2013 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration – Citizenship Clinic & Health Fair
May 11, 2013, 11 am – 3 pm
NANAY Community Center
659 NE 125 Street
North Miami, FL
 
The Asian American Federation of Florida (AAFF), NANAY, Florida Chinese Federation, Florida Department of Health – Miami-Dade County, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), GOPIO-FL, Miami-Dade County’s Office of Community Advocacy, NAAPAC-FL, OCA South Florida Chapter, Thai-American Association of South Florida, United Chinese Association of Florida, and World Kwong Tung Community Association – Miami Chapter cordially invite you to the 2013 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) Celebration through a Citizenship Clinic and Health Fair. 
 
The coalition aims to build leadership embracing cultural values and promote inclusion of Asian Pacific American communities to celebrate the diversity of Florida’s population, and to foster civic engagement through U.S. citizenship.
 
The Citizenship Clinic is offering FREE ASSISTANCE to eligible individuals to complete the US naturalization application.
 
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there are about 8 million eligible green card holders who haven’t chosen to become U.S. citizens yet.  Nearly 3 million Asian-American and Pacific Islanders are eligible or will be eligible soon; but only 276,000 of them were naturalized two years ago, the latest figures available.
 
If you are eligible to apply for citizenship, you will meet with a trained volunteer to fill out Form N-400 and assist with any additional requirements to complete your application.  For eligible low-income permanent residents, they may receive fee waiver for their application.
 
"South Florida has more than a quarter (over 125,000) of the Asian American Pacific Islander population in Florida," states Winnie Tang, AAFF President. "Yet, many of its residents aren’t citizens due to language barriers and the high cost of citizenship. Even fewer of them are part of the voting electorate.”
 
“We want to foster civic engagement of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by encouraging them to become naturalized, and there is no better time than this May in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month,” continues Tang.  “The drive is part of a statewide effort to sign on Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants as U.S. citizens.”
 
AAFF will host a series of Citizenship Clinics in South Florida.  Here are workshop dates:  May 11at NANAY Community Center – Miami-Dade County, May 25 at Hope Lutheran Church – Manatee County, June 15 at Chinese Baptist Church of Miami – Miami-Dade County, and July 13 at Coral Springs Chinese Cultural Center – Broward County.
 
“We will help citizens-to-be fill out forms and will explain the U.S. citizenship process in their native language,” says Joy Bruce, MD, NANAY President.  “Due to the high cost of citizenship, the free workshop is designed to help green card holders determine their eligibility for citizenship.  FLIC trained volunteers will help people complete their naturalization application and determine whether they are eligible for various waivers.”
 
In addition to the Citizenship Clinic, in partnership with Florida Department of Health -  Miami-Dade County, a mini Health Fair will provide basic health screening and HIV & STD screening to encourage healthier living in the Asian American community and community-at-large.
 
For more information, please contact Winnie Tang, AAFF President, at call 305-753-8791, Dr. Joy Bruce, NANAY President, at 305-951-5552, or FLIC hotline at 1-888-541-2826.  You may visit FLIC website to learn more about the Citizenship Clinic via www.FLNewAmericans.org.