more about how you can become a Priority author for pennies a day! Click here.