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A lawsuit filed Thursday in a New York federal court by Latino immigrants seeks to force immigration authorities to complete hundreds of thousands of stalled naturalization petitions in time for the new citizens to vote in November. (snip) The class action suit was brought by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund on behalf of legal Hispanic immigrants in the New York City area who are eager to vote... (snip) “It is astonishing the government should be so unresponsive to immigrants who have enthusiastically taken all the steps to become Americans,” said Janet Murguía, president of the National Council...

Safaa Wadi moved to this former mill city after his life was threatened in his native Iraq while serving as an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He expects to soon head back to Iraq — not as a civilian interpreter, but as a U.S. soldier. Wadi arrived in the United States in September with a special immigrant visa for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters. But with his savings nearly depleted and unable to land a decent job, Wadi enlisted in the Army. He begins training in South Carolina on Monday. Wadi isn't worried about returning to Iraq, where many of his...

FORT HUACHUCA — He has only been an American citizen since January, but Spc. Charles has proven himself a steadfast solider. That was proven Wednesday when Maj. Gen. John Custer, commander of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, presented Charles a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in Iraq last year. Charles — his first name — is all that can be used to identify the soldier. He is an Arabic translator who was born in Sudan and lived for a while as a refugee in Ethiopia. No photos of translators born in other nations serving in the U.S. Army are...

Julia Moreno has been following the presidential campaign and studying the issues. She has even chosen her favorite candidate: "La Señora Clinton." Moreno, a legal immigrant from Guatemala who came to Los Angeles more than 30 years ago, applied for citizenship this summer so she would be able to vote -- starting with the 2008 presidential election. But U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced recently that green card holders who applied after June 1 could have to wait 16 to 18 months for their applications to be processed. For Moreno, that means she might be unable to cast her ballot...

After being a Legal Permanent U.S. Resident for the past 35 years (Canadian citizen /my hubby is U.S. citizen by birth), yesterday December 14, 2007, I was sworn in as a U.S. CITIZEN at the U.S. District Court in Concord, NH !! I am SO PROUD and SO EXCITED !! 93 new citizens were sworn in from 33 different countries! It was a WONDERFUL ceremony ! Every nationality you could imagine was represented ! Within 3 hours of getting sworn in, I went to my local Town Hall and REGISTERED TO VOTE ! So I will be "good to go"...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Sixty U.S. service members from countries including Cuba, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Vietnam became American citizens on Monday during a ceremony in Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, congratulated the soldiers on their new citizenship and thanked them for the oath they took to defend the United States. "Today they will swear a second oath to the country they've already pledged to defend," Rodriguez said at a ceremony coinciding with Veterans Day. "An oath of allegiance to the nation they are supporting as a member of her armed forces, deployed...

The Northern Virginia office of the federal agency that processes immigration applications will hold its first public forum next month to answer questions from immigrants. The forum also is intended to spread word that the agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, is distinct from its feared federal cousins, the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. "We don't want people to fear us," said Greg Christian, director of the Vienna office of USCIS.... The agency is often assailed...as an impenetrable bureaucracy with complicated forms and a help hotline that dispenses unreliable information. It has also recently...

Clinton campaigns; Hillary wants to create a path to citizenship By TRICIA CORTEZ, LAREDO MORNING TIMES 09/15/2007 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendlyStumping for his wife, who is leading the pack in most polls, former President Bill Clinton spoke to several hundred Laredoans and Nuevo Laredoans on Friday evening and explained why Hillary is "best suited" for the White House."This next president is going to have to undo a lot of damage," Clinton said at the private fundraiser held at Palenque Grill. He made references to an economy "on the brink of recession," growing inequality between the haves and the...

Better late than never - even when it's seven years late. In 2000, Congress passed a law authorizing visas for illegal immigrant crime victims. Seven years later, federal immigration officials say they're finally ready to start issuing "U-visas" to certain victims who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes. Federal immigration officials attribute the delay to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the resulting mass reorganization of government agencies in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "We realize it took a long amount of time," U.S. Citizenship and...

Naturalization, re-enlistment ceremony held on America’s 231st birthday Thursday, 05 July 2007 Senator John McCain and Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, senior enlisted advisor for Multi-National Force-Iraq, congratulate a Soldier on becoming a U.S. citizen July 4 at Camp Victory. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey Hunnewell, Combined Press Information Center. BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Soldiers became citizens of the country they risk their lives for, while others decided to extend their time in service to continue the fight against terrorism. The U.S. Army conducted a naturalization and re-enlistment ceremony at Camp Victory on Wednesday. Over 160 Soldiers became...

