Switchboard Blog
Switchboard’s blog posts offer a wide range of insights on the newcomer experience, including practical tips for navigating the resettlement process, resource lists tailored to community needs, case studies about relevant programs, engaging stories of successful integration, and more.
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2025 Changes to the Naturalization Civics Test: What Service Providers Need to Know
On September 18, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Federal Register Notice announcing implementation of the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test. Starting on October 20, 2025, the test will consist of 20 questions chosen from a pool of 128 rather than 10 questions from a pool of 100 in the 2008 version. Passing…
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The Refugee Act established quarterly consultations (QCs) as a required and simple communication channel between state refugee coordinators and local resettlement agencies as part of the foundation for the refugee resettlement program. Over time, these consultations have evolved into dynamic gatherings that shape resettlement strategies—fostering collaboration and problem-solving, and envisioning a brighter future for refugees…
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Ethnic community-based organizations (ECBOs) play a vital role in supporting and empowering their communities. However, the pressing needs of their daily operations often limit their capacity to plan for future leadership transitions. As the Karen Organization of San Diego (KOSD) highlights in this blog post, succession planning can be reframed as an opportunity for growth…
- Karen Organization of San Diego
This blog post describes a training and technical assistance (TTA) experience with the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Sacramento office, in which the Emerging Technology team at Switchboard collaborated with service providers, a local high school, and Afghan newcomer youth. Using design thinking and the co-creative process, they filmed a 360 immersive video to support the…
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Switchboard’s Emerging Technology team provides training and technical assistance (TTA) on the integration of emerging technologies into resettlement programming, with a current focus on virtual reality (VR). Co-creation is at the heart of this exciting new TTA area. This blog post describes how service providers can use design thinking and the co-creative process through technology…
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Describing Experience Effectively The task of documenting international work experience and education on a newcomer’s resume can be daunting, especially when assisting clients who have informal work experience or expertise in a highly technical industry. This blog is Switchboard’s second post related to resume-building. If you are new to this topic, start with our first…
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Newcomer women possess valuable skills to contribute to the workforce. Service providers have the unique opportunity to leverage these capabilities and empower newcomer women to actively engage in the workplace. This blog post addresses employment barriers that women face and explores strategies for supporting newcomer women in their career development. Understanding the Participation Gap Recent data from…
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