Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g1QMVVu23419; Tue, 26 Feb 2002 17:31:31 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 17:31:31 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <B8A169A0.927%azbecker@mindspring.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Aliza Becker <azbecker@mindspring.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:7317] Re: US citizenship test X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 4992 Lines: 103 Dear Dottie, You've brought up an important issue. If senior applicants do not qualify to take the test in their native language or for a disability waiver, your options are limited. Here are some ideas: A. According to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all governmental agencies including the INS are required to make accommodations for people with disabilities. This includes accommodations for disabilities that do not qualify people for a waiver from the testing requirements as long as the requested accommodations do not substantially alter the test. Of course, that's open for interpretation. Learning disabilities are included. For example, you might request that questions be phrased in a particular way or that only "Yes/No" questions be asked. I observed an interview with a Deaf woman with learning disabilities in which they were requested to only asked a select group of the 100 questions and complied. (Of course it worked in the applicant's favor that a local group had already filed suit against the INS for failing to make appropriate accommodations for Deaf citizenship applicants.) They had only testimony from the teacher as evidence of the learning disability. While I have seen nothing saying how to document a learning disability, I would imagine that you need some evidence even if it's a letter from a teacher. Then you have to convince INS to make the appropriate accommodations. Unfortunately the normal aging process is not considered a disability. I encourage you to hook up with local immigration/disability advocates and see how it goes. B. Several years ago Representative Jerome Nadler from New York introduced the Senior Citizenship Act which would ease testing requirements for senior citizenship applicants. I believe the bill is still active. Unfortunately, security concerns now dominate the legislative agenda in Congress. It's a perfect issues to get your students to advocate for. C. The regulations for naturalization state that the adjudicator should take into consideration an applicant's educational background and other factors in the phrasing of the questions. In Chicago, the Adult Learning Resource Center developed a form that documented educational background, how long the applicant had studied, progress made in the classes, etc. and cited this portion of the regulations as a reminder for the adjudicator. I believe it has been somewhat successful. I urge you to check their web site. I think that the bottom line is that there is currently a lot or room for flexibility in how the INS conducts its interviews. It's important to develop a relationship with your local INS and with other local advocates to make sure that the maximum flexibility is given to senior citizenship applicants during the interview. Reminding them about their obligations under the Rehab Act can only help. Good luck! Aliza On 2/26/02 3:04 PM, "Dottie Shattuck" <dottie@shattuck.net> wrote: > This is a multi-part message in MIME format. > > ------=_NextPart_000_00E8_01C1BEDF.B89288C0 > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > > To Aliza Becker and anyone else on this list who has any contact and/or = > influence with INS: > > How can we convince the INS to make a provision in the citizenship test = > for elderly applicants who cannot master the difficult history & civics = > material? =20 > > SUGGESTION: Instead of answering randomly chosen questions, why = > couldn't they identify (perhaps in very limited English) 3-4 pictures of = > American icons -- e.g., the flag, the Statue of Liberty, George = > Washington, Abraham Lincoln, the Capitol or the current president. = > Retrieving complex information is often very difficult for the seniors, = > but recognition of pictures is often "do-able." > > Here's why I ask -- and I suspect these aren't isolated cases: > > In the past 24 hours, I've been asked by 2 senior citizen ESL students = > to write letters for them, explaining to INS why it is so very difficult = > for them to learn the information necessary to take & pass the US = > citizenship test. Both were former refugees -- a Vietnamese man, 65, = > who spent 9 yrs. in a "re-education camp" and a Bosnian woman, 70, who = > survived Sarajevo. Neither qualifies for the "here 20 yrs. & over 60" = > provision. > > Although both are literate in L1 and despite spending 2-3 years in = > beginning ESL classes, neither could get beyond Beginner or High = > Beginner. Trying to learn the 100 Questions material has been virtually = > impossible, only adding to their stress and declining health. The man = > told me today, via his wife, that he wants "to die American. Vietnam bad = > to me." [His health is very bad; he has nearly died 3-4 times = > recently.] > > Surely with thousands of elderly applicants in the system, adjustments = > could be made. > > Dottie Shattuck > Central Piedmont Community College > Charlotte, NC >
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