09/12/2021
Check out this amazing success story from Irene!
"In 2020, I applied for a Real ID - that’s when the nightmare began! I had always taken my US citizenship for granted. But the REAL ID application required proof of citizenship, which I had lost between my moves and over the years. Mistakenly, I believed I’d have no problem obtaining a document-of-record at the St. Paul courthouse, where I was naturalized in 1968. They could not find my records. I was also unsuccessful in a request for help from two MN state legislators.
Two weeks ago, after 1.5 years of frustration, I received my new replacement Certificate of US Citizenship in the mail. I was overjoyed! The anxiety, stress, frustration and worry that I had experienced was finally lifted and replaced by serenity.
I am 82 years old, and my family immigrated from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to St. Paul, Minnesota in September, 1952. I was 12 years old and started 7th grade at St. Paul Park High School. After high school graduation in 1957, I was admitted to Hamline University. Four years later I was married and graduated with a B.S. degree in nursing. My first job as an RN followed when I was hired to work on a med/surg unit at Midway Hospital. Seven years later I took my oath of US citizenship in St. Paul, and I was living the American dream. My husband and I bought a new house, we had two sons, a dog, the white picket fence, and a new car in the garage! Twenty-two years later we moved to Woodbury and built another new home. And I retired from nursing in 2000.
Fast-forward 20 years, on February of 2020, I completed an N-565 USCIS form for a replacement Certificate of US Citizenship, and I paid the $555 fee. Eleven months later, in January of 2021, I received a “Request for Evidence” letter from the USCIS requiring further evidence of my citizenship, which I had to send by April or my request for citizenship would be denied. Now I was panicky. Their information suggested I should contact the national archives in Washington D.C., but federal records were closed to the general public due to Covid-19. I had nowhere else to turn and I began to lose hope.
One morning, I Googled “immigration” and IMMIGRANT HOPE appeared on the screen. I made an appointment and met with Pastor Jeff Groen who immediately put me at ease. He explained the mission of IMMIGRANT HOPE and the qualifications and training they had to help me resolve my case. He patiently assured me that they would be able to help. I gathered together all the other information that I had. He looked at it and talked about other evidence that would be helpful if I could obtain it. I mentioned an App that a friend had directed me to and Pastor Groen found that helpful in his subsequent research. Before I left, he prayed with me and made a final follow-up appointment. I finally felt and hoped that this was going to be a game changer, and it was! I believe there was no one else who would have been able to help me – the proof is that I now have my Certificate of Citizenship! I would recommend IMMIGRANT HOPE to anyone applying for citizenship. I will be forever grateful to Jeff and all the volunteers who helped with research, typing, and mailing.
Thank you, IMMIGRANT HOPE! May God bless the important work you do on behalf of those who struggle to become American citizens."