I was at the swearing ceremony and it was very moving. This guy was smiling like he just won the lottery. He was happy and wanted to share it with the world. As you can see on the video, he was very proud and shared his thought in spanish.

Florida: Jose Temprana, a 105-year-old man of Cuban birth, has gained his citizenship in the United States. He arrived on a humanitarian visa aged 93 after spending 30 years in prison for smuggling weapons for a failed US-backed insurrection attempt. Temprana has been married twice and currently has a girlfriend. He was a lobster fisherman/sponge diver by trade and fathered eight children. Locally he is known as 'El Nino' (The Boy) because of his spirit and vitality. "I feel different, satisfied, very happy. It was worth the wait. I've wanted ... it since I was 8 or 10 years old,"...

MIAMI (AP) -- A 105-year-old native of Cuba has finally had his wish fulfilled. He's become a U.S. citizen. Jose Temprana celebrated by sipping champagne with friends at the Hispanic Community Center in Miami Saturday. Temprana was born in September 1901. He worked as a sponge diver and lobster fisherman. He had eight children with his first wife, who died giving birth to the youngest. His second wife died in 2002. In 1964, he was imprisoned in Cuba for smuggling weapons from the United States into the island for an insurrection against Fidel Castro. He wasn't released until he was...

MIAMI, Fla. -- Jose "El Nino" Temprana, a 105-year-old former Cuban political prisoner, became a U.S. citizen Friday. Temprana took the oath of citizenship in Miami early Friday. -snip- During the Cuban Revolution, he and three of his sons opposed Fidel Castro and were imprisoned in 1964 for 30 years. Following his sentence, he moved to Miami and has been free for the past 12 years. In the same ceremony Friday, Edgar Renteria of the 1997 World Series champions Florida Marlins also became a U.S. citizen. Renteria is now a shortstop for the Atlanta Braves.

. . . Part of the problem with amendments has been that any change -- no matter how mild -- threatened to disrupt and possibly destroy the fragile coalition of senators that has come together behind the bill. The most critical amendment was that of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), to restrict legalization of violent felons and gang members. That amendment failed 51 to 46, but a weaker version by Sen. Kennedy passed. With the sudden, unexpected death of Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), opponents of the immigration reform compromise bill on the Senate floor this week lose a vote they already...

Police: Woman dragged to death under minivan FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) -- A woman trying to stop a motorist from fleeing after a collision was dragged for several miles to her death under the man's minivan, officials said Monday. Authorities said they were still searching for the minivan's driver. Sandra Hall was in a Cadillac that was struck by the minivan Sunday night, Broward County sheriff's officials said. The minivan was driven away with the Cadillac in pursuit, and when both vehicles were stopped in traffic Hall got out and stood in front of the minivan, authorities said. The minivan...

SAN DIEGO, April 5, 2007 – The United States gained 59 new citizens here yesterday, as 59 servicemembers took the oath of citizenship aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Cleveland. Army Sgt. First Class Jose Vargas, center, joins 58 sailors and Marines in taking the oath of citizenship aboard USS Cleveland in San Diego, April 4. U.S. Navy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. With retention and recruitment at the highest levels in recent history, officials said the Navy can now afford to focus on shaping the force to ensure the best-qualified, most diverse candidates are challenged to...

Time for a pop quiz, and no, it's not multiple choice. 1. Why do we have three branches of government? 2. What does it mean that the U.S. Constitution is a constitution of limited powers? 3. What alliance of North American and European countries was created during the Cold War? Whether you passed with flying colors or flopped (see answers at end of story) could indicate your fitness for citizenship. The questions are just a few from a new sample of more than 100 that immigration officials will begin trying out on naturalization candidates in Yakima late next month or...

I am taking applying for documents for my wife, from the country she (a naturalized US citizen) was born in. One of the requested items is her green card. However, shouldn't she have turned it in when she was naturalized, or does one keep the green card even after naturalization? Thanks.

A top immigration official accused of misleading Congress on whether a Clinton administration program was used to allow thousands of foreign nationals with criminal records to become U.S. citizens now heads a fraud and national security program at the Department of Homeland Security. Louis D. "Don" Crocetti, whose credibility before a House subcommittee was challenged by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General, now heads the Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, which, among other things, is responsible for criminal background checks on foreign nationals seeking naturalization. The appointment was quietly announced in May by Eduardo Aguirre, director of...