WASHINGTON – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has opened the application period for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program. This initiative, now in its 16th year, is dedicated to funding citizenship preparation programs nationwide. Specifically, the Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services sector of the program will distribute up to $10 million in grants. These funds are aimed at preparing legal immigrants for naturalization and fostering civic integration by enhancing their knowledge of English, U.S. history, and civics.
USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou expressed enthusiasm about the program: “The launch of the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program application period marks an exciting opportunity for USCIS to empower community organizations to assist legal immigrants in their journey to citizenship. This year, we are particularly focused on ensuring that organizations serving remote, underserved, or isolated communities are aware of and can access these funds.”
This year, USCIS plans to award up to 40 organizations with grants as large as $300,000 each for a two-year period. These grants will support public or nonprofit organizations that provide both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to lawful permanent residents. The application deadline is set for June 21.
Since its inception in 2009, the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has allocated $155 million through 644 grants to various immigrant-serving organizations across 41 states and the District of Columbia. These organizations have collectively prepared over 300,000 immigrants for citizenship. With continued support from Congress, USCIS has secured funding for fiscal year 2024 and anticipates announcing the grant recipients in September.
Organizations interested in applying can find more information and register at www.grants.gov. USCIS advises potential applicants to visit the site well before the June deadline to ensure they have all necessary registration information to complete their applications.
For further details about the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program for fiscal year 2024, please visit or contact the USCIS Office of Citizenship at citizenshipgrantprogram@uscis.dhs.gov.
