US Citizenship Podcast
Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship Interview
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Amanda Gorman Reads 'The Hill We Climb'
VOA Learning English: Amanda Gorman Reads 'The Hill We Climb'
When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast.
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,
and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.
And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken,
but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.
'Never been more optimistic': speeches, songs and celebrations cap Biden's inauguration day – as it happened
Read more
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,
but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.
If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.
It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
This effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.
In this truth, in this faith, we trust,
for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it at its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour,
but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while once we asked, ‘How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?’ now we assert, ‘How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?’
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be:
A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.
We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children’s birthright.
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.
With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the golden hills of the west.
We will rise from the wind-swept north-east where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states.
We will rise from the sun-baked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.
In every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country,
our people, diverse and beautiful, will emerge, battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Friday, January 22, 2021
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Citizenship Winter Class 04
Fall Citizenship Zoom Class is Tue and Thu 7:00-8:30 pm PDT
For one-on-one interviews 6:00-7:00 pm--email Teacher Jennifer jgagliar@musd.org
Zoom: ID: 597 738 4168, Password: 226317
Direct Link to the Winter Citizenship Zoom Class
N-400
- Beginning Interview
Civics
- si.edu: Preparing the Oath: A Growing Country
- USCIS: Early America (Intermediate)
Integration
Extra Credit
- ESL Library: Kamala Harris .
- VOANews: 7 Things You Didn't Know About Kamala Harris
- VOANews: The Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris | Plugged In with Greta Van Susteren
- VOA Learning English: President Joseph Biden Inaugural Address Highlights
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris
VOANews: Biden Sworn In as 46th US President

The Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
10K viewsStreamed 3 hours ago

Former Presidents Arrive for Biden Inauguration
3.3K views4 hours ago

President-Elect Biden Departs for Church Service
1.3K views5 hours ago
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Citizenship Winter Class 03
Fall Citizenship Zoom Class is Tue and Thu 7:00-8:30 pm PDT
For one-on-one interviews 6:00-7:00 pm--email Teacher Jennifer jgagliar@musd.org
Zoom: ID: 597 738 4168, Password: 226317
Direct Link to the Winter Citizenship Zoom Class
N-400
- Beginning Interview
Civics
- si.edu: Preparing the Oath: A Growing Country
- USCIS: Early America (Intermediate)
Integration
Extra Credit
Monday, January 18, 2021
Citizenship Resources for Martin Luther King, Jr Day
updated 01-18-2021
uscitizenpod: Three Questions for MLK Day
Three Citizenship Questions for MLK Day focused on the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Read/listen to the whole quiz below.
14 USCIS Questions in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This quiz matches 14 USCIS civics questions with speeches and events from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who worked for equality for all Americans and for all those who thirst for peace and justice throughout the world mp3 and pdf
Interview with Krestos Negasi (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) on MLK Day mp3 and pdf
A Quick Interview Based on the N-400r of Juah Sarwee from Fish Town, Liberia plus 10qs about US Geography and Symbols (2017) pdf
A Citizenship Interview Quiz for Paulette Poujol-Oriol (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) (2018) pdf
Kahoot: Citizenship Questions in Honor of Martin Luther King, Dr Day!
Learning Chocolate: Martin Luther King Jr Day
MLK Day Special mp3
uscitizenpod: US Citizenship Resources for African-American History Month
During the month of February, we explore the connection between the USCIS History and Civics questions and African American History. We also include Citizenship, Immigration, and Gov't Resources in African Languages!
VOA Learning English: Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
VOA The King Legacy Marching Forward series:
Also check out:
- US Honors Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Contributions of Civil Rights Workers Recognized
- Young People Look at the Legacy of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr
- Southern Communities Rebound From Racial Barriers
- African American Remember Discrimination of the Past
- King's Role in Obama's Rise to Power
- Search for much more at VOANews and VOA Learning English
- Americans Mark Martin Luther King Holiday Amid Pandemic, Political Violence (2021)
- New Film Explores FBI’s Secret Effort Against Martin Luther King Jr. (2021)
Also check out:
- American English at State: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- BingoMaker: Martin Luther King, J. Bingo Cards
- Census.gov "I Have a Dream" – Learning About Martin Luther King Jr.
- Census.gov: Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday and Day of Service: January 20, 2020
- ELCivics.com: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Lesson
- ESLHolidayLessons.com: MLK Day
- ESLlibrary.com: Martin Luther King Jr
- ESOL Courses: A Reading about Martin Luther King Jr
- ESLVideo.com: Martin Luther King
- ESLVideo.com: Martin Luther King Jr
- FIS.edu: Correct a MLK essay
- ListenAndReadAlong: Biography - Martin Luther King, Junior, Part 1 of 2 - Legacy of a Leader
- ListenAndReadAlong: Biography - Martin Luther King, Junior, Part 1 of 2 - Legacy of a Leader
- MLK Institute @ Stanford: Liberation Curriculum (lesson plans and resources)
- PBS: The American Experience: Citizen King
- NPG.si.edu: One Life Martin Luther King, Jr
- NPS.gov: Martin Luther King Day--Plan Your Visit to a National Park!
- NPS.gov: Martin Luther King Jr National Historical site, Georgia NPS.gov: Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (U.S. National Park Service, Washington DC)
- si: Preparing the Oath: USCIS 100:84. 100:85
- ThingLink: "Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." Advanced ESL
- UrbanIntellecturals: Stories, News, Lesson Plans, and more. Check out their new Flash cards.
- USCIS: Fighting for Our Rights
- USCIS: Equality and Freedom
- wh.gov (Obama): Participating in a Service Project for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Drive-up US citizenship ceremonies ease backlog
It's long been a joyous and patriotic event when someone takes the oath to become a U.S. citizen, like a high school graduation for new Americans.
Now, it's like a visit to a fast-food restaurant.
Thousands of people have become U.S. citizens in drive-up ceremonies under the social-distancing rules that govern life amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"At first, I was disappointed, because I thought, 'Oh, I'm not going to be able to have the picture in front of the emblem and the flag and all of that.' But then I thought, 'How great is it that they're making this opportunity available that I don't have to wait?' So actually, it was fine," Anita Rosenberger said after affirming the oath of citizenship during a drive-up ceremony in Detroit.
The 60-year-old Rosenberger came to the U.S. from England as a child in 1968.
She was among a few dozen who became new Americans on a recent afternoon inside the parking garage of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services complex in the city.
Cars inched along until arriving in front of a face shield-wearing U.S. District Judge Laurie J. Michelson (MEYE'-kehl-sehn), who recited the oath of citizenship to new citizen candidates situated in their cars, trucks and vans.
"This is a new experience, like we have done it in the building with a group of people. And this is a different feeling. But I'm very happy that they're handling it safely," said Bahar Khan, who witnessed his friend Khadiza Akter Suma of Bangladesh become a citizen.
The drive-up ceremonies are helping to ease a backlog.
But they haven't dampened enthusiasm.
People tell The Associated Press they are thrilled with their new status after already long waits that were prolonged further by the outbreak.
Many more are waiting to become citizens -- and new voters.
"I wanted to become a citizen partly just to get involved in the whole voting process. I've been here a long time. And I thought, 'You know what? I meant to do it for a long time.' And finally, it's like, 'This is the year to do it,'" said Margaret Arnold, originally from Scotland, who affirmed the oath in Detroit.
But they could be held up by a budget crisis that could soon largely shut down USCIS.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
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