USCIS Awards FY 2020 Citizenship and Assimilation Grants
Nearly $10 Million Will Expand Citizenship Preparation Services in 18 States
On Sept. 30, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the award of nearly $10 million in grants to 39 organizations that prepare lawful permanent residents (LPRs) for naturalization. The grants also aim to promote prospective citizens’ assimilation into American civic life by funding educational programs designed to increase their knowledge of English, U.S. history and civics. Located in 18 states, these organizations will receive federal funding to support citizenship preparation services for LPRs through September 2022. These grants are made available via appropriated funds from Congress and can only be used for these awards.
Since it began in 2009, the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program has awarded more than $102 million through 473 competitive grants to immigrant-serving organizations in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Now in its 12th year, the program has helped more than 278,000 LPRs prepare for citizenship.
USCIS anticipates that approximately 25,000 LPRs will receive citizenship preparation services by Sept. 30, 2022, as a result of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 awards issued through the grant program. An additional 12,500 LPRs will be served by the ongoing FY 2019 program, which continues through Sept. 30, 2020.
USCIS awarded the grants through the Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services grant opportunity, which supports organizations that provide citizenship instruction and naturalization application assistance to LPRs.
In making final award decisions, USCIS took into account various program and organizational factors, including past grantee performance.
Organizations that receive awards under this program can only use grant funds to provide services to immigrants who have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence.
Under the Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services funding opportunity, DHS-200CIS-010-002 (PDF, 660.01 KB), grant recipients are public or private nonprofit organizations with recent experience providing citizenship instruction and naturalization application assistance to LPRs. These organizations include community and faith-based groups, public libraries, and adult education and literacy organizations.
FY 2020 recipient organizations serve both traditional immigrant population centers and emerging immigrant population centers in 18 states. Grant recipients will provide citizenship preparation services to approximately 25,000 LPRs originally from more than 50 countries. Grant recipients represent:
- Eight out of the top 10 states with the greatest increase in their LPR population between FY 2016 and 2018, including California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania; and
- Eight out of the top 10 states with the most naturalizations between FY 2016 and 2018, including California, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington.
- Eight out of the top 10 metropolitan areas with the most naturalizations between FY 2016 and 2018, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Boston, and Dallas.
Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services
| Organization | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ansob Center for Refugees, Inc. | Astoria, NY | $249,586 |
| Asian Community & Cultural Center* | Lincoln, NE | $250,000 |
| Boat People SOS-Houston, Inc. | Houston, TX | $250,000 |
| BronxWorks, Inc. | Bronx, NY | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities Diocese of Rochester | Rochester, NY | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of Central Texas | Austin, TX | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc. | Dallas, TX | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston | Houston, TX | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of Orange County, Inc. | Santa Ana, CA | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas, Inc.* | Dodge City, KS | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton | Stockton, CA | $250,000 |
| Catholic Charities San Bernardino | San Bernardino, CA | $225,000 |
| Catholic Migration Services, Inc. | Brooklyn, NY | $250,000 |
| Chinese American Service League | Chicago, IL | $250,000 |
| Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon | Portland, OR | $250,000 |
| Hillsborough County Public Schools* | Tampa, FL | $250,000 |
| Hispanic Unity of Florida, Inc. | Hollywood, FL | $250,000 |
| Hope CommUnity Center | Apopka, FL | $250,000 |
| Instepp, Inc. | Durham, NC | $249,401 |
| International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit | Detroit, MI | $250,000 |
| International Rescue Committee, Inc. | Phoenix, AZ | $249,976 |
| International Rescue Committee, Inc. | Los Angeles, CA | $249,976 |
| Jewish Family & Children's Service | Pittsburgh, PA | $250,000 |
| Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest, Inc. | East Orange, NJ | $250,000 |
| Korean Community Center of the East Bay | San Leandro, CA | $250,000 |
| La Casa de Don Pedro | Newark, NJ | $250,000 |
| Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 | Lancaster, PA | $250,000 |
| Lutheran Services in Iowa | Des Moines, IA | $250,000 |
| Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota | Sioux Falls, SD | $250,000 |
| New American Association of Massachusetts | Lynn, MA | $250,000 |
| Polish American Association | Chicago, IL | $250,000 |
| Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.* | Quincy, MA | $221,821 |
| Refugee Women's Alliance | Seattle, WA | $250,000 |
| Tacoma Community House | Tacoma, WA | $250,000 |
| The University of North Carolina at Greensboro* | Greensboro, NC | $250,000 |
| Young Women's Christian Association of Tulsa | Tulsa, OK | $250,000 |
Refugee and Asylee Assimilation Program
| Organization | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic Charities of Syracuse | Syracuse, NY | $300,000 |
| Chaldean American Ladies of Charity* | Troy, MI | $300,000 |
| Chaldean Community Foundation | Sterling Heights, MI | $299,675 |
As part of the grant review process, USCIS reviewed more than 60 applications using two-member teams to evaluate each proposal. The reviewers scored applications numerically using published evaluation criteria. USCIS ranked the applications under each funding opportunity based on their average scores. The USCIS internal review panel determined the final list of recipients based on the ranked order, as well as the published strategic program priorities found on pages 17-18 of the notice of funding opportunity for DHS-200CIS-010-002 (PDF, 660.01 KB) and on page 21 of the notice of funding opportunity for DHS-20-CIS-010-003 (PDF, 675.54 KB).
For additional information on the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program, please contact the USCIS Office of Citizenship at citizenshipgrantprogram@uscis.dhs.gov or visit uscis.gov/grants.
To learn more about applying for federal funding opportunities, visit grants.gov or call 800-518-4726.