Becoming a U.S. citizen can be an overwhelming, expensive and time-consuming task. Only 600,000 of the 1.5 million immigrants in Illinois are currently U.S. citizens, but an event Saturday at Evanston Township High School aimed to increase that tally.
The Citizenship Rally, run by members of the New Americans Initiative, Heartland Alliance and The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is one example of different organizations working together to assist immigrants in Illinois.
“There are thousands of legal permanent residents in this area,” said Anna Nakashima, director of the adult continuing education program at ETHS. She said her department provides citizenship applications for residents but hosting the rally made things more convenient for applicants.
In order to be eligible for U.S. citizenship you must:
- Be a legal permanent resident for at least 5 years or 3 years if married to and living with a current U.S. citizen.
- Be in the U.S. for at least 30 months out of the last 5 years or 18 months out of the last 3 years if married to and living with a current U.S. citizen
- Live in a state or district for at least 3 months before start of application process
The ETHS Citizenship Rally allowed an applicant to complete the first, and one of the more time-consuming, parts of the citizenship application process. Applicants had to show competence in English before moving on to the registration table where workers and volunteers made sure that the applicant met all the requirements and had the necessary documents as well as the $400 application fee.
About four months after submitting the application at the rally, applicants will have to pass an interview and test before they become citizens.
Between 10 and 15 people were turned away from the registration tables for various reasons, said Bogdan Gaszak, outreach coordinator for the New American Initiative.
After registration, volunteers sat with applicants, helping them fill out the extensive forms that asked questions ranging from “Have you ever served in the U.S. Armed Forces?” to “Have you ever been a habitual drunkard?”
“It’s daunting,” said Katherine Best, one of the volunteer application assistants. “I don’t think there are a lot of Americans that can fill this out.”
The rally at ETHS was one of the smaller ones, Gaszak said, with about 20 applicants completing the process during the three hours of the rally. He said that some of the larger rallies draw hundreds of applicants. Saturday was the first time ETHS had hosted such a rally.
But even though the turnout was smaller, those that came were grateful for the opportunity for free assistance with an important process.
Donna Smart, an immigrant from Jamaica, said she was tired of difficulties arising because her husband and children are citizens but she is not.
“It’s a hassle to go out of the country,” Smart said. “I couldn’t stand in the same line as my husband and kids.”
This was her second attempt at attaining U.S. citizenship. Smart, a U.S. resident since 1972, said that not knowing the answers to written and interview questions had prevented her from becoming a U.S. citizen on her first try. But she wanted to try again. For Smart, the Citizenship Rally was a welcome convenience.
“It went very smoothly,” Smart said. “When people find out you’re from a foreign country, they treat you differently sometimes. But everyone here was very friendly.”
Jon Brooke, an immigrant from the United Kingdom and U.S. resident for more than 10 years, said he thought the rally was great support.
“I’m really glad they did this,” Brooke said. “It seems like a daunting procedure to apply for citizenship and they ask some pretty crazy stuff, but everyone was very helpful.”
Reach Anna Prior at [email protected].
