Welcome to Citizenship class!

West Wing Week: "Dispatches from Iraq" - Preview

West Wing Week: "Dispatches from Iraq" - Preview

New Life in America No Longer Means Finding a New Name

New Life in America No Longer Means Finding a New Name by Sam Roberts, NYTimes

Newcomers see less reason to Anglicize surnames and have a desire to retain their ethnic heritage in their adopted country. (read more)

Open for Questions: 90th Anniversary of Women's Right To Vote

WH.gov: Open for Questions: 90th Anniversary of Women's Right To Vote

Tina Tchen of the White House Council on Women And Girls takes your questions on women's issues on the 90th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. August 25, 2010.

USCIS.gov: Check My Case Status

USCIS.gov: Check My Case Status

ushomelandsecurity October 19, 2009

See how to check your case status on USCIS.gov, the official Web site of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

See more videos from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on YouTube

West Wing Week: 8/20/10 or "Turkey Turkey and a Jammer"

WH.gov: West Wing Week: 8/20/10 or "Turkey Turkey and a Jammer"

This week, travel with the First Family to Panama City Beach, Florida for a weekend of swimming, mini-golf, and meeting with local business owners. Next up, the President hits the road traveling to Milwaukee, Seattle and Columbus to talk to business owners and families about the economy.

Welcoming our Troops Coming Home from Iraq

**In the video, Dr Biden refers to their son, Beau, who is an Army Judge Advocate serving in Iraq.

WH.gov: Welcoming our Troops Coming Home from Iraq

The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden visit Fort Drum in upstate New York to welcome home the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, from Iraq. One of the most deployed brigades in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team has participated in three deployments to Afghanistan and four deployments to Iraq. The Vice President speaks off stage about the end of the combat mission in Iraq, and the future of the American mission in that country.

Milpitas Adult School ESL/Citizenship Registration and Placement Test August 16—19

**Citizenship students must take the ESL placement test

1. Bring a picture ID and a $20 non-refundable test fee (exact change only).
2. Plan to be here approximately 3 hours.
3. No children please.

Milpitas Adult Education Center
1331 E. Calaveras Blvd , Bldg 400 Milpitas , CA 95035
Office Phone: (408) 635–2692 Fax: (408) 635–2611
OFFICE HOURS August 2 - 27 Office Hours 8 am - 4 pm

Testing for Morning Classes 9 am - 12 noon
Begins promptly at 9 am (come early to line up)
No Late Entry
If your last name begins with:

• A—F come August 16
• G—L come August 17
• M—S come August 18
• T—Z come August 19

Morning Students will be placed in one of the following classes:

• ESL - Career & College Students / M-F 8:45 am-12
• VESL - for the working student / M/W/F 8:30-10am
• ESL Older Adult - 55 and older / M-F 10 am-12
• Multi-Level ESL - Non-Career & Non-College Students / T/Th 8:30 - 10 am

Testing for Evening Classes 5:45 - 9 pm
Begins promptly at 5:45 pm (come early to line up)
No Late Entry
If your last name begins with:

• A—K come August 16
• L—R come August 17
• S—Z come August 18

Evening Students will be placed in one of the following classes:

• ESL - Career & College Students / T/Th 5:45 - 9pm
• Citizenship-/ T/Th / 5:45 - 9 pm (Citizenship students must take the ESL placement test)

See you there!

West Wing Week: Mailbag Day Summer Edition

WH.gov: West Wing Week: Mailbag Day Summer Edition

Mailbag Day! This West Wing Week the administration responds to the letters and emails sent in by you. Find out whether the President gets stamps in his passport, learn about pre-existing conditions and the Affordable Care Act from Secretary of Health and Human Services, Katleen Sebelius, and see who gets to keep the President's bill signing pens.

USCIS Customer Service Enhancements

USCIS is launching four new online features to give you more accessibility to your case information.

1. Online Inquiry Tool for Select Forms: If your case is outside the posted processing times and you filed an Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Form I-90) or an Application for Naturalization (Form N-400), you can now submit an electronic inquiry directly to the appropriate Field Office or Service Center instead of calling the National Customer Service number or making an InfoPass appointment with the local office. Additionally, once the electronic inquiry is received, USCIS now commits to a 15-day customer response, reduced from the previous commitment to respond within 30 days.


2. Specific Adjudication Steps by Form Type on My Case Status: Now when you check your case status online, the steps you see will be specific to your petition or application.


3. E-mail Notification in Spanish: When you register to receive e-mail updates on your case status, you can now elect to receive messages in English or Spanish.


4. Change of Address Online in Spanish: You will now be able to submit a Change of Address Online in English or Spanish.

For more information visit USCIS.

source: USCIS blog: The Beacon

Elena Kagan Sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice

VOANews: Elena Kagan Sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice

Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath Saturday

West Wing Week: 8/06/10 or "Dispatches from the Gulf"

WH.gov: Welcome to a special Gulf Coast episode of West Wing Week. We spent this week traveling through communities on America's Gulf Coast to give you a special behind the scenes look at the federal government's historic and unprecedented effort to contain and clean up after the BP oil spill.

