Outstanding American by Choice
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[]
2006[]
- , Soviet-born; Director of Russian Communications and Community Outreach at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.[4]
- , Mexico-born and raised in Texas; Rear-Admiral of the United States Navy.[4]
- , Cuban-born; President and Chief Executive Officer of the .[4]
- Carlos M. Gutierrez, Cuban-born; U.S. Secretary of Commerce.[4]
- Zalmay Khalilzad, Afghan-born; United States Ambassador to Iraq.[4]
- Renu Khator, Indian-born; Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of South Florida.[4]
- Tom Lantos, Hungarian-born; member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[4]
- Guillermo Linares, Dominican-born; Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs for New York City.[4]
- , Irish-born; Refugee Program Coordinator for the State of Texas.[4]
- Jose E. Martinez, Dominican-born; U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida.[4]
- Mel Martínez, Cuban-born; member of the U.S. Senate.[4]
- , Haitian-born; Executive Director of the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center.[4]
- , Rwandan-born; Founder and Executive Director of the Bright Move Network.[4]
- , Irish-born; executive director of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians.[4]
- Eduardo J. Padrón, Cuban-born; President of Miami Dade College.[4]
- Kiran C. Patel, Zambian-born; Chairman of the Patel Foundation for Global Understanding.[4]
- , German-born; Physician, Hospice and Palliative Medicine.[4]
- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Cuban-born; member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[4]
- John F. Timoney, Irish-born; Chief of Police of the Miami Police Department.[4]
- Fang A. Wong, Chinese-born; Special Operations Specialist with L3 Communications at .[4]
2007[]
USCIS Director Emilio T. Gonzalez with military recipients on September 24, 2007
- Eduardo Aguirre, Cuban-born; United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra.[5]
- , Iraqi-born; United States Air Force.[5]
- , Nigerian-born; United States Air Force.[5]
- , Cuban-born; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[5]
- , German-born; Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel in The White House.[5]
- Josefina Carbonell, Cuban-born; Assistant Secretary for Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[5]
- Franklin Chang Diaz, Costa Rican-born; astronaut.[5]
- Manuel A. Diaz, Cuban-born; Mayor of Miami.[5]
- , Cuban-born; United States Air Force.[5]
- , Venezuelan-born; professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.[5]
- Emilio Estefan, Cuban-born; musician, producer, entrepreneur.[5]
- Gloria Estefan, Mexican-born; singer-songwriter.[5]
- , Austrian-born; Professor of Biology and Special Assistant to the President at the University of Miami.[5]
- Vartan Gregorian, Iranian-born; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.[5]
- Farooq Kathwari, Indian-born[6][circular reference]; Chairman and CEO of Ethan Allen.[5]
- M.J. Khan, Pakistani-born; Houston City Council Member.[5]
- Alfonso Martinez-Fonts Jr., Cuban-born; Assistant Secretary of the Private Sector Office at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.[5]
- Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Mexican-born; director/screenwriter.[5]
- Indra Nooyi, Indian-born; Chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo.[5]
- , Hong Kong-born; entrepreneur.[5]
- , Ecuadorian-born; community leader.[5]
- Dina Powell, Egyptian-born; Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.[5]
- , Polish-born; civic leader.[5]
- , Jamaican-born; United States Coast Guard.[5]
- , Mexican-born; Professor emeritus at the United States Military Academy.[5]
- John Shalikashvili, Polish-born; General in the United States Army.[5]
- Peter W. Schramm, Hungarian-born; Executive Director of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs and Professor of Political Science at Ashland University.[5]
- , Pakistani-born; Officer for the South Atlantic District Veterinary Command of the United States Army.[5]
- Antonio Taguba, Filipino-born; Major-General in the United States Army.[5]
- , Vietnamese-born; United States Air Force.[5]
2008[]
- Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-born; United States Secretary of Transportation.[7]
- James S. C. Chao, Chinese-born; founder of the Foremost Group.[7]
- Anh Duong, Vietnamese-born; Science Advisor to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans and Strategy at the Pentagon.[7]
- John Fugh, Chinese-born; United States Army.[7]
- Andy García, Cuban-born; actor.[7]
- Abul Hussam, Bangladeshi-born; professor at George Mason University.[7]
- Rosario Marin, Mexican-born; Treasurer of the United States.[7]
- Elsa Murano, Cuban-born; President of Texas A&M University.[7]
- , Barbadian-born; United States Army.
- Charles Simic, Serbian-born; Poet Laureate of the United States.[7]
- Albio Sires, Cuban-born; member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[7]
- , Bosnian-born; United States Army.
