The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that they are starting a pilot program in an effort to redesign certificates that are issued for naturalization and citizenship. The primary goal of redesigning the citizenship and naturalization certificates is to make these documents more difficult to counterfeit. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is doing so by adding “enhanced graphics and fraud-resistant security features” to the documents.
Of course, this is just a pilot program to see whether all immigration field offices and service centers will begin issuing citizenship and naturalization documents with the new design or whether they will come up with a new plan. The pilot program is being tested at several different sites throughout the United States, including at the:
- Norfolk, Virginia Field Office
- Tampa, Florida Field Office
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Field Office
- Sacramento Field Office
- Nebraska Service Center
If the USCIS finds that the pilot program is a success and these documents are more difficult to counterfeit, the new design will be implemented in all new certificates across the country. Though the pilot program will only last 10 days, there is no date for which the newly designed certificates will be issued nationwide if they are determined to be a success.
Any current designs will still be accepted as valid proof of citizenship.
John Sesini is an experienced immigration attorney with offices in Green Bay and Milwaukee Wisconsin. If you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact the Sesini Law Group, S.C. and obtain your initial consultation.