People who are eligible to become naturalized citizens are encouraged to register for Citizenship Day, an event that offers legal assistance in filling out citizenship applications, at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat., April 27.
This is the tenth year that the City of Boston has partnered with the Boston nonprofit Project Citizenship, which usually helps green card holders to apply for citizenship, to host the free event.

“Citizenship Day is an important and beloved tradition for our Office for Immigrant Advancement in welcoming so many community members,” Mayor Wu said in a press release. “As the daughter of two immigrant parents who became naturalized citizens, I know the pride and deep connection that can come from officially becoming a citizen, so it’s especially meaningful to collaborate on removing barriers to the citizenship process.

“I want to thank Project Citizenship for their partnership and the hundreds of volunteers who make this event possible.”
Madeline Kaprich at Project Citizenship said over those ten years, the event has led to over 3,000 citizenship applications submitted. She added that on the day itself, appointments usually take only about three hours per person.

“We’ll send an email that has all the information of what they need to bring. People will have different appointment times, so it kind of depends on when people arrive,” Kaprich said.

“When they arrive, they will fill out an application with one of our volunteers. And then immediately after they’ll sit with a lawyer who’s going to look over the application, and then we’re going to check them out.”

The only requirements to register for Citizenship Day are that you are a “lawful permanent resident” and that you have had your green card for at least five years, or three years if you are married to an American citizen, Kaprich said. She said that you also have to be at least 18 years old.

“I’m pretty sure the wait time right now is around 5.2 months,” Kaprich said. “So, it’s possible – not guaranteed, but possible – that people who apply to become citizens on Citizenship Day will be able to vote in the [November] election.”

Those interested in registering for Citizenship Day should call 617-694-5949 or send an email to info@projectcitizenship.org.