Many legal permanent residents (LPR’s) who are eligible to become New Americans postpone their plans for a variety of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with a lack of a desire to become U.S. Citizens. In fact, a poll of LPR’s found that nine-in-ten (93%) Latino immigrants would naturalize if they could. 

Why don’t they?  A 2012 Pew Hispanic Center survey found that difficulty with the English language and financial hardships were the top reasons why Latino legal residents decide to not pursue U.S. Citizenship.

At NALEO Educational Fund, we aim to eliminate many of the barriers to citizenship by ensuring eligible LPR’s are able to access information and direct assistance with the N-400 naturalization application and fee waiver forms at our citizenship workshops.

We also work to promote the importance of citizenship and highlight the value for the more than 8.7 million eligible legal residents living in the country today. 

Know someone who is thinking of naturalizing? Share these 10 benefits of U.S. citizenship with them!     

1. Right to Vote  U.S. citizens have the civic duty and privilege to participate in democratic elections and vote for their candidate of choice in local, state and federal elections.
2. Sponsor Family Members As a U.S. citizen you can sponsor family members, including parents, children, spouses and siblings, living abroad for their green card.
3. Citizenship for Children In most cases, children under the age of 18 born outside the country can derive U.S. citizenship when their parents naturalize.  
4. Federal and state employment U.S. citizens can seek federal and state employment across a wide range of government departments. Many Federal jobs and benefits are only granted to U.S. citizens.
5. Financial Aid If you are a U.S. citizen and a college student in need of financial support, there are financial grants and college scholarships available for you.
6. Apply for U.S. passport U.S. passports are granted only to U.S. citizens ensuring assistance by U.S. Embassies or Consulates when traveling abroad. 
7. Become an elected official U.S citizens can choose to run and hold positions in public office.
8. Keep Citizenship of Another Country A naturalized citizen can maintain dual citizenship.
9. Participate in a Federal jury U.S. citizens are chosen at random to participate in a federal jury to help determine the guilt or innocence of an accused.
10. Seek government benefits. Only U.S. citizens may qualify for certain government benefits.

Find out if you are eligible for U.S. citizenship by calling our bilingual national hotline 888-839-8682 or visit www.yaeshora.info.