Iranian-American community groups are lobbying hard for Iranians in this country to write on their 2010 Census forms that they are "Iranian-Americans" to get a better picture of the size of the community.

The Census forms are being distributed next week to every household across the United States through the mail.

The "Iranians Count 2010 Census Coalition" (ICCC) is a grouping of 30 groups who feel the Iranian community has been undercounted in past Censuses. The last Census, in 2000, found 338,000 Iranians living in the United States. Many in the community believe there are really about 1 million Iranians in the United States and that the undercount means the community is shunted aside as a minor group.

People are counted as Iranians only if they write that on the Census form in answer to Question #9. But the form gives the initial option of checking blocks for White, Black or American Indian, and organizers fear many Iranians will just check "White" and move on to Question #10. The ICCC is urging Iranians to go to the bottom of Question #9, check the box that says: "Some other race," and then write in either "Iranian" or Iranian-American" in the box provided.

The Census form is one page long with 10 questions. Additional pages repeat the questions for each member of a household. The race question is #6 on the other pages.

The forms should appear in every mailbox in America next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They are to be filled in and returned by mail no later than April 1. Households that do not send back a form will be visited in person by a Census taker sometime between April and July.

The ICCC launched its official website, Iranianscount.org, March 2. The website hopes to raise awareness and make Iranian- Americans understand the importance of accurately filling out the Census forms.

ICCC has produced two Public Service Announcements and has used viral networking and micro-blogging websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to spread its message. The ICCC believes that the Iranian-American community will gain prominence in the United States and people will begin to better understand Iranian-American's needs if they realize just how many Iranian Americans reside in the United States.

The first United States Census was taken after the American Revolution in 1790. The U.S. Constitution mandates that a Census be taken every decade so that congressional seats are allocated for equal representation.

That first Census simply counted heads. Over the decades, the Census has added more questions and is now the main means of collecting basic demographic information. Also, it is used to allocate federal funds to communities where funds are distributed based on population. But funds aren't distributed by ethnicity.

Decennial U.S. Census figures are based on the actual number of people residing in houses at the time the Census is taken. This number includes everybody, even visitors and illegal aliens. But the Census does not ask if one is a legal resident, just whether one is there in the house being counted.

The data collected is protected by law from any kind of inquiry. For instance, in 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the FBI and Army requested the addresses of Japanese persons residing in California. The Census Bureau refused to release the information.

The basis of the count in physical presence has led to some humorous actions. In one Census, New York City officials, who wanted a high count to direct more federal funds to the city, demanded that Census takers count the visiting basketball team that was playing the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden that night.

[Editor's note: According to Census Director Prewitt (2000), who is cited in U.S. Census Bureau report, Census Confidentiality under the Second War Powers Act (1942-1947), 2005, p.16: "The historical record is clear that senior Census Bureau staff proactively cooperated with the internment, and that census tabulations were directly implicated in the denial of civil rights to citizens of the United States who happened also to be of Japanese ancestry. The record is less clear whether the then in effect legal prohibitions against revealing individual data records were violated."]