American Dream: Immigrant Designs USCIS Buildings in Tri-County Areas

"The American Dream" is a reality for architect Rodolfo Acevedo, an Argentinian immigrant who designed five United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) buildings, including one in each of the tri-county areas of Florida.

Acevedo, 47, a recently naturalized U.S. citizen, helped change the overcrowded and unwelcoming image of immigration buildings. Ironically, JMWA Architects, where Acevedo received his first job after working as a busboy, was commissioned for the project. He went on to design the very offices where he once applied for citizenship in the 1990s.

"Lady Liberty": Oakland Park immigration facility

Photo Credits: JMWA Architects

Immigration center in West Palm Beach

"They were kind of makeshift facilities in a strip mall," Acevedo said in an interview with the Associated Press. "There was no welcoming, no warmth from the facilities. The furniture, the finishes, even the colors, the location within the town -- it was never feeling like they were there to actually help you."

According to USCIS, Florida has one of the longest processing times at immigration centers, taking longer than 14 months in Miami or Orlando, summarized the AP article.

Overall, Acevedo's designs attempt to change the processing times and the image of immigration centers as a whole.