The diocese’s Catholic Migration Services (CMS) is one of only 40 organizations nationwide chosen to receive a citizenship grant from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The federal grant is awarded on a highly competitive basis and comes with an award of $250,000 dispersed over a two-year period to fund legal and educational services for lawful permanent residents interested in applying for U.S. citizenship.

Since it began its Citizenship and Integration Grant Program in 2009, USCIS has awarded a total of $43 million to immigrant-serving organizations in 35 states and the District of Columbia, helping more than 93,000 permanent residents prepare for citizenship. Thanks to this grant funding, CMS will expand its existing naturalization legal services, while at the same time its partner and sub-grantee, Brooklyn Public Library, will offer free citizenship instructional courses at several local library branches located throughout the borough.

“We are thrilled and honored to receive this grant from USCIS,” said Father Patrick Keating, chief executive officer of Catholic Migration Services. “With this federal funding, and through our partnership with Brooklyn Public Library, we will be able to do so much more to reach the hundreds of thousands of lawful permanent residents that call New York City home. There is a great need for quality citizenship preparation services in this city, and we are very happy to be working toward meeting the needs of our city’s diverse immigrant communities with this program.”

If you would like more information about the CMS Citizenship and Integration Program, visit www.catholicmigration.org. For information on how to enroll in citizenship courses at Brooklyn Public Libraries or how to receive naturalization application assistance, call the CMS Citizenship Hotline at (646) 597-8797.