Grant Programs

The grant application period is now closed. USCIS anticipates announcing awards in mid-September 2012.

Fiscal Year 2012 Funding Opportunity

On March 20, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the availability of a competitive grant funding opportunity designed to promote immigrant civic integration and prepare permanent residents for citizenship. USCIS will offer approximately $5 million in competitive funding for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country. 

Eligibility

This funding opportunity is for organizations that prepare permanent residents for citizenship by offering both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services. The program design must include the following two components:

• Citizenship instruction to prepare permanent residents for the civics (U.S. history and government) and English (reading, writing and speaking) components of the naturalization test; and
• Naturalization application services to support permanent residents in the naturalization application and interview process, within the scope of the authorized practice of immigration law.

Eligible applicants are organizations with public or non-profit status that can demonstrate recent experience providing citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to immigrants. This includes, but is not limited to: public or private non-profit organizations; public school systems, universities and community colleges; civic, community and faith-based organizations; adult-education organizations; public libraries; volunteer and literacy organizations; and state and local governments.

Current awardees funded under FY 2011 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program funding opportunities DHS-11-CIS-010-003, DHS-11-CIS-010-002 and DHS-11-CIS-010-001 are not eligible to apply for the FY 2012 funding opportunity because the FY 2011 program’s two-year period of performance will not expire before the start of the new program. 

Applicants and any proposed sub-applicants that will provide naturalization application services must either:

• Be recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and have a BIA-accredited representative on staff who provides or supervises the naturalization application services; or
• Have an in-house attorney who provides or supervises the naturalization application services.

Application Information

Organizations must apply electronically for this grant using the application package and instructions available at www.grants.gov. Detailed application instructions can be found in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and on www.grants.gov.

All applicants and sub-applicants applying for federal funding must have a Dun and Bradstreet Universal Data Numbering System (DUNS) number. Instructions for obtaining a DUNS number can be found at www.grants.gov/GetStarted.

Once your organization has a DUNS number, you must next register with the Central Contractor Registry. The Grants.gov website at www.grants.gov/GetStarted provides step-by-step instructions for registering with the Central Contractor Registry. USCIS strongly encourages you to obtain or update all registrations related to Grants.gov well in advance of the May 7, 2012 deadline.

Contact Information

For additional information and updates on the FY 2012 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, visit www.uscis.gov/grants or contact the USCIS Office of Citizenship by email at citizenshipgrantprogram@dhs.gov.

A stakeholder engagement will be held on March 28, 2012 to address questions regarding the grant program. For more information on this engagement, visit www.uscis.gov/nationalevents. To learn more about applying for federal funding opportunities, visit www.grants.gov or contact the Grants.gov support line at 1-800-518-4726.

Media inquiries should be directed to the USCIS Office of Communications at 202-272-1200.