Immigration Institute of the Bay Area

Immigration Institute of the Bay Area

  • Client: Yoseline Chavez

    I was already motivated to become a U.S. citizen, and my academic dreams only encouraged me more. I began the citizenship process by getting in contact with International Institute of the Bay Area. Having a U.S. passport feels like having a key to the world.

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  • Volunteer: Betty Labastida

    I started volunteering with the International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) over three years ago. I attended IIBA’s orientation and began helping individuals complete their citizenship applications. The flexible commitment really spoke to me. I have been volunteering about once a month since then.

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  • IIBA Holiday Recipe Cards

    These recipes have been prepared by IIBA clients to be shared with friends and supporters. We hope you enjoy sampling these international flavors in your own kitchen.

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  • Engineering His Dream: Moises Bautista

    We first introduced you to Moises in the winter of 2013. An ambitious and enthusiastic college student, Moises had come to the U.S. as a teenager to escape the growing dangers in his hometown in Mexico. While Moises was taking classes at Cañada Community College, IIBA helped him apply for U- Visa status.

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  • IIBA Lead Citizenship Instructor: Anthony Moss

    “I’ve always had a love for language. I’ve always liked working with people from different cultures and backgrounds,” says Anthony Moss. In his 11 years as IIBA’s lead citizenship instructor, Anthony has done exactly that, teaching an average of 400 citizenship students a year.

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  • Citizenship Student: Shodi H.

    “As a taxi driver, every day I pick up customers from different countries, who share their stories with me. This is very similar to my experience as a student in IIBA’s citizenship classes. I look at my classmates from Ukraine, Mexico, and China, and think, ‘Wow this is the United States,’” says Shodi.

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  • Volunteer: Ariana Hoyt

    Ariana Hoyt first began to work with the immigrant community while attending Stanford. “In college, I worked for a tutoring program for Stanford janitors. It opened my eyes to see the janitor I worked with go through so much, yet still make an effort to improve his English.” This experience solidified her desire to work…

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  • Volunteer: James Phelps

    When high school student James Phelps began volunteering at IIBA, he knew his work would help others, but he had no idea the impact that volunteering would have on his own worldview.

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  • Staff Profile: Hangama Asefi

    Community Outreach Coordinator of IIBA’s Fremont office, Hangama Asefi has intimate knowledge of the traumas many immigrants face.

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  • IIBA Client: Maria

    Maria arrived at IIBA’s citizenship preparation class last Tuesday just as she had done every week for the past six months. But this Tuesday was different since Maria was there to inform her fellow classmates and IIBA staff that she had just passed her citizenship interview and was now a U.S. Citizen.

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