Join responders as they skim sheen off the ocean and respond to oiled wildlife. Stop by a town hall with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, as he hears the concerns of locals. Join engineers as they pump mud into the well itself, creating a more permanent seal and much more.

The 2010 Presidential Citizen's Medal

WH.gov: The 2010 Presidential Citizen's Medal

President Obama honors the 13 recipients of the Presidential Citizen's Medal in a ceremony at the White House. The Citizens Medal recognizes Americans who perform "exemplary deeds of service."

2010 Presidential Citizens Medal Winners

Dr. Roberta Diaz Brinton (Los Angeles, Calif.): Dr. Brinton volunteers as Director of the USC Science, Technology, and Research (STAR) program, which provides South Central LA high school students with an integrated science education pipeline that includes education, hands-on research, mentoring and summer jobs.

Dr. Daisy Brooks (Chicago, Ill.): Dr. Brooks founded Daisy's Resource and Development Center, which helps pregnant girls 12-21, providing education and vocational training.

Betty Chinn (Eureka, Calif.): Ms. Chinn came to the U.S. after fleeing Communist persecution that left her mute; in the U.S. she found her voice and a life where, for over twenty years, she has provided food and clothing to the needy twice a day.

Cynthia Church (Wilmington, Del.): A breast cancer survivor, Ms. Church founded Sisters on a Mission, which assists women of color who have breast cancer.

Mary K. Hoodhood (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Ms. Hoodhood engages in a variety of volunteer activities, including founding Kids’ Food Baskets, which provides brown bag dinners to elementary school children living in poverty.

Kimberly McGuiness (Cave Spring, Ga.): Ms. McGuiness is an advocate on behalf of deaf children in Georgia.

Jorge Muñoz (New York City, N.Y.): Mr. Muñoz is a naturalized citizen who drives a school bus by day and at night serves food to the homeless from his truck.

Lisa Nigro (Chicago, Ill.): Ms. Nigro founded Inspiration Café, a restaurant for the homeless, which has grown into an organization that provides holistic services to help the homeless.

Mary Ann Phillips (Star Valley Ranch, Wyo.): Ms. Phillips volunteers in Germany with Soldiers’ Angels, a nonprofit that provides support to soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam (Shaftsbury, Vt.): Ms. Putnam founded the Student Conservation Association, which places volunteers in conservation service positions around the U.S. and in several foreign countries.

Susan Retik (Needham, Mass.): After the death of her husband on September 11th, Ms. Retik founded Beyond the 11th, which helps Afghani widows and their children.

Myrtle Faye Rumph (Inglewood, Calif.): Following the drive-by shooting death of her son, Ms. Rumph founded the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center to provide a safe haven and intervention programs for South Central LA youth.

George Weiss, Jr. (Marine, Minn.): Mr. Weiss founded the Fort Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad, which performs final military honors for deceased veterans (over 55,000 to date).

Americans who go above and beyond for their community and country don't go unrecognized. For more than 40 years, extraordinary citizens and public figures have been honored with the Presidential Citizens Medal, which recognizes “citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”
-- Executive Order 11494 (Nov. 13, 1969)

Kudos to the Honorees!

Happy Birthday, President Obama!

VOANews: President Obama Turns 49 Wednesday

US president is expected to have a private celebratory dinner at his Chicago home

US Judge Overturns California Gay Marriage Ban

VOANews: US Judge Overturns California Gay Marriage Ban

Decision comes nearly two years after approval of Proposition 8, which defines marriage as union between a man and a woman

Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg Get a History Lesson in the Roots of US Democracy

VOAVideo: Visitors to Colonial Williamsburg Get a History Lesson in the Roots of US Democracy

From http://voaspecialenglish.com/ http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish Colonial Williamsburg is a living history center in the state of Virginia. More than 1,000 of its employees work as historical interpreters. They demonstrate how 18th century Americans lived. One of them is Bill Rose.

National Night Out 2010

VOANews: Neighbors Fight Crime with a National Night Out

An estimated 34 million Americans take part in the National Night Out, which has been held in early August since 1984 -- organized by a non-profit, grassroots group called the National Association of Town Watch. Matt Peskin,the group's spokesman, said the event has been growing year by year. "In the early days, it was very symbolic - front porch lights on, front porch vigil -- that was about it. People liked that - the unity part of it, that '99 percent of us are law-abiding, that we're all out [one night] showing our support for fighting crime.'

• San Jose, Milpitas celebrate national night out to combat crime, students urged to participate

Arizonans React to Court Ruling as Limited Immigration Law Takes Effect

VOAVideo: Arizonans React to Court Ruling as Limited Immigration Law Takes Effect

Residents of the Western U.S. state of Arizona reacted Thursday to a federal judge's ruling that blocked key parts of a controversial state immigration law. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports from Nogales, Arizona, some applauded and others criticized Wednesday's ruling by Judge Susan Bolton, as a restricted version of the law went into effect.

Signing the Tribal Law and Order Act

WH.gov: Signing the Tribal Law and Order Act

President Obama signs the Tribal Law and Order Act, a law that gives tribal authorities greater authority to prosecute and punish criminals. July 29, 2010.