San Francisco Pathways To Citizenship Initiative continues to provide free workshops for immigrants becoming citizens in 2023, first workshop on January 14

(SAN FRANCISCO) This year marks the 10th anniversary of the San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative. It will continue to host workshops in 2023 helping eligible immigrants to become U.S. citizens. The first workshop in 2023 will be held on January 14.

The January 14, Saturday, workshop will take place in the San Francisco County Fair Building at 1199 9th Avenue from 10am to 2pm. Self-Help for the Elderly is the lead agency among 7 non-profit organizations to collaborate for the workshops.

“Since the inception of the San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative in 2013, we have helped more than 10,600 people become U.S. citizens. From being able to vote, to earning a higher income, citizenship has a positive impact on our families, and San Francisco as a whole,” said Anni Chung, President and CEO of Self-Help for the Elderly.

Chung encouraged all eligible green card holders to participate the workshops to become U.S. citizens. The naturalization application fee is $725. "Our volunteers can help the applicants to file the Fee Waiver forms to waive the application fee if the applicants meet the requirement of low income status," said Chung. "The Citizenship Initiative will host 6 to 7 workshops in 2023."

A recent study released by the Pew Research Center showed that nearly 1 million applicants became U.S. citizens in 2022. It was a record highest number in 15 years and the third highest in the U.S. history.

The San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative was established in 2013 by late Mayor Edwin M. Lee as a public-private partnership between local foundations and San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), and was created to promote citizenship and civic participation among San Francisco’s naturalization-eligible immigrants, according to the initiative.

Seven non-profit organizations were selected for the initiative, including Self-Help for the Elderly, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Jubilee Immigration Advocates, La Raza Community Resource Center, and We Rise SF Labor Center for Immigrant Justice.

Since the initiative was launched, it has helped more than 10,600 people complete naturalization applications, provided immigration screenings to over 16,000 individuals and trained over 3,500 volunteers on the citizenship application process.

"All applications screened as eligible for naturalization will be filled out by volunteer form fillers. Experienced attorneys and lawyers review every stage of the work and ensure that the applications are completed accurately," said Jin Tran, Program Supervisor at the Self-Help for the Elderly.

More details can be found at www.sfcitizenship.org or by calling 415-295-5894. Appointments for the workshops are recommended.