U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of the first-ever citizenship ambassador initiative. Through this new initiative, USCIS will partner with community leaders who will promote citizenship through their own immigrant experience.

These ambassadors will be:

• sharing their own experiences with the naturalization process;
• highlighting available information and resources;
• emphasizing the advantages of U.S. citizenship;
• addressing myths and misconceptions; and
• inspiring others pursuing citizenship.

The initiative is designed to make a personal and local connection to the more than 9.1 million lawful permanent residents who may be eligible to apply for naturalization and who otherwise may not have access to or knowledge of the naturalization process.

The eight citizenship ambassadors include:

• Magdalena Alvarado, President, Ser y Hacer Galveston, Galveston, TX;
• Abdirizak Bihi, Executive Director, Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center, Minneapolis, MN;
• Myriam Mezadieu, Chief Operating Officer, Catholic Legal Services, Miami, FL;
• Nam Loc Nguyen, Former Director of Immigration and Refugee Department, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Orange County, CA;
• Margarita Rocha, Executive Director, Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, Central Valley, CA;
• Luis Shephard, Community Leader, Boston, MA;
• Mara Vaughn, Professor, University of North Texas at Dallas, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; and
• Pao Yang, Executive Director, President and CEO, The Fresno Center (TFC), Fresno, CA.

Source: https://www.uscis.gov