WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an updated version of Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants. This popular booklet includes essential information to help newly arrived immigrants settle into the United States.
The new Guide includes important updates since it was first introduced three years ago, including new online tools for USCIS services and essential information from the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal, state and community organizations.
By proactively disseminating this resource to new permanent residents while they still live abroad, USCIS is able to reach individuals at the earliest stage of immigrating, and provide them with a vital head-start on integrating into their new country.
In addition to settlement and integration information, the Guide contains an introduction to the U.S. system of government, a section on rights and responsibilities and information on how to obtain citizenship. It also has information about finding a place to live, getting a Social Security number, getting a job, registering children for school, finding healthcare, locating English language and adult education classes, preparing for emergencies, and finding community organizations that assist immigrants.
To reach as many immigrant groups as possible, USCIS added Polish, and Urdu translations of the Guide, making it available in English and 12 foreign languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
According to the 2000 Census, more than 32 million individuals in the United States speak one of those foreign languages.
The Department of State will provide immigrant visa recipients residing abroad with a brochure containing instructions to call the USCIS forms line (1-800-870-3676) to request a free hard copy of the Guide in English, Chinese or Spanish.
All translations of the Guide and other resources for new immigrants are available to download for free from the USCIS website, http://www.uscis.gov/newimmigrants.
