| WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will celebrate Independence Day this year by welcoming more than 9,400 new citizens in 170 naturalization ceremonies between June 30 and July 7. These ceremonies demonstrate our commitment to welcoming immigrants. USCIS is proud to welcome people from all over the world as our newest U.S. citizens during this celebration of Independence Day. “This year marks the 245th birthday of our Nation,” said Acting USCIS Director Tracy Renaud. “We are committed to promoting policies and procedures that ensure we operate fairly and efficiently, and continue to encourage and embrace the full participation of the newest Americans in our democracy.” Each July 4, we celebrate the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, declaring that the 13 American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation—the United States of America—and were no longer part of the British Empire. USCIS commemorates this momentous occasion by hosting special Independence Day-themed naturalization ceremonies across the country. This year’s Independence Day activities will include two special ceremonies. This includes a naturalization ceremony with President Biden at the White House on July 2 and a ceremony with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas administering the Oath of Allegiance virtually to 22 military service members serving overseas, which took place on June 30. Additional ceremonies marking this year’s Independence Day include a ceremony with Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John Tien at the USCIS Atlanta office, ceremonies aboard the USS Constitution Museum in Boston with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday and the Battleship USS Iowa in Los Angeles, and a special ceremony at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Throughout all these ceremonies, USCIS will honor and recognize the commitment and contributions immigrants make to our Nation, including military members, front-line workers, and COVID-19 heroes who have played a critical role in helping our country respond to and recover from the COVID-19 global pandemic. View a list of highlighted 2021 Independence Day-themed ceremonies. USCIS reaffirms its commitment to making the naturalization process accessible to all who are eligible. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, we have taken a number of steps to support implementation of Executive Order 14012: Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration System and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans, including the reinstatement of the 2008 civics test, which took place in February. Reverting to the 2008 civics test was in keeping with other updates with the same purpose. Following each naturalization ceremony, we encourage new U.S. citizens to share their naturalization stories and photos on social media using the hashtag #newUScitizen. (Press release from the USCIS; Featured photo from the office of Gov. Cuomo) |
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