Citizenship

NYCitizenship provides free legal help with citizenship application, and financial counseling, at select public library branches. As part of NYCitizenship, you can:

• Meet with a free, trusted lawyer
• Apply for citizenship easily
• Find out if you can apply for free
• Get free, confidential financial counseling

If you think you may be eligible to apply call 311 and say "citizenship appointment" to set up an appointment to meet with a legal representative at a library near you.

Applying for U.S. citizenship

Audio Description: Watch this video to learn about the process of applying to become a U.S. citizen and the benefits of free financial counseling.

You can find the Your Citizenship Journey video in the following languages: Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Bangla, Polish, Haitian Creole, Korean, French, Russian and Urdu.

Prepare for your appointment

In order to best serve you, please make sure you bring the proper documents for your appointment. Click here for a detailed document checklist and here for a worksheet (linked documents include English and Spanish versions) that you should fill out prior to attending your appointment.

These documents are also available in additional languages:

Arabic: Checklist and Worksheet
Bangla: Checklist and Worksheet
French: Checklist and Worksheet
Haitian Creole: Checklist and Worksheet
Korean: Checklist and Worksheet
Polish: Checklist and Worksheet
Russian: Checklist and Worksheet
Simplified Chinese: Checklist and Worksheet
Traditional Chinese: Checklist and Worksheet
Urdu: Checklist and Worksheet

Benefits of becoming a U.S. citizen

There are many benefits to becoming a citizen:

Financial

• You can apply to certain private and government jobs.
• You save money over time because you do not have to pay a green card renewal fee.

Civic Engagement

• You can vote in elections.
• You can serve on juries.
• You can run for and hold an elected office.

Family Immigration

• You can help your family members immigrate faster.
• You can give automatic citizenship to your children who are under 18.

Travel

• You can travel without visas to certain countries.
• You can get visas easier to other countries.
• You can travel easier to and from the U.S.
• You can travel for longer outside the U.S.

NYCitizenship is a collaborative effort by the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, Queens Library, New York City Human Resources Administration, New York Legal Assistance Group, and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. The program is supported by the Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity alongside private funders including Citi Community Development and Robin Hood.