Individuals Get Assistance with Citizenship Applications in Cornelius

Cornelius, Ore. -- Last Saturday, people gathered in Cornelius at the United Methodist Church to get help filling out their applications for United States Citizenship.  The Citizenship Assistance event was organized by Causa in coordination with SOAR Immigration Legal Services-- a branch of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), Immigration Counseling Services (ICS), Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA).

During the event, 31 eligible permanent residents (LPRs) received assistance with their N-400 applications by 27 volunteers from Causa, SOAR Legal Services and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The volunteer group consisted of immigration attorneys, law students, leadership class participants, and general volunteers.

This Saturday, similar events are taking place in California, Washington, Colorado, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Florida, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts with the support of the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA). NPNA represents the eleven largest immigrant rights coalitions and organizations working on immigrant integration in the United States.

“I’m grateful for the enthusiasm, dedication and passion that the group of volunteers showed on Saturday", said Luis Guerra, Citizenship Assistance Coordinator with Causa. “Although the process took some time, the 31 people that came for assistance left with smiles on their faces and were grateful for the help that they received”.

Guerra added, “The organizations involved in this campaign are excited to continue these events around Oregon and are dedicated to streamlining the process to be able to serve more people needing assistance with their N-400 applications.”

The goal of Causa’s Citizenship Program is to assist 125 eligible Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) with legal review of their N-400 application and provide general citizenship outreach to 4,000 eligible LPR's across the State of Oregon. Once an individual becomes a Citizen of the United States, they are eligible to fully participate in the communities they live. They will be able to serve on juries, vote in elections, run for public office, have the ability to be involved in government decisions, and be able to sponsor family members to immigrate to the United States, just to name a few.

The next Citizenship Assistance events in Oregon will take place in NE Portland and Salem on April 28th and June 2nd:

NE Portland
April 28th, 10 AM
St. Matthews Episcopal Church
11229 NE Prescott St.
Portland, Oregon

Salem
June 2nd, 10 AM
First Congregational
United Church of Christ
700 Marion St. NE
Salem, Oregon

For more information about Causa's Citizenship Program, please contact program coordinator Luis Guerra at luis(at)causaoregon.org or at Causa's hotline at: 855-884-2287

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Causa, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Organization, is the largest Latino and Latina civil and human rights and advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit http://www.causaoregon.org/

Resources:
Photos from Cornelius Citizenship Day

Posted in: Citizenship,Legal Permanent Residents,LPRs,N-400 Applications,naturalization