Naturalization Ceremony Held At Remote Northernmost Alaskan Town

UTQIAGVIK, ALASKA - AUGUST 10: New American immigrant Armon Promdee, 49, from Thailand receives a U.S. citizenship certificate following a naturalization ceremony on August 10, 2023 in Utqiagvik, Alaska. Located along the Arctic Ocean, Utqiagvik is the northernmost settlement in the United States. Formerly known as Barrow, the town of nearly 5,000 people is mostly populated by indigenous Iñupiat, but also with a growing immigrant population. This year U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), who held the ceremony, launched a nationwide effort to bring immigration services to remote locations to help legal immigrants, often green card holders, to become American citizens. In the case of Utqiagvik, petitioners would have normally needed to take the two-hour flight to Anchorage, often multiple times, for citizenship appointments. The USCIS effort puts into effect the Biden Administration's Executive Order 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans. The order, issued on February 2, 2021, instructs U.S. government agencies to promote citizenship through naturalization, improve the naturalization process overall and reduce wait times for applicants. It also revoked a Trump-era memorandum designed to slow and ultimately restrict legal immigration. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)