- , British-born; Vice President Global Public Relations for Disney Parks.[7]
- Elie Wiesel, Romanian-born; writer.[7]
- , Canadian-born; United States Army.[7]
2009[]
- Joseph Cao, Vietnamese-born; member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[8]
- Subir Chowdhury, Bangladeshi-born; author of management books.[8]
- , 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]
- , Albanian-born; Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.[8]
- , Portuguese-born; educator.[8]
- , Ethiopian-born; Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[8]
2010[]
- , Haitian-born; CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.[9]
- , Ethiopian-born; Park Ranger for the National Park Service.[9]
- , Filipino-born; United States Army.[9]
- , 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]
- , born in ?; Director of the International Human Rights Policy at Wellesley College.[9]
- , born in ?; professor at Stanford University.[9]
2011[]
- Madeleine K. Albright, Czech-born; former U.S. Secretary of State.[10]
- , Yugoslavian-born; Associate Chief of U.S. Border Patrol at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[10]
- Omar Cruz, born in ?; Federal Emergency Management Agency.[10]
- , Colombian-born; U.S. Coast Guard.[10]
- , Vietnamese-born; U.S. Secret Service.[10]
- , Croatian-born; Executive Director of the Ethnic Heritage Council.[10]
- , Syrian-born; Transportation Security Administration.[10]
- Gerda Weissmann Klein, Polish-born; Founder of Citizenship Counts.[10]
- , Ethiopian-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[10]
2012[]
- , born in ?; President and CEO of the Che International Group.[11]
- , Hong Kong-born; President and Chief Executive Officer at Self Help for the Elderly.[11]
- Ping Fu, Chinese-born; President and CEO of Geomagic.[11]
- Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born; diplomat.[11]
- Michael Moritz, British-born; Partner at Sequoia Capital.[11]
- Maria Otero, Bolivian-born; Under Secretary Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.[11]
- Shervin Pishevar Iranian-born; Managing Director of Menlo Ventures.[11]
- Jan Vilček, Czech-born; academic.[11]
- Vivek Wadhwa, Indian-born; Academic, researcher, writer and entrepreneur.
2013[]
- , Afghan-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[12]
- , Chinese-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[12]
- , Cuban-born; Senior Vice President for Latino Hispanic Affairs at the Self-Help Services Corporation.[12]
- Rahul M. Jindal, Indian-born; surgeon.[12]
- , Polish-born; Market Manager for the Battelle Memorial Institute.[12]
- , Dominican-born; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[12]
- , Russian-born; Co-founder and Head of Operations at Upstart.[12]
- Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, Mexican-born; neurosurgeon.[12]
- , Indian-born; President and CEO of Ocular Therapeutix.[12]
- Sivalingam Sivananthan, Sri Lankan-born; academic.[12]
- , Ethiopian-born; Founder and President of the Ethiopian Community Development Council.[12]
2014[]
- José Andrés, Spanish-born; chef.[13]
- John Lukacs, Hungarian-born; historian.[13]
- Alejandro Mayorkas, Cuban-born; Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.[13]
2015[]
- Maria Contreras-Sweet, Mexican-born; Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.[14]
- , United States Army.[14]
- , Irish-born; Catholic priest.[14]
- , Vietnamese-born; Principal of the Meiwah Restaurant Group.[14]
- Mariano Rivera, Panamian-born; former baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.[14]
- Thalía, Mexican-born; singer-songwriter, actress.[14]
- , Cuban-born; Founder of El Mundo newspaper.[14]
2016[]
- , Taiwanese-born; professor at the University of California, Berkeley.[15]
- , South Korean-born; former chair and president of the .
- Florent Groberg, French-born; United States Army.[15]
- Antonia Hernández, Mexican-born; President and CEO of the California Community Foundation.[15]
- Uri D. Herscher, Israeli-born; President and CEO of the Skirball Cultural Center.[15]
- Sally Jewell, British-born; former U.S. Secretary of the Interior.[15]
- Samantha Power, Irish-born; diplomat.[15]
- , Belgian-born; U.S. Department of Education.[15][16]
2017[]
- , U.S. Army Reserve.[17]
- Meb Keflezighi, Eritrean-born; long-distance runner.[17]
References[]
- ^ Geddes, William (November 21, 2017). "Army Reserve Soldier Receives American By Choice Award". United States Army. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ "Outstanding Americans By Choice Archives". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ 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. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Srinagar
- ^ 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. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2009 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2010 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "2011 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2012 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "2013 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c "2014 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "2015 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "2016 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ "Johan Uvin: Pathways to Citizenship Through Career and Technical Education". ED.gov Blog. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ a b "2017 Outstanding American by Choice Recipients". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
Categories:
- History of immigration to the United States
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- 2006 establishments in the United States
- Awards established in 2006