A Gainesville nonprofit organization will begin offering free citizenship classes Thursday.
Volunteers from the Latina Women’s League will help prepare participants for the U.S. citizenship test and hold mock interviews at the Millhopper Branch Library, located at 3145 NW 43rd St.
The classes will run each Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. until March 28.
The classes, which are held twice a year, are available for people of all cultural backgrounds, said Victoria Condor-Williams, president of the Latina Women’s League.
“It’s important to give this particular tool ... for people who are applying,” she said.
The classes will also provide attendees with a chance to meet with a lawyer and learn lessons geared toward different portions of the citizenship test, said Greg Mullaley, an instructor for the citizenship classes.
In order to take the official citizenship test, applicants need to submit a N-400 to U.S. Citizenship Immigration and Services as well as two photographs, a copy of their permanent resident card and a check to pay for the application and fingerprinting, according to the department’s website.
Once the application processes, applicants will take a citizenship and English test.
There are a total of 100 questions that applicants need to know, Mullaley said. Out of this grouping, 10 questions will be asked, and only six correct answers are needed to pass.
Mullaley said six out of the eight classes will be dedicated to the different sections of the test, which range from American history to integrated civics.
Jonathan Scholl, an instructor for this year’s classes, said the instructors will help tutor students in specific sections of the test.
“What we will be doing this year is tailoring [the classes] to the needs of people who come,” he said.
During the years the league has held the classes, Condor-Williams said the students ranged from 25 to 75 years old and come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Last semester, the class size was about 10 to 12 people, she said.
Dzenan Elkaz, a Shands Jacksonville pediatric cardiology nurse, received his citizenship in 2001 after he immigrated to the U.S. from Bosnia five years earlier.
“When you move to the U.S., it’s something that you dream about,” he said. “It’s the next step.”
