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Volunteers were given scripts and prepared by ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ staff to play roles in naturalization interviews.

Photo: Paula Forero/̽»¨¾«Ñ¡.

The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY's Immigration Department held its first mock naturalization workshop on Saturday, July 27^th. The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY's Immigration team identified clients whose naturalization interview was approaching and invited them to the office for a mock naturalization interview. The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY usually refers clients to ESL and citizenship preparation classes offered throughout the city, but is unaware of any program that would walk them through the naturalization interview itself. To address that gap, the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY's Immigration team wanted to provide a service ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ clients weren’t getting to help them feel at ease about the naturalization interview itself. Clients can find mock interviews online, but in-person felt like a better option for clients.

Therefore, the Immigration team enlisted the help of key ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ staff and asked them to recruit volunteers for the mock naturalization workshop. Volunteers were sent the official USCIS video on the naturalization interview and then on the day of the workshop, staff reviewed the video with them. ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ staff gave the volunteers instructions and a script they could follow for the interview. Clients were prepared to treat the workshop as if it was the actual USCIS naturalization interview.

Afterward, the clients could meet with the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY's in-house attorney who had filed their case and ask any final questions. Three days after the event, one of our clients texted the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY's Immigration team right after his interview and said, "It was perfect...whatever I was asked last Saturday in ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡, it came out exactly like that."

Volunteers were given scripts and were prepared by ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ staff to help clients familiarize themselves with the naturalization interview structure.

Photo: Paula Forero/̽»¨¾«Ñ¡.

The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in NY's Immigration team is thrilled with the client’s response and hopes to repeat this workshop on a quarterly basis to help clients feel more comfortable and prepared for their naturalization interviews.

 If you are interested in volunteering for future events like this and supporting this program, please click here.