Who We Are
We are Empowering Citizens, an up-and-coming community organization located in Milwaukee, WI, founded by two individuals who are passionate and dedicated to helping the immigrant community. Our story goes beyond a single dream and desire to help; it starts with our founders' immigration journeys and their path to living and achieving their American Dream!
Daniel Gutierrez Ayala, a DACA beneficiary, and Nury Madrigal, a naturalized U.S. citizen with a life dream and a desire to make a real change in their community, co-founded Empowering Citizens | Empoderando Ciudadanos in May of 2019 and officially opened the doors of ECEC in October of the same year.
We at Empowering Citizens are dedicated to helping the immigrant community find the resources to secure their future in the United States. Empowering Citizens specializes in helping lawful permanent residents prepare for their naturalization civics exam with USCIS to become active citizens of the United States.
Daniel Gutierrez Ayala, a DACA beneficiary, and Nury Madrigal, a naturalized U.S. citizen with a life dream and a desire to make a real change in their community, co-founded Empowering Citizens | Empoderando Ciudadanos in May of 2019 and officially opened the doors of ECEC in October of the same year.
We at Empowering Citizens are dedicated to helping the immigrant community find the resources to secure their future in the United States. Empowering Citizens specializes in helping lawful permanent residents prepare for their naturalization civics exam with USCIS to become active citizens of the United States.
What We Do
Helping You Become an Active Citizen of the United States
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Empowering Citizens seeks to increase the naturalization rate in Wisconsin and beyond. We are a community organization that provides high-quality citizenship classes for permanent residents to help them become active citizens of the United States. Empowering Citizens offers interpretation services for USCIS interviews, translation of documents, legal referrals, and we provide educational materials needed for your journey toward U.S. citizenship. In addition, Empowering Citizens works collaboratively with community-based partners in Milwaukee, WI, and nationally known organizations to provide a range of support services, civics instruction, and citizenship application assistance.
Please note that Empowering Citizens does not provide any legal advice. If you need an immigration attorney, please refer to our list of trusted immigration attorneys or call us for a legal referral. Citizenship application assistance is only offered during certain times throughout the year. To find out when our next legal clinic is, please contact us for more information. |
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Citizenship Classes
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Are you ready to become a naturalized citizen of the U.S.? Register for our Citizenship Classes today! Our volunteer instructors will work with you to ensure you are more than ready for your civics exam with USCIS.
Empowering Citizens provides each student enrolled with all the materials needed to succeed. To continue our work and mission, we ask for a one-time $50 donation. However, if a student is unable to cover this fee, no student will be turned away. Part of our mission is to help eliminate any barriers to the immigration process for citizenship, including obstacles such as cost and fees. |
Class Hours and Information
Citizenship Classes for our English group are weekly on:
Mondays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Citizenship Classes for our Spanish group are weekly on:
Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
1st semester classes will begin April 29th, 2024 and will run until August 5th, 2024. Limited seats available. Enroll Now!
Mondays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Citizenship Classes for our Spanish group are weekly on:
Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
1st semester classes will begin April 29th, 2024 and will run until August 5th, 2024. Limited seats available. Enroll Now!
Interpretation for USCIS Interviews
Spanish Speaking Applicants
Citizenship Interviews
Did you know you may qualify to be exempt from the English language requirement of the Naturalization Test? If you are eligible you may be accompanied by an interpreter to your Naturalization Interview! Empowering Citizens offers interpretation services for Citizenship Interviews where the applicants native language is Spanish. Check if you are eligible below:
You are exempt from the English language requirement, but are still required to take the civics test if you are:
You are exempt from the English language requirement, but are still required to take the civics test if you are:
- Age 50 or older at the time of filing for naturalization and have lived as a permanent resident (Green Card holder) in the United States for 20 years (commonly referred to as the “50/20” exception).
- Age 55 or older at the time of filing for naturalization and have lived as a permanent resident in the United States for 15 years (commonly referred to as the “55/15” exception).
Adjustment of Status Interviews
Do you have your Adjustment of Status interview with USCIS soon? Empowering Citizens offers interpretation services for Adjustment of Status interviews where the applicant(s) native language is Spanish.
Other Languages
At this time Empowering Citizens only provides interpretation services for English to Spanish language interviews. If you need an interpreter in your native language that is not Spanish you can contact the International Institute of Wisconsin by calling 414-225-6220.