Almaz is coming up on a big anniversary: in March, she will have been in the United States for eighteen years. For nearly seventeen of those eighteen years she held a green card, as a lawful permanent resident of the United States. This year, however, she will be able to proudly say that not only has she been here for eighteen years, but she is also now an American citizen.
Since the death of her husband seven years ago, Almaz has been too busy – not only working to pay her mortgage but also raising her son alone – to pursue becoming a citizen. When she heard of the free citizenship services and English language training at the worksite provided by New American Workforce, however, she jumped at the opportunity.
Almaz explained that although she could barely read, write or speak in English prior to the workshops, all of that has changed now. Her supervisor at Doctors Community Hospital also shared that Almaz is speaking with increased confidence after participating in the New American Workforce English class. As a result of her hard work, she is now up for a promotion at her job.
Thanks to her new citizenship status and increased English skills, more opportunities are available to Almaz in the new year. Not only will she be able to vote in the next election cycle, but she will also be able to pursue her dream of going to school due to now being eligible for certain financial aid programs.
Almaz recently stated:
“I’m very happy. Now I’m going to go to school. The [service providers] were incredibly nice. [New American Workforce] helped me so much.”