Montgomery College Receives Grants to Ease Residents’ Path to Citizenship

Montgomery College received a grant from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to help at least 320 lawful permanent residents with citizen preparation classes and other related services.

The college was one of two recipients in Maryland of a FY2021 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program that awarded a total of $10 million to 40 organizations. Montgomery College was awarded a $250,000 grant.

The money will be used to help with citizenship preparation classes, activities supporting integration in American civic life and naturalization application services. English proficiency classes also are part of the program.

Montgomery College will partner with Immigration Legal Services of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington with the goal of helping at least 240 lawful permanent residents apply for naturalization during the next two years.

“We are grateful that USCIS continues to support the Montgomery College Citizenship Preparation Program,” said Dr. Charlene Dukes, interim president of Montgomery College. “Since 2010, Montgomery College has served more than 3,000 learners through this grant-funded opportunity, helping students increase their knowledge of English, as well as U.S. history and civics in preparation to becoming new Americans. The College is proud to support these LPRs, who enrich the culture and communities of Montgomery County.”

According to the college, Maryland’s foreign-born population of 931,035 represents 15.4% of the total population. Montgomery County is home to 337,060 of these residents.

The Citizenship Preparation Program is part of Montgomery College’s Workforce Development & Continuing Education unit.

About Suzanne Pollak

Suzanne is a freelance reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She has over 35 years professional experience writing for newspapers, magazines, non-profit newsletters and the web.

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