Legalization Svc. For Immigrants
City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Council Committee on Immigration Chair Daniel Dromm and Committee on Finance Chair Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. announced a new partnership with CUNY Citizenship Now! that will provide free high-quality and confidential legal immigration services to help individuals and families on their path to U.S. citizenship.
The services, which begin on Monday, Oct. 1, will be offered at 30 different locations on a weekly or monthly basis over the next year. Quinn first announced this initiative in her February State of the City address.
Through the $600,000 City Council funded program, qualified attorneys and paralegals will offer one-on-one consultations and assist qualified immigrants with applying for citizenship at 30 new locations throughout the five boroughs. New Yorkers will have access to a variety of legal services including green card applications, deferred action, citizenship interview coaching and more.
“Thousands of immigrants who contribute to our economy, our culture, our city are often unable to pursue full citizenship because of prohibitive legal costs,” said Quinn. “By partnering with CUNY Citizenship Now!, we are ensuring that we are doing everything in our power to protect this precious resource, and support the great diversity of our city.”
“Citizenship Now! has an outstanding record of accomplishment helping our immigrant communities,” added Dromm. “I am very proud to have worked closely with Speaker Quinn to secure funding to help expand the services that Citizenship Now! offers. By placing at- torneys in Council district offices where the need for reliable legal services are most needed, Citizenship Now! will have a tremendous impact on our immigrant communities. These services are desperately needed and CUNY Citizenship Now! is extremely well equipped to provide them.”
Currently, CUNY Citizenship Now! provides free services at six full-time centers and one part-time. This Council initiative allows for the free services to be offered weekly at seven Council members’ offices in Queens, five in Brooklyn, four in the Bronx, three in Manhattan and one in Staten Island and offered monthly at two offices in Queens, five in Brooklyn, two in the Bronx, one in Manhattan. Locations were selected by analyzing Citizenship Now! data from years past.
Among the City Council members and offices in the Times Newsweekly coverage area participating in the effort are the following:
– Dromm, located at 37-32 75th St. in Jackson Heights (phone 1-718- 803-6373);
– Julissa Ferreras, located at 32-33A Junction Blvd. in East Elmhurst (1-718-651-1917); and
– Eric Ulrich, located at 93-06 101st Ave. in Ozone Park (1-718-738-1083).
For a complete list of locations, visit www.council.nyc.gov/immigration.
