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The Emerald Isle Immigration Center's highly qualified staff assists clients in many aspects of immigrant life and law. The EIIC prides itself on the extraordinary services it provides.

DV-2024 Green Card Lottery Entry Status Check Now Open

Applicants who submitted an entry under the Diversity Visa 2024 green card lottery (DV-2024) can check the status of their application online starting on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at noon (EDT). The DV-2024 entry period opened on October 5, 2022, and closed on November 8, 2022. Only confirmation information for entries submitted during this period are valid for checking your status.

All DV-2024 applicants must check their status online, and will not receive a notification letter or e-mail from the U.S. government. Diversity Visa Entry Status Check will only be provided through the Department of State secure online site. Until September 30, 2024, entrants are able to check the status of their entry through the E-DV website at https://dvprogram.state.gov/. Entrants need to use their own confirmation page information from the time of their entry to check the status to find out if their Diversity Visa Lottery entry was or was not selected. Entrants will need to enter their last name, year of birth and confirmation number from the receipt.

The Department of State advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to potential Diversity Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants.

Please keep your confirmation number until at least September 30, 2024, even if you are not selected on May 6, 2023. The Department of State may select more DV-2024 entries on October 1, 2023 or thereafter.

Entrants who have lost their confirmation number can enter further identifying details on the official website to retrieve it by clicking the “Forgot Confirmation Number” link.

All lottery applicants who were assisted at our office would have received a copy of their application confirmation page with their confirmation number. Please contact our office if you need the information again.

Selected entrants must confirm their qualifications, submit their immigrant visa and alien registration application, prepare supporting documents, and have a consular interview. Visa number allocations are determined by the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act which determines the number of diversity immigrant visas available each year. Selected entrants will only be scheduled for an interview when and if there is a visa number available. Before being interviewed, each applicant must pay the Diversity Visa Lottery fee of $330 per person which is not refundable. For more detailed information, including steps to take to prepare for the consulate interview, go to https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/diversity-visa/if-you-are-selected.html.

It is expected that the next application period for the DV Lottery will be between October and November this year. Official dates, rules and eligible countries should be announced by late September. For more information, go to the official US State Department website at https://dvprogram.state.gov/. You may also contact our office in the early fall for more information and assistance to complete another application. Be aware that the application for the DV lottery is free and you do not need to pay anyone to enter.

THE CELTIC CRUISE: BACK TO OUR REGULAR BOARDING LOCATION THIS YEAR!

On Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 the Celtic Cruise will board at its usual time of 6PM at the usual boarding location. The vessel management company had informed us we’d have a new location and vessel, but we insisted on returning to our usual arrangements. We apologize for any confusion about a new location–we’ll be back on the usual vessel, the Spirit of New York, departing from the Chelsea Piers (West 23rd Street and West Street a/k/a the West Side Highway) for a visually stunning tour of New York Harbor. As before, there will be a delicious full course buffet dinner and open bar, with multiple bands across multiple decks, to dance the night away! The Cruise is the AOH Division 7’s annual fundraiser on behalf of Emerald Isle Immigration Center, to help support our immigration legal and social services to clients of over 100 nationalities! Tickets and sponsorships are available at https://celticcharities.org.

TWO Fabulous Irish / West African Concerts at NYIC 4/29 & 5/11

Intersections: West African Ghanaian & Irish Traditional Musics
Saturday, April 29 | 7PM

Join NY Irish Center as we explore the commonalities between Irish traditional music and West African Ghanaian music. Lively blended compositions drawing from Irish traditional music and West-African Ghanaian music that will be performed by renowned musicians from the Ghanaian drum ensemble Ekome Femo including Amos Gabia (voice/djembe/ dun dun), Raymond Odai Laryea (djembe/dun dun/ gankogui), Julian Bortey Kwandahor (djembe, voice, dance), Dylan James (Banjo), Matt Christian (fiddle), and ethnomusicologist and performer Colin Harte (vocals/piano/bodhrán/djembe).

GET TICKETS HERE

The EIIC Creatives Concert: Irish, Malian, and Newly Composed
Songs of Spring, Rebirth, and Renewal

Thursday, May 11th | 7PM

Join the EIIC Creatives, artists in residence at the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, for an evening of Irish, West African (Malian) traditional and newly composed songs from internationally known Malian (Songhai) musician and singer Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure (guitar, gurmi), Irish traditional singer Mary Courtney (guitar/bodhrán), Irish singer/songwriter Allen Gogarty, and Chinese American blues musician Jeff Lum, plus a display of visual arts on the theme of spring, rebirth, and renewal.

This event copresented by EIIC and NYIC, with generous funding from Creatives Rebuild New York.

GET TICKETS HERE
 

Paint Me A Story

Painting  stories  as  community  history  workshop  with  Colombian  painter Alejandro  Pinzón  and  friends

Join Colombian painter Alejandro Pinzón and other artists on the Creatives Rebuild NY team in residence at Emerald Isle Immigration Center (EIIC) for an afternoon painting workshop, to learn how to turn a personal or community story into a beautiful painting to preserve its meaning. The class will be accompanied by acoustic music from EIIC Creatives Jeff Lum (blues), Abdoulaye Alhassane (West African) and Allen Gogarty (Irish/new compositions). Learn more about

the immigration legal and social services available through the EIIC!

Sunday, April 2nd, 2023 3-5pm

at 34th Avenue Open Streets (Queens)

(outdoors at 93rd St & 34th Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372)

Admission is free–RSVP at bit.ly/3yIbvTJ

Qualifying for Medicaid: Resources Available in Multiple Languages

For many U.S. families, navigating the healthcare Medicaid system can feel overwhelming, especially if English is not the natively spoken language. The following links lead to resources that help make Medicaid accessible to all by eliminating issues cause by language barrier.

You can view them here for all U.S. states, including New York: 

Open enrollment in New York State begins this week, on Wednesday, Nov. 16th, 2022. New Yorkers can preview their 2023 health plan options and premiums today using the ‘Compare Plans and Estimate Cost’ tool. There is more information available here or contact EIIC here for guidance from one of our on-staff New York State / City healthcare navigators.