VOA慢速英语2020 待在车上就能成为美国公民？！（在线收听）

The coronavirus health crisis has led to delays for thousands of people wanting to become citizens of the United States.

新冠疫情的爆发耽误了成千上万想成为美国公民的人的入籍过程。 

The federal agency that processes citizenship requests, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, suspended its in-person services in March.

负责处理公民身份申请的联邦机构美国公民及移民服务局(USCIS)于今年3月暂停了线下服务。 

At that time, the agency said there were about 110,000 people waiting to complete the final steps to citizenship.

该机构表示，当时大约有11万人在等待完成获得公民身份的最后一步。 

The process of becoming a U.S. citizen is known as "naturalization."The final step in this process is to take an oath of loyalty to the country at an official ceremony.

成为美国公民的过程被称为“入籍”。这一过程的最后一步是在官方仪式上宣誓效忠美国。 

Some individuals have been able to complete the process by taking part in an unusual drive-up ceremony.

有些人通过参加了一个不寻常的免下车仪式完成了这一步骤。 

The drive-up events are designed with physical distancing in mind to protect people from the coronavirus.

免下车活动使人们保持一定的距离，以避免他们感染新冠病毒。 

Those taking part are required to wear face coverings. People remain in their vehicles while taking the citizenship oath.

参加者必须戴口罩。人们在宣誓入籍时仍待在车内。 

A government official stands a safe distance away to complete the swearing-in process.

一位政府官员站在安全距离之外完成宣誓过程。 

One such ceremony took place recently in a parking garage near a federal office building in Detroit, Michigan.

该仪式最近在密歇根州底特律市联邦办公楼附近的一个停车场举行。 

When 60-year-old Anita Rosenberger entered the garage, she was a British citizen.

当60岁的安妮塔·罗森伯格开车进车库的时候，她还是英国公民。 

Thirty minutes later, after taking the oath, she drove away as a U.S. citizen.

三十分钟后，当她参加完宣誓仪式后，她以美国公民的身份开车离开了该地。 

"It was a nice experience in spite of the fact that I was in the car by myself with a mask on,"Rosenberger said. "And I will say that I will remember this."

罗森伯格说:“尽管我是一个人戴着口罩坐在车里，但这仍然是一次很好的经历。我会铭记那一刻。” 

Similar drive-up ceremonies are being held across the country, but possibly not for much longer.

全国各地都在举行类似的免下车仪式，但可能不会持续太久。 

USCIS says a budget crisis could force the agency to temporarily release nearly three-fourths of its workforce.If this happens, it could further delay the final citizenship steps for tens of thousands of people.

USCIS表示，预算危机可能迫使该机构暂时解雇近四分之三的员工。如果这种事情发生，可能会进一步推迟数万人入籍的最后程序。

The citizenship agency has not explained how it will operate if it does not get $1.2 billion from Congress before August 3.

该机构并没有解释如果不能在8月3日之前从国会得到12亿美元的援助，它将如何运作下去。 

It told The Associated Press that "all USCIS operations will be impacted" by the release of more than 13,000 workers.

该机构对美联社表示，1.3万多名工被解雇后，“所有美国移民局的业务都将受到影响”。 

USCIS receives nearly all its $4.8 billion budget from fees it collects from people who seek to live or work in the country.

该机构48亿美元的预算几乎全部来自那些想在美国居住或工作的人的收费。 

The agency is already getting less money after President Donald Trumps administration ordered restrictions on immigration.

在特朗普政府下令限制移民后，该机构得到的资金已经减少。 

The agency said effects of COVID-19 had reduced the amount by half.

该组织表示，新冠病毒的影响已使该收入减少了一半。 

The administration also stopped some programs - including a recent halt on H-1B visas for skilled workers - that provide an important source of money for USCIS.

特朗普政府还停止了为美国移民局提供重要资金来源的一些项目，包括最近暂停向技术工人发放H-1B签证。

Some in Congress have pushed to permit virtual swearing-in ceremonies, but the agency has so far refused.

一些国会议员提议允许网上宣誓仪式，但该机构至今仍不接受这一形式。 

Citizenship groups have warned that the citizenship delays could limit the rights of thousands of voters in the countrys elections later this year.

公民团体警告称，推迟入籍可能会限制今年晚些时候该国选举时数千名选民的权利。 

Time limits for election registration are nearing in some states.Individuals seeking to vote must be citizens when they register or risk facing criminal charges or possible deportation, the groups say.

在一些州，选举登记的期限已经临近。这些组织说，寻求投票的个人在登记时必须是公民，否则将面临刑事指控或可能被驱逐出境。

Im Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩报道。