Government and community groups are hosting a resource fair this week in Nogales where prospective U.S. citizens can hear about the next steps they’ll need to take to become naturalized.
The event is organized by Chicanos Por La Causa, the Consulate General of Mexico in Nogales and the community group Centro Comunitario Los Nogales.
Sean Goslar, regional manager of immigration services at Chicanos Por La Causa, says the event will focus on providing information to permanent residents and green card holders about completing the citizenship process in time to vote in the upcoming presidential election. He says it's currently taking 3-6 months from the time someone applies to the time they get an interview at the Tucson office, which is also responsible for Nogales-based applicants.
"So ... it will be March 1, if you get your stuff together pretty quickly thereafter, there’s a strong, strong likelihood that you’ll be able to vote at least for the general election in November," he said.
The event also comes just ahead of the fee hike for various immigration processes at Citizenship and Immigration Services, which go into effect in April. Goslar says the event will address those price increases, answer questions about fee waivers and clear up any misinformation about applying for citizenship.
"We just see a lot of information that is just incorrect or misleading that has deterred people from applying," he said.
Participants will hear a presentation from immigration experts and can also sign up ahead of time for limited one-on-one meetings. The free event runs 9 a.m. -3 p.m. March 1 at 951 N. Kitchen St., Nogales, Arizona (Casas De Anza Gym). Call (520) 287-2521, ext. 115 and 116 to register.
