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 (PDF, 149.91 KB).
Note: The following biographies have been provided by the ABC recipients.
2024
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.
Jesús Francisco de la Teja was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, in 1956. He came to the United States in 1963, when he and his family first lived in a Hoboken, New Jersey, walk-up tenement. Growing up in New Jersey, he attended Seton Hall University before enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin in 1981 for doctoral work in Latin American history. While at the University of Texas, de la Teja was a research assistant to Pulitzer Prize-winning author James A. Michener.
Basma Alawee is a renowned leader in the global arena. Recognized for her dedication to refugee and immigrant rights, she has been the driving force behind groundbreaking initiatives to welcome refugees. Alawee serves as the deputy executive director at the Community Sponsorship Hub, where she leads engagement on the Welcome Corps, paving the way for diaspora communities and new actors to embrace freedom and opportunity by welcoming refugee families to America.
Channy Chhi Laux is a refugee from Cambodia. She survived the Cambodian genocide that killed 2 million of her fellow Cambodians, including her father and her 12-year-old brother. She spent most of her teenage years in labor camps enduring starvation, horrendous working conditions, sickness, and repeated separations from her family before escaping and immigrating to the United States.
On Nov. 4, 2008, Senator Luz Escamilla, District 10, was elected to the Utah State Senate, becoming the first Latina elected in the Utah State Senate and the first immigrant elected in the Utah State Legislature. Now in her fourth term, Senator Escamilla holds the position of Minority Leader, driving impactful change in legislative initiatives.
2023
Satya Nadella is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. Before being named CEO in February 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company. Joining Microsoft in 1992, he quickly became known as a leader who could span a breadth of technologies and businesses to transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings.