Booklet is guide for immigrants

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released a new guide, "Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants."

The guide, available online for free at www.uscis.gov, is designed for permanent residents and the organizations that serve them. It marks the first time in recent history that the federal government has provided such orientation materials.

It is designed to help immigrants settle into everyday life in the United States, and provides basic civics information on the U.S. system of government.

The online guide was accessed nearly half a million times in its first week, U.S. CIS reported. It is currently available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese, and will soon be available in Tagalog, Korean, Russian, Arabic, French, Portuguese and Haitian Creole.

Print copies of the English and Spanish guides are available ($9.50 per guide) by calling 1-866-512-1800 or online at bookstore.gpo.gov.