{"id":5058836,"date":"2023-04-04T21:58:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T21:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/malatinonews.com\/?p=5058836"},"modified":"2023-04-04T21:58:07","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T21:58:07","slug":"2023-citizenship-day-assists-hundreds-of-bostonians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/2023\/04\/04\/2023-citizenship-day-assists-hundreds-of-bostonians\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Citizenship Day Assists Hundreds of Bostonians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>MA Latino News covers the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nhlatinonews.com\/latino-news-network-pivots-focus-to-social-determinants-of-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social determinants of health<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nhlatinonews.com\/5058656-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">democracy<\/a>. U.S. Citizenship supports individuals ability and right to participate in official elections.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BOSTON\u2014Hundreds of residents shuffled in and out of the Reggie Lewis Center Saturday for free legal advice and assistance with their U.S. citizenship applications on the ninth annual Boston \u201cCitizenship Day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Mayor&#8217;s Office for Immigrant Advancement (MOIA) and Project Citizenship hosted the in-person workshop on April 1. Mayor Michelle Wu made a brief appearance to show her support and thank everyone involved in the collaborative event.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I&#8217;m feeling really emotional being here actually. I\u2019m the daughter of two naturalized citizens and it took them years and years to get through that process,\u201d Mayor Wu shared at the event. \u201cI&#8217;m really excited that we are lowering those barriers for so many here today. We are going to continue to find ways to do that all throughout the year as well.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wonderful Citizenship Day led by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOSImmigrants?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@BOSImmigrants<\/a> helping provide free legal assistance to neighbors &amp; community members working on their citizenship application\u2014ensuring we\u2019re doing all we can to support clear pathways to citizenship. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RPsmREcmyx\">pic.twitter.com\/RPsmREcmyx<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Mayor Michelle Wu \u5433\u5f2d (@MayorWu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MayorWu\/status\/1642584006221856768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 2, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.gov\/departments\/immigrant-advancement\/immigrant-demographics#boston-demographics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>About 29% of Boston\u2019s total population is foreign-born<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.gov\/news\/city-boston-hosts-citizenship-day-april-1-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>with around <\/strong><strong>30,000 Boston residents eligible for U.S. citizenship<\/strong><\/a>. According to MOIA, 28% of foreign-born immigrants identify as Hispanic\/Latino, 27% as Black\/African American, and 26% as Asian\/Pacific Islander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since its beginning in 2014, \u201cCitizenship Day\u201d\u2014organized by the City of Boston and Project Citizenship\u2014has helped almost 3,000 applicants begin their paths toward U.S. citizenship.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecoming a U.S. citizen is an important milestone for many immigrants, but it can be a complicated and expensive process,\u201d commented Mayor Wu.<strong> \u201c<\/strong>Citizenship Day helps eliminate one of those barriers.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The process of becoming a U.S. citizen can cost thousands of dollars in legal fees. Assistance from a lawyer can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upcounsel.com\/immigration-attorney-fees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">range from $500 to $2,500<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hundreds of volunteers\u2014including lawyers, pro bono attorneys, law students, and community members\u2014come together each year to help set up the extensive workshop or personally guide Boston residents through the 20-page citizenship application for free.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although there are still application fees, low-income residents may qualify for a fee waiver through U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)\u2014learn more at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/i-912\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.uscis.gov\/i-912<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onepercentforamerica.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One Percent for America<\/a>, a Boston nonprofit, also offered access to 1% interest loans to assist with fees such as the $725 charge for processing an application.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCitizenship allows people to participate in our democracy and be civically engaged,\u201d said Executive Director Mitra Shavarini of Project Citizenship. \u201cBy providing free legal help, we make sure citizenship isn\u2019t just for people who can afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/DSC_4285-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5058856\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by Gerald Hewes, Project Citizenship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Boston-based nonprofit, Project Citizenship, looks to provide free workshops, eligibility screening, application assistance, legal referrals, and other support year-round to residents applying for U.S. citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn average, we have served applicants from over 50 countries in a single day event and we have completed over 1,200 fee waivers, providing financial support for low-income applicants, during these workshops,\u201d reads the <a href=\"https:\/\/projectcitizenship.org\/citizenship-month\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Project Citizenship website<\/a>. \u201cThis annual event promotes the importance of citizenship for the health and vitality of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn more about Citizenship Day at <a href=\"https:\/\/projectcitizenship.org\/citizenship-month\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Project Citizenship\u2019s website<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.gov\/departments\/immigrant-advancement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MOIA\u2019s official page.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thank you to everyone who participated in Citizenship Day 2023! With the help of almost 300 volunteers, today we helped over 400 people fill out their citizenship application for free! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8UD6H7hqvQ\">pic.twitter.com\/8UD6H7hqvQ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Immigrant Advancement &#8211; Boston (@BOSImmigrants) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOSImmigrants\/status\/1642288431140052995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 1, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MA Latino News covers the&nbsp;social determinants of health&nbsp;and&nbsp;democracy. U.S. Citizenship supports individuals ability and right to participate in official elections. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5058858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Latino News covers the&nbsp;social determinants of health&nbsp;and&nbsp;democracy. U.S. Citizenship supports individuals ability and right to participate in official elections. 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