| Photo by Jeff Burak on Unsplash
WASHINGTON—Applications for a new funding opportunity under the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program are now open, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced.
The Citizenship and Integration Training Academy (CITA), a technical assistance grant, will provide up to $2.6 million to public or nonprofit organizations without previous grant funding from USCIS. USCIS will provide financing and rigorous training through this grant opportunity to enable organizations to establish new high-quality citizenship programs.
“The CITA grant provides increased capacity-building and additional citizenship instruction resources for organizations that otherwise may not qualify for a grant,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Through this program, we can help build organizations’ capacity to help immigrants improve their English language skills, increase their knowledge of U.S. history and government, and gain the tools to become successful and responsible U. S. citizens.”
Through the CITA grant, USCIS said it continues to fulfill President Biden’s charge in Executive Order 14012 (Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans) to “eliminate barriers in the naturalization process” and “make it more accessible to all eligible individuals.” USCIS also continues to pursue its goals under the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization to address the needs of remote, isolated, and/or vulnerable populations by equipping more organizations to serve these communities.
USCIS expects to award up to seven organizations with a grant of up to $400,000 for three years. The recipients will be announced in September 2024, and the three-year performance period for this funding opportunity will begin Oct. 1, 2024, and end Sept. 30, 2027.
Since 2009, the USCIS Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has awarded $155 million through 644 grants to immigrant-serving organizations. These grant recipients have provided citizenship preparation services to more than 350,000 immigrants in 41 states and the District of Columbia. USCIS will use the remaining fiscal year 2023 funding from Congress through appropriations to make this funding opportunity available to communities.
USCIS encourages applicants to obtain the registration information needed to complete the application process at grants.gov/register.
–With Jay Domingo/PDM
