Albany Park Neighborhood Council » New Americans Initiative

New Americans Initiative

As part of the New Americans Initiative (NAI), the Albany Park Neighborhood Council (APNC) provides outreach on citizenship, trains volunteers in the preparation of citizenship applications and hosts workshops within our member institutions. Through the New Americans Initiative, APNC, in partnership with the Northwest Collaborative and NAI partners, have built one of the most successful collaboratives in the state reaching 1,721 immigrants in 2007 through a coordinated outreach, media and citizenship application process.

U.S. citizenship is the path to full participation in our nation. Citizens can vote, travel freely, protect themselves and their family members from the possibility of deportation, petition to unite with other family members, hold a wider range of jobs, and have access to all of the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of a full member of the United States of America.

If you are considering becoming a U.S. citizen, we strongly urge you to do it now. We also encourage you to volunteer with the New Americans Initiative, assisting others to become U.S. citizens and participate in our democracy.

June 2009 Citizenship Workshop Flyer in English

June 2009 Citizenship Workshop Flyer in Spanish

Seminarium Na Obywatelstwo Czerwiec 2009 (Polish)

For more information on applying to become a citizen or volunteering, please call Monika Starczuk at (773)583-1387 ext. 202 or e-mail Monika

Citizenship Delays

Many immigrants who are residents in the community have to wait a long time for their citizenship process due to FBI background checks that take years. Recently leaders have met with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and FBI special agent in charge Jane Rhodes to address this problem, and have secured a commitment from them to work with APNC to reduce the backlog of background checks.