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Madison Path to Citizenship offers help with naturalization

advisor working with clients

Madison Path to Citizenship is a community-based program dedicated to supporting lawful permanent residents on their path to U.S. citizenship.

Volunteers helped permanent residents in the application process. Above:
Volunteers worked with permanent lawful residents to help them complete the application for U.S. citizenship.

The program seeks to increase the number of lawful permanent residents in Dane County who become responsible, civically engaged U.S. citizens; and to create needed infrastructure in the county to support naturalization for those who want it. It’s coordinated by University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies.

On January 20, the group held its first workshop at the Catholic Multicultural Center to assist permanent residents in the application process. Volunteer attorneys worked individually with more than a dozen people to help them complete the 21-page application for U.S. citizenship.

The workshop also helped additional participants understand the complicated path to naturalization. Volunteers screened for citizenship eligibility, level of English ability for the purpose of taking the citizenship exam, and eligibility for a fee waiver (the U.S. citizenship application costs $680). Organizers provided referrals to the program’s English as a Second Language civics courses, offered through community partners, to help participants prepare for the citizenship exam.

Madison Path to Citizenship is funded by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment with additional funding from UW-Madison Continuing Studies and UW Extension. In-kind support is provided by the program’s partner organizations: Catholic Multicultural Center; Centro Hispano; Jewish Social Services of Madison; Latino Academy of Workforce Development; Latino Education Council Inc.; Literacy Network; Madison Public Library; UW-Madison Latin American, Caribbean & Iberian Studies; and Wisconsin Latino/a Law Student Association.

For more information about the Madison Path to Citizenship, contact Laurie S.Z.  Greenberg, laurie.sz.greenberg@wisc.edu, 608-263-6735.