Voter Registration for New Citizens in Masachusetts

With the Presidential election drawing near, and many of our clients in the process of becoming citizens and looking forward to their first vote, we should take a look at voter registration procedures. Note the big "however" for those who become citizens between October 17 and Election Day.

There are many differences by state, and there's a lot going on around the country, but here's what is required in our service area in Massachusetts. Check with your local election official for variations by location (particularly outside of Massachusetts).

Registration is accomplished with the local election official (often the Town Clerk, but not always; larger towns and cities may have a separate offical).  There is a list of local officials by town at  http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleclk/clkidx.htm

The Secretary of State's web site has the details of what's required to register in Massachusetts: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howreg.htm

In Massachusetts, the deadline for registering to vote in the 2012 general election on November 6 is October 17, 2012.

HOWEVER: anyone who becomes a US Citizen after the deadline but before Election Day has until 4PM the day before the election to register. This is the only exception. (See http://lwvboston.org/wp-content/uploads/english_4-27-09.pdf or http://www.lwvboston.org/voter-information/--it refers to Boston, but applies statewide--see above for the election official in your town). Note that other states may have different laws.

So, if your Naturalization Ceremony (swearing-in ceremony) is after October 17 but before November 6, 2012, you may register to vote up until 4PM on November 5. It may be possible to register, or to receive registration materials, at the ceremony.

See the current mail-in registration form (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/2012-Voter-reg-mail-in.pdf) for a look at the information required.

We are proud to have helped many new voters this year.  Congratulations!

New Video with Radio Segment on WCAI

We just posted a video of the radio piece on our program on WCAI. Reporter/Producer Sean Corcoran did a great job of capturing the emotion of a Naturalization Ceremony, and of reporting on the services we provide. Congratulations to Rayon, to all our clients who have become new US Citizens, and to our clients who are working through the process.
http://youtu.be/1lZi26vEbEk

Citizenship Services Program

The Citizenship Services Program (CSP) helps Legal Permanent Residents become naturalized citizens through Citizenship Preparation classes and legal support throughout the process of becoming a US Citizen.

We operate throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands under a grant to Catholic Social Services of Fall River from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Grant Award Number 2011-CS-010-000006).

CSP includdes 4 components, all free of charge.

• Citizenship Preparation Classes--classes in English, US History, and Civics to prepare for the Citizenship Exam
• Naturalization workshops where our legal staff assists with completing the N-400 Application for Naturalization
• Legal representation throughout the process
• Tutoring in English and/or test preparation (for clients who cannot attend our classes or who require additional assistance

We offer Citizenship Preparation Classes in three locations:
          Fall River:        Catholic Social Services, 1600 Bay Street, Mondays 6:00-9:00PM
          Hyannis:          Catholic Social Services, 261 South Street, Thursdays 6:00-9:00PM
          New Bedford: St. James-St. John School, 180 Orchard Street, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6-7:30PM
Students may join a class at any time.

Workshops are offered regularly at locations throughout the region. Please see http://cssdioc.org/services/immigration/workshops.html  for the current schedule and locations. Workshops are planned for Falmouth on August 23, and for Brockton, Hyannis, and New Bedford in September.

Since CSP's beginning in October, 2011:

• 222 clients from 32 countries have registered in the program for Citizenship Instruction and/or Naturalization Application Services
• 28 of our clients are now US Citizens; 2 more have passed their interviews and will be sworn-in as citizens in the near future
• 77 clients enrolled in our classes. Our third 18-week session will begin in September 2012 at each of our three locations 
• 86 clients worked with our legal staff on their Applications for Naturalization, and we submitted applications on their behalf. 22 of these clients are now citizens.  The remaining 64 are in various stages of the USCIS process (awaiting interview, passed interview but awaiting ceremony, etc.)
• 65 clients received legal assistance with Applications for Naturalization at 14 Naturalization workshops in 7 locations (Attleboro, Fall River, Hyannis, New Bedford, Orleans, Provincetown, Taunton)
• 9 tutors worked with 17 students throughout the region

All Legal Permanent Residents are welcome to participate in any or all of our services.

Contact: Lemuel Skidmore, Project Manager, 508-771-6771, lskidmore@cssdioc.org

              Ashlee Reed, Naturalization Caseworker, 508-674-4681, areed@cssdioc.org

See facebook.com/CSPatCSS, twitter.com/@CitizenshipServ,  www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-9Yf8wxWSY for more details and current news.

Clients become citizens in Fall River--Video

This video, posted by the Fall River Herald News, shows 51 people being sworn-in as US Citizens on the USS Massachusetts in Fall River.

Four of our clients are in this group--that's 28 new citizens from our program since we began in October, 2011. Congratulations all!

Immigrant Songs from NPR 4th of July Show

Thanks to National Partnership for New Americans (twitter.com/@NPNA) for this.

Video on Citizenship Services Program

It's worth re-posting this video, describing our program with scenes from one of our Citizenship Preparation Classes, from two of our Naturalization Workshops, and from a Naturalization Ceremony where one of our clients became a US Citizen.

Note: You really need external speakers or headphones to hear the client testimonial at the beginning. The rest of the audio is fine.