DETROIT — The new Detroit District U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) building officially opened on Wednesday with ribbon-cutting and naturalization ceremonies before a packed crowd.

The ribbon was cut to officially open the new USCIS Detroit District Office on Wednesday.

Fifteen new citizens were sworn in from countries ranging from Romania to Iraq to India in the bigger, brighter, state-of-the-art facility at 11411 E. Jefferson in Detroit. Tours were given to those in attendance and a keynote speech on self-confidence, the importance of thinking big and taking advantage of the resources America provides was given by Dr. Subir Chowdhury, an immigrant from Bangladesh who went on to become an award-winning author and leader in the field of quality management.
Marilu Cabrera, the regional media manager of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the new building was long overdue.

“For our applicants, this building will make a big difference,” she said. “The old one was one of the worst facilities in the country. It was a dark, dingy, building, but this one is much better.”

Immigration workers believe the larger size of the new USCIS Detroit District Office will make the process of becoming a new American citizen quicker and more efficient.

A lack of waiting space and an overall drab atmosphere were two of the biggest complaints about the old building on Mt. Elliot in Detroit, but the new building addresses both of those issues with a more comfortable waiting room that’s about 20 times larger. And a more environmentally-friendly overall design used more recycled materials, lessens storm water run-off and includes plenty of windows for more natural light.
Cabrera hopes that the extra space and efficiency will lend itself to faster application processing. Currently, the time it takes for new naturalization applications to be approved is about six months, but the goal is to reduce that number to five months.

Legal permanent resident applications currently take more than five months but Cabrera said the goal is to cut that number to four months.

USCIS Acting Deputy Director Michael Aytes spoke about the diverse makeup of the Detroit area and the role the new center will play.

“Detroit has a long-standing tradition of welcoming immigrants from across the globe,” he said, adding that the center will go a long way toward making a good first impression on people visiting the U.S. for the first time.

“The USCIS is committed to ensuring the history of the U.S. as a nation of immigrants.”