Female Speaker: It has never been an easy endeavor going from being a Green Card holding permanent resident, to becoming a full fledged United States Citizen. Recent national securities concerns caused officials to mandate an even more rigorous system of identifying and checking the backgrounds of all applicants. That hasn't put a damper on the number of applicants however, in fact, the numbers have sky rocketed.
Pepe Casillas: I think, one of the main reason is because the gap between being a U.S. Citizen and a permanent resident is rather evident. Permanent residents are loosing many benefits for not becoming U.S. citizen.
Female Speaker: There is no shortage of schools, classes, workshops, websites and seminars that are available nationwide to would be applicants. Programs that offer help to prepare for all aspects of the naturalization process.
Speaker: We have the complete citizenship program within which we prepare our students to pass the Citizenship exam.
Female Speaker: Hermandad Mexicana Nacional or National Brotherhood of Mexicans is one of many that offer those types of classes.
Speaker: With a lot of the applications for them, then they would submit it to the INS department and they would put them into class, they come to class, whenever they can come, we have classes everyday and then we test them and once they are going to have their interview, once they have their date for the interview, we prepare them for the interview.
Female Speaker: Many public libraries, community colleges and local or national organizations offer citizenship classes or coaching for free or for small registration fee.
Speaker: Yeah we have seen a tremendous increase on new applicants, probably 1500% increase this year.
Female Speaker: Today the schools are scrambling to change their curriculum. This, since the U.S. government announced that they are switching over to an all new written test for naturalization applicant.
Martha Flores: Well, we wanted to make a test that was more meaningful. We wanted to be able to have the applicant understand a question, understand the civics and the history of the United States, rather than just memorizing a response. So we just wanted to be able to create a more open and meaningful test for the applicants.
Female Speaker: The actual content of the test is pretty much the same officials say, but now the applicants will have to do more than just memorize questions and answers.
Martha Flores: For example, in the past we may have asked, what color is the American flag? The new test will ask, why is the flag of certain color or how many stripes does the flag have? Now the question would be what do the stripes stand for? What do they signify?
Female Speaker: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service folks, they have put the new test on the internet. You will find the links to the test in English and Spanish and other helpful resources at www.SaberHacer.com. Applicants, as well as, the people who assist applicants have until October 2008, to study it before it replaces the current test. People who apply and have their interview scheduled before that, will take the old test. People who apply before October 1st, 2008 would go for their interview after that date and choose either the old or the new test. But anyone who applies after that date, will take the new test. Officials say, they have given the test, a test run of its own and they are convinced. It won't be much more difficult than the current one.
Martha Flores: That's why it took about a year before we were able to come up with what we did, with a lot of feedback from the community. We actually piloted the test in ten cities throughout the United States, with a passing rate of approximately 92%. So as if now, it appears to have been successful and I think that if people log on and actually look at the test, they will see that it's not that difficult.
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