Citizenship Day in Pasco offers legal help with naturalization paperwork
Legal permanent residents who have yet to take that final step to citizenship can get help filling out the paperwork Saturday in Pasco.
An immigration advocacy group is holding its semi-annual Citizenship Day at Columbia Basin College’s Center for Career & Technical Education, at West Argent Road and Saraceno Way.
The free legal clinic is 10 a.m to 1 p.m., or until full capacity is reached.
Since the event regularly draws a long line of people interested in fulfilling their dream of becoming a United States citizen, participants are encouraged to arrive well before the doors open. People also should expect to stay three to five hours as the process can take time, so bring a snack, water and something to read.
The Washington New Americans program, along with the American Immigration Lawyers Association of Washington, have organized the event since 2008.
Similar clinics are planned Saturday in Wenatchee and Renton.
Legal permanent resident is the legal term for a Green Card holder.
Washington state has more than 263,000 legal permanent residents eligible for naturalization, according to Pavan Vangipuram, OneAmerica spokesman. However, many reportedly delay because of confusion about the process or the $725 fee, which includes $640 for the application and $85 for a background check.
Low-income people can apply for free, but they must fill out a fee waiver and submit it with their application.
At the clinic, people are paired with attorneys to determine if they are eligible for citizenship and meet a number of requirements for approval. A paralegal then helps prepare the 20-page naturalization application, known as Form N-400, so it can be reviewed by another attorney for any omissions or mistakes.
The participant ideally will leave with the application packet ready to mail.
People should bring their: permanent resident card; a copy of last year’s taxes; certified court records if they’ve ever been arrested or convicted of a crime; and their award letter if they receive any type of public benefits
Kristin M. Kraemer: 509-582-1531, @KristinMKraemer
This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Citizenship Day in Pasco offers legal help with naturalization paperwork."