Outstanding Americans by Choice
The Outstanding Americans by Choice initiative recognizes the outstanding achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens. Through civic participation, professional achievement, and responsible citizenship, recipients of this honor have demonstrated their commitment to this country and to the common civic values that unite us as Americans.
USCIS will recognize naturalized citizens who have made significant contributions to both their community and their adopted country on a case-by-case basis.
For more information about the initiative, please see this fact sheet.
Note: The following biographies have been provided by the ABC recipients.
2025
Muzaffar A. Chishti is a senior fellow at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute (MPI), and director of MPI’s office at New York University School of Law. He is a nationally recognized expert on U.S. immigration policy and law.
Before joining MPI, Chishti was a lawyer in the U.S. labor movement, representing garment and textile workers. He served as director of the Immigration Project of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE), and its predecessor, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU), where he helped found the first union-sponsored immigration legal service program in the country for union members.
2024
Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick is President Emeritus of Howard University, having served as the institution's 17th president from 2014 to 2023. Under his leadership, Howard University made significant strides in student opportunity, academic innovation, public service, and fiscal stability. He was recently appointed by the Howard University Board of Trustees as the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery.
Osiris Hoil is the CEO and cofounder of District Taco, a popular fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain. Originally from the town of Tekax in Yucatán, Mexico, Hoil grew up on a small farm, selling newspapers, flowers and popsicles on the street to help provide income for his family. At the age of 17, he came to the United States in search of opportunity, where he began working as a dishwasher in a restaurant. While there, he taught himself English and developed the work ethic that would drive his future success.
Lorena Garcia is a chef who has opened multiple restaurants in the United States, most notably CHICA Restaurants. Garcia has also written cookbooks; created a line of kitchenware, frozen meal solutions and desserts; and created a program to help end childhood obesity.
Ramon Tallaj, M.D. is a board-certified internist with 41 years of experience in the medical field.
He graduated from Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena (Unphu), Escuela De Medicina
Magna Cum Laude in the Dominican Republic and completed a residency at St. Luke's Roosevelt
Hospital Center in New York City.
Richard R. Verma serves as the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. In this role, he acts as the chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of State, and leads the Department’s efforts on modernization, foreign assistance, and a wide range of workforce and strategic issues.
Saira Estrada is the language access and immigrant integration coordinator for Charlotte, NC. She collaborates across city departments to implement language access programs, ensuring equitable services for those with limited English proficiency. Estrada develops and enforces program procedures in line with federal regulations, guiding data-informed service delivery and leading language access audits. Additionally, she provides technical assistance and training to departments, drawing on her expertise through research and partnerships.
Reverend Thon Moses Chol is an ordained minister and a refugee advocate. A South Sudanese refugee himself, Chol resettled in the United States in 2000. Chol works as an education resource development specialist for Washington, DC’s Child and Family Services Agency.
Kazi Mannan’s journey from adversity to generosity began in the heart of a small village in Pakistan. Young Mannan’s upbringing was marred by the harsh realities of poverty and uncertainty. Growing up on a farm with nine siblings, his father’s meager teacher’s salary strained to feed the family. Mannan vividly recalls the gnawing hunger that haunted his days, unsure of when or where his next meal would come from. Despite their own struggles, Mannan’s mother never hesitated to share their meager provisions with neighbors in need.
Joseph Saidu-Deen Genda was born in Manowa, Kailahun District, Sierra Leone. He currently works as the New American and Refugee Liaison, overseeing the Salt Lake County Mayor's Office for New Americans. In 2007, he arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah as a refugee through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program after spending several years living in a refugee camp in Guinea.