Applications are now being accepted for a pair of funding opportunities under the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program, run by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. These competitive grant opportunities are aimed at organizations that help permanent lawful residents to prepare for naturalization and to promote civic assimilation via an increased understanding of the English language, civics, and American history.
The two programs will offer grants worth up to $10 million for programs that prepare people to gain US citizenship in communities across the nation. Applications for the grants will close on 6 August. The US Citizenship and Immigration Service is looking to increase the number of quality US citizenship preparation services available throughout the US with these new opportunities.
The opportunity offered for services relating to naturalization applications and citizenship instructions will provide funding for up to 36 different organizations providing lawful permanent residents with such services. A grant opportunity will also be available to organizations that only provide citizenship instruction. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expecting to award the money to as many as ten non-profit organizations and wants to expand the existing number of programs for citizenship instruction, especially those offered by organizations in smaller communities that have not received government grants before.
USCIS is expected to announce the 46 award recipients in September. Around $63 million in grant money has been given to such organizations since 2009.