Citizenship workshop held at KIPP Lynn

LYNN – Gilberto Correa squinted his eyes at the computer screen in front of him at KIPP Academy, his son’s hand hovering over a mouse. The question in front of him seemed simple enough – list his ethnicity – but the myriad of answers confused him.”Am I Hispanic or Latino?” the Dominican immigrant asked out loud.An advisor at the KIPP Academy advised him to keep it blank for now. The only answer the official U.S. citizenship form will accept is white, which is an error on the government’s part, he explained.Correa was one of about 75 Lynn-area immigrants who were taking the first steps to become U.S. citizens at a workshop held Saturday at the Lynn school, the first workshop of its kind on the North Shore.As Correa was finding out, the application process to become a U.S. citizen can be a confusing one, said Sher Omerovic, a program manager with the Greater Boston Citizenship Initiative, which partnered with KIPP to put the workshop together.”It can get overwhelming,” she said.Omerovic said that’s one of the reasons so many immigrants who do qualify for citizenship don’t bother applying. In 2011, Massachusetts swore in 20,000 immigrants, which is about 10 percent of the state’s population of legal immigrants, she said.But she said she hopes workshops like these will encourage more immigrants to consider citizenship because it can help make cities like Lynn with high-immigrant populations more cohesive.”If people become citizens, they come more integrated into the community,” she said.That’s how Srey Peov Maiy feels. The Cambodian native became a U.S. citizen in 1994 and said she feels loyal to her country.”I’ve been here since 1982, it’s a house to me already,” she said. “My country is only to visit.”On Saturday, Maiy was helping her husband, Bunhong Ly, apply to become a U.S. citizen as well. If his application, background check and personal interview all go smoothly, he could become an American anytime between four months to a year from now.”I’m hoping it goes more quickly because we’re married, but I don’t know,” Maiy said.But the waiting time and complicated forms seem a small hurdle in comparison to the high application fee, Omerovic said. What cost Maiy $90 in 1994 is now $680.”I think that’s our biggest challenge,” she said.Though Maiy tensed up at the mention of the high application cost, she said it’s worth it.Once her husband has his American passport, she said they will travel to Cambodia to introduce Ly’s mother to her new grandchild, Joseph, which Ly bounced on his lap in front of the computer screen.”He hasn’t seen her since he moved to America [eight years ago],” Maiy said. “They really miss each other.”And Correa’s son, Tony, who is already a U.S. citizen, said the application process is an opportunity that will lead to greater things.”Just go for it. Don’t waste your time,” he said. “You can have more opportunity for yourself, for your family.”Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].