The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Wednesday the opening of the application period for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program. This program aims to provide financial support to organizations working in the immigration field by offering citizenship preparation services to immigrants.
The program, which has been in place for 16 years, focuses on civic instruction and naturalization application services. It offers grants of up to $10 million to help legal immigrants prepare for naturalization and promote civic integration by strengthening their knowledge of English, U.S. history and civic education, according to a USCIS release.
According to Ur M. Jaddou, Director of USCIS, “the announcement of the application period for the Citizenship and Integration Grants program is always an exciting time for USCIS.” Mr. Jaddou emphasized the importance of this program, which enables organizations to help legal immigrants obtain citizenship.
Outreach efforts this year are designed to ensure that eligible organizations, particularly those serving remote, underserved or isolated communities, are aware of USCIS funding opportunities, with grant funds targeted to historically underserved communities, USICS informed.
Under the program, USCIS plans to award grants to up to 40 organizations, with each organization receiving up to $300,000 over a two-year period, to improve the availability of high-quality citizenship and integration services.
Eligible recipients are public or non-profit organizations that provide citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to lawful permanent residents. The deadline for applications is June 21, USCIS said.
Since its inception in 2009, the USCIS Citizenship and Integration Grants program has disbursed $155 million for 644 grants awarded to immigrant-serving organizations, USCIS recalled.
These grantees collectively provided citizenship preparation services to more than 300,000 immigrants in 41 states and the District of Columbia (DC).
Having already received Congressional approval, USCIS plans to announce grantees in September 2024 as part of the 2024 fiscal year, allowing communities to benefit from this funding opportunity.
Interested organizations can apply for this funding opportunity by visiting www.grants.gov. USCIS encourages applicants to familiarize themselves with the registration process at www.grants.gov before the application deadline to ensure a smooth application process, wrote the USCIS in its press release.