Multilingual Resource Center
Click here to visit US Immigration Multilingual resource site
Your local church can become a place where you provide free immigration assistance to immigrants. The categories of migrants you can assist are:
Asylee/Refugees
Migrants living and working in the USA
Foreign Students studying in our colleges
All refugees and many migrants live and work here on a work visa (EAD). Many migrants also hold a LPR (Legal Permanent Resident status) or a green card. These immigrants desperately want to transition from their green card status to becoming naturalized American citizens. The problem is they do not have the resources to learn and pass the various written and oral tests in order to be naturalized. RISEN provides you the resources and materials to conduct free Immigration English and Civics classes in your local church to help hundreds of migrants in your community!!
Your local church can volunteer to assist the refugee, local migrants or non-immigrant student fill out Immigration forms, take immigration naturalization English / Civics classes and other immigration assistance. We cannot provide visas, or process visa applications. It is vitally important for you to take extra care with reading the immigration requirements before engaging in this service. RISEN can help you bring in migrants living, working and studying in your cities into your churches.
The Immigration English and Civics lessons classes plus the immigrations interview test is easy to provide (show the material).
Your role as a volunteer is to have a basic understanding of the naturalization process so that you may prepare migrant learners for naturalization. Help fill necessary forms (eg: the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization) which is a legal document or direct the migrant to a recognized organization, an accredited representative, or a licensed immigration attorney.
What is Naturalization?
Naturalization is commonly referred to as the manner in which a person not born in the United States voluntarily becomes a U.S. citizen. People not born in the United States who want to become citizens of the United States must go through a legal process to become naturalized citizens.
What is Required for the Naturalization Test?
In order to become a naturalized citizen, a person (unless otherwise exempt) must demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language, and have a knowledge of the basic fundamentals of American history and form of government.
What are the Components of the Naturalization Test?
The refugee or migrant will also take an English and civics test. The English test has three components: reading, writing, and speaking. The Civics test has 100 questions. During the naturalization interview, applicants will be asked up to 10 questions from the list of 100 questions. The civics test is an oral test. The USCIS officer will ask the questions and the applicant must provide a verbal response.
The Naturalization Interview.
Migrants will be interviewed and asked basic questions in English. We have interview practice videos for you to show in your immigrations assistance class. Contact us for these resources.
As a volunteer, you will play a key role in preparing immigrants for the naturalization interview and test. The best way to prepare them is to know what is required of them.
Prepare for the Test: Disseminate reading and writing vocabulary to learners. Develop sentences based on these vocabulary words and have learners practice reading and writing the sentences. Use USCIS lesson plans and educational resources. Make sure learners know the answers to the 100 civics questions. Create a mock test environment for learners (for example, have learners go through security and meet with a USCIS officer). Show learners where to access free USCIS online resources and interactive practice exercises for the civics and English portions of the naturalization interview and test.