USAHello FAQ

USAHello is a free comprehensive online center for information and education for immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and welcoming communities.

USAHello complements on the ground services, addressing barriers to integration on a national scale through the following programs:

• Information: trustworthy multilingual information resources, written in plain language. Topics include daily life, health, education, work, immigration and citizenship. We also provide regular updates on laws, rights and changing immigration policies to help our audience understand their options.

• Education: free self-paced classroom for high-school equivalency (GED) test preparation; information about the US school systems; directory of scholarships; access to free online English classes.

• Citizenship: information about all aspects of applying for US citizenship and connection to resources that help new Americans through the process; free multilingual online citizenship preparation class.

• Local services: connection to thousands of on-the-ground services (healthcare, legal, employment and more) through FindHello, our web and mobile app developed with UNHCR to connect newcomers to local resources in communities across the country.

• Welcoming communities: we help receiving communities get informed and get involved with accessible information and tools to learn more about immigration, effective messaging and positive narratives, advocacy, volunteering, and more.

• Blogs: In our Voices blog, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers share their experiences and thoughts with other newcomers. Our Hello blog is a collection of articles and news from professionals, receiving community members, and USAHello staff.

USAHello is an open platform, free for anyone to use. Our content and classes are designed for people who have come to the USA from other places or who do not speak English as a native language. Some of our site visitors are very new here, some have been here for many years, and others are people who are born in the USA but who want to take a class or learn more about how to help. USAHello welcomes people from all backgrounds!

We know that there are many migrants outside of the USA that are also looking for information. In 2019, we launched our sister site ItaliaHello to help refugees and migrants coming into Europe through Italy. Some of the resources on our USAHello platform can also be helpful no matter where you live. The GED test to gain a high school credential can be taken in 86 countries around the world, so if there is a testing center near you, our class can help you prepare!

All of USAHello’s resources are 100% free of charge. We are also proudly free of ads.

USAHello is a non-governmental organization (NGO) and a registered, 501(c)3, not for profit organization. This means that our organization is supported by individual donors and foundations who give grants to help pay for our work. Learn more about supporting USAHello.

All of the money that we receive is spent directly on our programs and we are grateful for these generous donations and grants that allow us to keep our programs free. We do not accept any money from advertisers so you are able to enjoy our resources without being interrupted by ads on the site. We also do not receive any funding from the US government.

Yes! USAHello takes your safety and privacy very seriously. Read our privacy policy.

You will never be required to share your name to gain access to our resources. We do not share or sell your information, and we are not connected to the US government. Anyone can use our resources, and no one will be asked to share their legal status. USAHello is an independent, nonprofit organization working for you.

Here is more information about how we protect your privacy in different parts of our platform:

• All information pages are freely available, and you can access the materials anonymously.

• If you decide to enroll in one of our online classes, you will create a login using an email address and password. This allows you to come back and keep track of your progress. You will also get emails about your class progress. You can ask us to stop them at any time.

• If you use our FindHello app on web or mobile, you will have the option to use your location settings to see services that are close to where you are and to get directions. This is 100% optional, and if you do not want to use your location you can click “don’t allow” and search for any location in the search bar instead. If you are on the mobile app, once you have found a list of resources, you can even turn off your internet/data and you will still be able to access your list.

We welcome you with open arms to this secure online resource. If you have any questions about privacy, feel free to email us.

USAHello is a non-profit organization. Our programs are developed with continual input from newcomer communities, including USAHello’s Immigrant and Refugee Advisory Council. We have a small staff that includes people who came to the USA as immigrants, people who have worked in immigration and refugee services, and people who have backgrounds in technology and education. Our organization is governed by a national board of directors, over half of whom are first or second generation refugees and immigrants themselves. Meet our team.

All USAHello classes are free and online, so you can learn anytime, anywhere, and even on your phone. The lessons cover information you need to know to pass your citizenship test or to take the high school equivalency exams (GED^® or HiSET). These classes help you prepare for your tests only. Find more answers about the classroom in our classroom FAQ.

Our classroom was built by professional teachers and educational writers. Our GED^® preparation course has been assessed by the GED^® Testing Service. Our information pages are created from professional and trustworthy sources and in collaboration with other organizations who want to help immigrants and refugees. We do not give legal advice, but we do use official government and legal resources to keep our information accurate and up to date.

USAHello works with individual translators as well as with our partner Translators Without Borders to translate our information pages and classroom. You can change the language of the page using the dropdown menu at the top. If you are on mobile you click the 3 lines on the top left.

We choose languages for translation based on how many people speak those languages in the USA, how recently non-English speakers have arrived, and how much need there is. In some cases, we might translate only the parts of our website that are most helpful for a certain language group.

Current languages available on the USAHello main website are English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Check back soon for more language options.

In the USAHello classroom, we offer our GED classes in English and in manually translated Spanish. Our Citizenship class is in manually translated Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese and Swahili. The classroom is also automatically translated into several other languages to help newcomers study and learn English at the same time.

We try to make the words we use easy to understand and as inclusive as possible. To describe the populations we serve we use a lot of different words including immigrant, refugee, asylum seeker, asylee, newcomer, newest neighbors, new Americans, site visitor, audience, and student.

We often say “receiving community” and “welcoming community” to describe people who live in the USA and want to learn more or welcome people. The translations of these words can be different in different languages. We know that every individual has their own way of describing themselves and their communities and that all of us are more than just a title or a legal status. We use different types of words because we want to make sure that people who are looking for resources are able to find us, and also to make sure that anyone who wants to use our platform feels welcome.

FindHello is a tool for communities to share local resources and for people to find services. We developed the list of resources in collaboration with UNHCR, and we are adding new listings every day. If you know of an organization in your community that is not in FindHello, you can add it yourself, using the “submit” button in the app. You will have the option to search for the organization name, or you can just type it in and add details. If you have a whole list of resources you want to add, we can help upload it for you. Just email us!

USAHello is the only comprehensive, multilingual online platform created for newcomers and their receiving communities. With 1.7M users this past year, USAHello is fast becoming a critical resource for those seeking trusted and reliable information as well as free access to life-changing education.

Our work complements on-the-ground services and makes it easy to access them through FindHello. We are visited by newcomers in every state and have partnerships with immigrant-serving organizations across the country.

Our content is developed in response to needs and interests identified by the communities we serve. All of our materials created for newcomers are written in language that is easy to understand for non-native English speakers or those with interrupted formal education. We use professional translations of our content (more languages coming soon!) All of our resources can be used on a mobile device or desktop computer, any time and from anywhere.

Thank you for your interest in supporting the work of USAHello! It is because of people like you that we are able to keep expanding and improving the resources we offer freely to all who need them. If you have enjoyed using our services, please consider making a contribution to help support our program. All donations made to USAHello are 100% tax-deductible.

Visit our how to help section now to learn about ways you can welcome newcomers in the USA.

We would love to hear from you! You can always contact us by email at [email protected] with any questions or comments you have about our site. It is so helpful to hear from our community about what your experience is like on our platform. Sometimes on our site, you will see short survey questions. These are always optional, but if you answer them, they will help us make the site even better in the future.