The San Jose International Airport is the first airport in the United States to provide free citizenship services and English language training to employees and their families, at the worksite. As the first airport to sign on to New American Workforce, they are leading the way for airport immigrant integration and are demonstrating a deep commitment to the success and well-being of their workforce. Since launching the program in February of this year, numerous employees and their families have taken advantage of the services.
Jerome del Prado, originally from the Philippines and a family member of an airport employee, discovered the citizenship services provided by New American Workforce one day while walking into the airport and decided it was time to finally pursue his dream of citizenship.
Jerome came to the United States five years ago on a tourist visa to be with his partner. After working with a green card for three years, Jerome is now studying to become a nursing assistant and is excited to finally have the opportunity to become a citizen. He continues to be thankful for the citizenship services he received, stating:
“My experience was awesome. Soon to be an American (if my application is approved) is a good feeling. It is amazing what New American Workforce does, especially for someone like me, who had never been to the U.S. and who had never dreamed of being able to live here. I can’t believe I’m able to have this opportunity and enjoy liberties that I wasn’t able to have in my home country. [The citizenship services at the airport] were a huge help.”
New American Workforce has only recently begun partnering with airports to bring citizenship services to both employees and their families, and is excited to continue expanding its efforts to help more people like Jerome achieve their dream of citizenship.