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Outstanding American by Choice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Outstanding American by Choice is an award given to naturalized United States citizens "who have achieved [...] extraordinary things"[1] by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).[2] It was established in January 2006 by Emilio T. Gonzalez, then the director of USCIS.[3] As of 2018, about 130 awards have been given.

Awardees

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2006

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2007

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USCIS Director Emilio T. Gonzalez with military recipients on September 24, 2007

2008

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2009

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  • Joseph Cao, Vietnamese-born; member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[8]
  • Subir Chowdhury, Bangladeshi-born; author of management books.[8]
  • Eartha Dengler, German-born; Founder of the Immigrant City Archives.[8]
  • Maria Hinojosa, Mexican-born; journalist and author.[8]
  • Peter C. Lemon, Canadian-born; United States Army.[8]
  • Eva A. Millona, Albanian-born; Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.[8]
  • Virginia M. C. da Mota, Portuguese-born; educator.[8]
  • Eskinder Negash, Ethiopian-born; Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[8]

2010

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  • Patrick Corvington, Haitian-born; CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.[9]
  • Kawther Elmi, Ethiopian-born; Park Ranger for the National Park Service.[9]
  • Oscar Bautista Hilman, Filipino-born; United States Army.[9]
  • Ledum Ndaanee, Nigerian-born; U.S. Marine Corps.[9]
  • Stephan Ross, Polish-born; Founder of the New England Holocaust Memorial.[9]
  • Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-born; United States Army.[9]
  • Rangita de Silva de Alwis, born in Sri Lanka;[10] Director of the International Human Rights Policy at Wellesley College.[9]
  • Samuel So, born in Hong Kong; professor at Stanford University.[9]

2011

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  • Madeleine K. Albright, Czech-born; former U.S. Secretary of State.[11]
  • Joseph A. Banco, Jr., Yugoslavian-born; Associate Chief of U.S. Border Patrol at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[11]
  • Omar Cruz, Dominican-born; Federal Emergency Management Agency.[11]
  • Arturo E. Howard, Colombian-born; U.S. Coast Guard.[11]
  • Betty Nguyen Phillips, Vietnamese-born; U.S. Secret Service.[11]
  • Alma Plancich, Croatian-born; Executive Director of the Ethnic Heritage Council.[11]
  • Nawar Shora, Syrian-born; Transportation Security Administration.[11]
  • Gerda Weissmann Klein, Polish-born; Founder of Citizenship Counts.[11]
  • Aster Zeleke, Ethiopian-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[11]

2012

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2013

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  • Ferozan Alamshahi Akbari, Afghan-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[13]
  • Pearl B. Chang, Chinese-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[13]
  • John A. Herrera, Cuban-born; Senior Vice President for Latino Hispanic Affairs at the Self-Help Services Corporation.[13]
  • Rahul M. Jindal, Indian-born; surgeon.[13]
  • Olga B. Koper, Polish-born; Market Manager for the Battelle Memorial Institute.[13]
  • Ramon Melocarela, Dominican-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[13]
  • Anna Mongayt, Russian-born; Co-founder and Head of Operations at Upstart.[13]
  • Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, Mexican-born; neurosurgeon.[13]
  • Amarpreet S. Sawhney, Indian-born; President and CEO of Ocular Therapeutix.[13]
  • Sivalingam Sivananthan, Sri Lankan-born; academic.[13]
  • Tsehaye Teferra, Ethiopian-born; Founder and President of the Ethiopian Community Development Council.[13]

2014

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2015

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  • Maria Contreras-Sweet, Mexican-born; Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.[15]
  • Mercy A. Diez, United States Army.[15]
  • Daniel Finn, Irish-born; Catholic priest.[15]
  • Larry La, Vietnamese-born; Principal of the Meiwah Restaurant Group.[15]
  • Mariano Rivera, Panamian-born; former baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.[15]
  • Thalía, Mexican-born; singer-songwriter, actress.[15]
  • Alberto Vasallo, Jr., Cuban-born; Founder of El Mundo newspaper.[15]

2016

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2017

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References

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  1. ^ Geddes, William (November 21, 2017). "Army Reserve Soldier Receives American By Choice Award". United States Army. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "Outstanding Americans By Choice Archives". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Boone, Dana (April 20, 2006). "Rwandan refugee receives award for her civic works". The Des Moines Register. p. 14. Retrieved June 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "2006 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 22 August 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad "2007 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 22 August 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Bumiller, Elisabeth (6 August 1998). "PUBLIC LIVES; Promoter of Peace for a Himalayan Paradise". The New York Times.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "2008 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 22 August 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "2009 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 22 August 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "2010 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 22 August 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  10. ^ admin. "Over 5,000 become citizens at Fenway – Massachusetts Society". Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2011 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 26 October 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "2012 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 26 June 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "2013 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 3 June 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c "2014 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 8 July 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "2015 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 12 November 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "2016 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 21 December 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  17. ^ "Johan Uvin: Pathways to Citizenship Through Career and Technical Education". ED.gov Blog. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  18. ^ a b "2017 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 20 November 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2018.