The City of Los Angeles is a vibrant and lively city, known for its large and diverse population, beautiful beaches, and, of course, Hollywood. The city’s local government plays a key role in keeping Los Angeles efficient, growing, and prosperous. As part of these efforts, the City of Los Angeles partnered with New American Workforce in 2016 to promote its employees’ success and support those that are eligible for United States citizenship with the process at their worksite.
Since the partnership’s start, the City of Los Angeles and New American Workforce have provided resources and support to numerous employees, like Hendrik, that are seeking help with the citizenship process. Originally from the Netherlands, Hendrik, has lived in the U.S. for 15 years and works for the city as an engineer. Although he always wanted to become a citizen, he felt that nervous to apply and considered the application to be a “huge and intimidating” process.
After hearing about the City of Los Angeles’ partnership with New American Workforce, Hendrik was one of the first employees to attend the citizenship workshops. At these workshops, the city’s employees received assistance with the citizenship application right at their worksite. Recalling the workshops, Hendrik said,
“The workshops were very helpful. Without them, I would have still be on a green card. The attorney at the workshop explained every benefit that comes with the U.S. citizenship and the processes for naturalization. The workshops made a huge difference for me as I decided to apply.”
It is exciting that Hendrik became a U.S. citizen on November 8, 2016, which is the same day as the U.S. presidential election that year. He explained that he will always remember taking his citizenship oath, being that it was one of the most significant and memorable days of his life.