IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 820 
Expressing support for designation of February 2020 as National Citizenship 
Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 30, 2020 
Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. 
CASE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. MUCARSEL-POW-
ELL, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. 
CORREA, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, 
Mr. SOTO, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, 
Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. VELA, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Ms. CASTOR of Flor-
ida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for designation of February 2020 as 
National Citizenship Month. 
Whereas the United States has been recognized for centuries 
as the land of opportunity for those seeking economic and 
educational opportunities as well as freedom from perse-
cution; 
Whereas immigrants account for 13.6 percent of the popu-
lation of the United States; 
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•HRES 820 IH 
Whereas one in eight people in the United States is an immi-
grant and one in six workers in the United States is an 
immigrant; 
Whereas when immigrants arrive in the United States, the 
vast majority embrace the principles that strengthen our 
Nation: valuing work ethic, pursuing education, and 
striving for economic opportunity; 
Whereas thanks to their reflection of these principles, immi-
grants have allowed the United States to thrive economi-
cally, socially, and culturally, which reinforces and fur-
ther defines our Nation as the land of opportunity; 
Whereas the United States must continue to welcome immi-
grants from across the globe in order to remain standing 
as a beacon for innovation and advancement; 
Whereas the United States, by embracing these principles, 
continues to attract the most talented, diverse, and hard-
est working immigrants; 
Whereas the non-citizen population in the United States has 
been estimated to be 22.5 million in 2017, of which 13.2 
million were lawful permanent residents; 
Whereas of those 13.2 million lawful permanent residents, 9 
million are eligible to become naturalized citizens of the 
United States; 
Whereas the United States continues to support our immi-
grant community, particularly those that seek a pathway 
to citizenship; 
Whereas naturalization is the formal process by which United 
States citizenship is granted to immigrants after they 
have fulfilled requirements under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act; 
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•HRES 820 IH 
Whereas U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) 
welcomes approximately 620,000 to 780,000 citizens each 
year during naturalization ceremonies; 
Whereas nearly 70 percent of lawful permanent residents be-
came eligible to naturalize more than 15 years ago; 
Whereas the high cost of citizenship and lack of information 
prevent many lawful permanent residents from natural-
izing; 
Whereas naturalization application processing should be fair, 
efficient, affordable, and accessible to all eligible individ-
uals, not just the wealthy; 
Whereas the proposed hikes in naturalization fees would raise 
the cost of applying for citizenship by more than 80 per-
cent, from $640 to $1,170, while also eliminating the fee 
waiver and reduced fee for low-income applicants, making 
naturalization unaffordable for 4 million eligible natu-
ralization applicants; 
Whereas current USCIS naturalization backlogs are aver-
aging 10 to 16 months, with some applicants waiting 
over 2 years before obtaining citizenship; 
Whereas lengthy naturalization backlogs with processing 
times of more than six months deprive our country of the 
expeditious integration of new Americans; 
Whereas in addition to adding to the richness and diversity 
of our Nation’s culture, our immigrant community plays 
a critical role in growing our economy, for example, in 
2013, immigrants added $1.6 trillion to the United 
States gross domestic product (GDP) and helped increase 
the standard of living for Americans; 
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Whereas citizenship alone can boost individual earnings by 8 
to 11 percent, leading to a potential $21 to 45 billion in-
crease in cumulative earnings over 10 years; and 
Whereas in addition to the economic, educational, and cul-
tural benefits of citizenship, newly naturalized citizens 
gain the right and privilege to vote in United States elec-
tions, run for public office, bring family members to the 
United States, and other benefits: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of National Citi-
zenship Month; 
(2) supports the goals and efforts of National 
Citizenship Month, which include raising awareness 
about the requirements for naturalization and finan-
cial assistance options, hosting citizenship work-
shops, modernizing and streamlining the naturaliza-
tion process, and attending citizenship ceremonies; 
(3) honors the contributions our immigrant 
community makes to our Nation; 
(4) recognizes that the successful naturalization 
of the 9 million eligible lawful permanent residents 
will provide significant social and economic benefits 
to our Nation; and 
(5) recognizes that when we fully incorporate 
and integrate our immigrant community in our Na-
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tion, then our democracy and Nation are further 
strengthened. 
Æ 
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