U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently renewed its official partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) to enhance the meaning and stature of citizenship ceremonies. USCIS and NPS first signed the agreement in September 2006 to connect America’s newest citizens to national parks throughout the country. These historic and often picturesque sites provide an ideal backdrop for citizenship ceremonies.
Preceding a special naturalization ceremony held at the Lincoln Memorial in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas and NPS Director Jon Jarvis signed an amendment to the 2006 agreement.
In general, the USCIS/NPS partnership:
-Matches USCIS Field Offices throughout the country with National Parks in their jurisdictions that are interested in hosting citizenship ceremonies
-Supports and promotes local partnerships already undertaken by USCIS Field Offices and National Parks
-Sponsors a small number of new higher-profile naturalization ceremonies at selected parks that have a link to immigration or civic history.
Since the 2006 launch of this partnership, USCIS has coordinated special citizenship ceremonies at many of the 400 places safeguarded by NPS around the country. NPS has helped USCIS welcome new citizens on Independence Day, Citizenship Day and Constitution Day, Memorial Day and other national commemorations in locations including Ellis Island, Angel Island, the Mt. Rushmore National Monument, and the National Mall and Memorial Parks.
Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
