New loans offered for citizenship applications

Immigrants aspiring to become U.S. citizens have a new tool at their hands: a no-interest loan offered through a Latino nonprofit to help cover naturalization application costs.

Since citizenship application fees shot up to $675 in July, immigrant advocates have worried that people who wish to become U.S. citizens might shy away because of the cost.

To meet the need, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials paired up with Advance America, a payday cash provider, to start offering a no-interest loan to help immigrants cover citizenship fees. The program forms part of a broader citizenship drive launched by the nonprofit earlier this
year.