Throughout history, strong societies have placed education at the forefront and recognized quality teachers as a key to success. In honor of International Teacher’s Day, October 5th, it is important to acknowledge the impact that all educational institutions, professors, teachers, and staff members make on students’ lives. As part of this acknowledgement, the University of Michigan is one such educational intuition that particularly values its teaching staff. In 2016, the University of Michigan partnered with New American Workforce and now supports its eligible immigrant employees, like Karl, with the citizenship process right at the worksite.
Originally from Canada, Karl came to the United States to study and earned his PhD at the University of Michigan in physics and engineering. Karl now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife and children and thoroughly enjoys his full-time teaching position at the university. After having his green card for eight years, however, Karl desired to get his U.S. citizenship. His wife and children are citizens, and he wanted to mitigate the anxiety he felt each time his green card needed to be renewed. It was also important for him to be able to participate in all aspects of American life, especially voting.
“I became a citizen in less than three months…which allowed me to concentrate on the things I love most about my job: my research experience and working with the students.”
Given these concerns, Karl was relieved when he heard about the University of Michigan’s partnership with New American Workforce. He immediately registered and participated in one of the University’s first citizenship workshops. As a result, his citizenship application was processed quickly, and he took his Oath of Allegiance soon after. Looking back at his experience, Karl recounts:
“I found the experience very valuable, because my employer was able to provide all these resources onsite. I was hesitant and expecting a lot of red tape, but instead I was very surprised with how professional all the immigration officials were in handling my case.”
Through the University of Michigan’s partnership with New American Workforce, Karl became a U.S. citizen in just three months. It is exciting that he is able to join his wife and children as a U.S citizen and fully devote himself to his love of teaching.