USCIS Announces Citizenship and Integration Grant Opportunities

Grants will support citizenship preparation services for permanent residents

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now accepting applications for two funding opportunities under the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program. These are competitive grant opportunities for organizations that prepare permanent residents for naturalization and promote civic integration through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history and civics. The two programs will provide up to $10 million in grants for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country. Applications are due by April 22.

Through these grant opportunities, USCIS seeks to expand availability of high-quality citizenship preparation services throughout the country. The two opportunities are:

• Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services: This opportunity will fund up to 36 organizations which offer both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to permanent residents.
• Citizenship Instruction only: This newly created grant opportunity will assist nonprofit organizations in establishing new citizenship instruction programs or expanding the quality and reach of existing citizenship instruction programs. USCIS expects to award up to 10 nonprofit organizations through this opportunity. In doing so, USCIS seeks to encourage the expansion of the existing field of citizenship instruction programs, particularly those offered by small, community-based organizations that have not previously received a grant from USCIS.

USCIS expects to announce all 46 award recipients in September.

Since 2009, USCIS has awarded approximately $53 million through 262 grants to organizations that have provided citizenship preparation services to more than 138,000 permanent residents in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

To apply for this funding opportunity, visit www.grants.gov. USCIS encourages applicants to visit www.grants.gov before the application deadline in order to obtain the registration information needed to complete the application process.

For additional information on the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program for fiscal year 2016, visit www.uscis.gov/grants or email the USCIS Office of Citizenship atcitizenshipgrantprogram@uscis.dhs.gov.

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