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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.

PRESS RELEASE: Sandy Seisiun Part III – Friday, February 1, 2013

PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release

The Sandy Seisiuns Part III

8 PM Friday, February 1st – An Beal Bocht, 445 West 238th Street, Bronx, NY, 10463

After the previous successes of the Sandy Seisiuns Part I and Part II we are delighted to confirm that Sandy Seisiún Part III will be held on Friday February 1st at 8 p.m. in An Beal Bocht, 445 West 238th Street in the Bronx.

The evening will be full of  musical and spoken word entertainment provided by local and international artists including Susan McKeown, Mary Courtney & Morning Star, Larry  Kirwan, Johnny Seven, Marc Campbell, Steve Oates, Ernesto Villalobos, Patrick Madden, Sheena Mullan with members of Jameson’s Revenge, Sean Ruane, The Poor Mouth Theatre Company, The Westchester District Pipes & Drums, NY Brogue, Mary Coogan & Bruce Foley and other special guests throughout the evening and into the late night at this very special venue.

There is a suggested minimum donation of $20.  Doors open at 8pm.  We are hoping to emulate the successes of December 1 and December 21 with another substantial amount on the night of February 1st.

Come along for a great night of entertainment and music with all funds raised going towards helping relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

For additional information about sponsorships, please contact:  EIIC Executive Director, Siobhan Dennehy 718/478-5502 or email Info@eiic.org or Mary Courtney at MningStar@gmail.com or Pat Harper at Harpep@yahoo.com.

Major Funding received from NYC Department for Aging, New York City Council, Immigrant Opportunity Initiatives, Dept. of Foreign Affairs and American Ireland Fund

USCIS announces final rule for provisional stateside waiver process for immediate relatives of US citizens

Secretary Napolitano Announces Final Rule to Support Family Unity During Waiver Process

 

Released: Jan. 2, 2013
Contact: DHS Press Office, (202) 282-8010

WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced the posting of a final rule in the Federal Register that reduces the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives (spouse, children and parents), who are in the process of obtaining visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States under certain circumstances. The final rule establishes a process that allows certain individuals to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver before they depart the United States to attend immigrant visa interviews in their countries of origin. The process will be effective on March 4, 2013 and more information about the filing process will be made available in the coming weeks at www.uscis.gov.

“This final rule facilitates the legal immigration process and reduces the amount of time that U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives who are in the process of obtaining an immigrant visa,” said Secretary Napolitano.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received more than 4,000 comments in response to the April 2, 2012 proposed rule and considered all of them in preparing the final rule.

“The law is designed to avoid extreme hardship to U.S. citizens, which is precisely what this rule achieves,” USCIS Director Mayorkas said. “The change will have a significant impact on American families by greatly reducing the time family members are separated from those they rely upon.”

Under current law, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States to become lawful permanent residents must leave the U.S. and obtain an immigrant visa abroad. Individuals who have accrued more than six months of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver to overcome the unlawful presence inadmissibility bar before they can return to the United States after departing to obtain an immigrant visa. Under the existing waiver process, which remains available to those who do not qualify for the new process, immediate relatives cannot file a waiver application until after they have appeared for an immigrant visa interview abroad and the Department of State has determined that they are inadmissible.

In order to obtain a provisional unlawful presence waiver, the applicant must be an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, inadmissible only on account of unlawful presence, and demonstrate the denial of the waiver would result in extreme hardship to his or her U.S. citizen spouse or parent. USCIS will publish a new form, Form I-601A, Application for a Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, for individuals to use when applying for a provisional unlawful presence waiver under the new process.

Under the new provisional waiver process, immediate relatives must still depart the United States for the consular immigrant visa process; however, they can apply for a provisional waiver before they depart for their immigrant visa interview abroad. Individuals who file the Form I-601A must notify the Department of State’s National Visa Center that they are or will be seeking a provisional waiver from USCIS. The new process will reduce the amount of time U.S. citizen are separated from their qualifying immediate relatives. Details on the process changes are available at www.regulations.gov.

 

Last updated:01/02/2013

Thanks to 2nd Irish Day of Action Volunteers!

Volunteers Set Up Santa Workshop
NY1 VIDEO: It was the second Irish Day of Action in the Rockaways Saturday and one group of volunteers sets up its very own version of Santa’s workshop.

If you haven’t yet seen the NY 1 TV news story on our second Irish Day of Action & the wonderful shoebox appeal, it is worth a look; http://queens.ny1.com/content/top_stories/174052/irish-day-of-action-volunteers-set-up-their-own-santa-s-workshop

The Irish Community’s effort, our Meitheal 2012, to help those communities most affected by Hurricane Sandy, made a small but real difference, supporting & complementing the work that has been going on since Sandy struck. We know that there is still a lot of work required to help rebuild communities affected by Sandy & that many groups are still actively helping out so please keep them in your thoughts over the coming days & weeks. Thank you for joining us or helping out in any way.

It really was a huge team effort, involving people from all walks of life, to make our Meitheal dream a reality. Many Irish & Irish American groups were closely involved, including the New York Irish Center, Emerald Isle Immigration Center, Aisling Irish Community Center, the American Ireland Fund, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Emerald Guild, NY GAA, Irish Network New York City, Irish International Business Network, Irish Business Organisation, Irish American Society of Nassau, Suffolk & Queens, Hudson Valley Irish Center, as well as businesses & media, such as the Liffey Van Lines & Padded Wagon, Irish newspapers & radio stations & Irish restaurant & bar owners. We also greatly appreciated the help of Speaker Quinn & her team in securing our bus transport for both days of action – thanks to Grayline for the red topless tour bus last time out too!   

USCIS Long Island City, Queens office closed until further notice

 

The following is a message from the USCIS New York District Community Relations Office effective on December 19, 2012. (For updated official USCIS field office closing information click here)

USCIS Queens Field Office Temporary Closing

Out of an abundance of caution, USCIS has closed the field office in Queens, N.Y. due to questions regarding the environmental safety of the facility.  We are currently developing a plan to ensure customer needs are met and will provide updates shortly.  USCIS remains committed to ensuring the well-being of our employees and the public.

In the short term, please be aware of the service changes made to accommodate USCIS Queens Office customers:

– Customers who need to visit our Customer Service Counter who would normally go to Queens can go to our office in Manhattan or Long Island for assistance until the Queens office reopens.

-USCIS will automatically reschedule any interviews that had to be cancelled due to the unexpected closure.  Customers do not need to take any action—they will receive a new appointment notice for an interview.  The rescheduled interviews will not occur until after January 1, 2013.  They will get a notice with a specific date and time.

-Customers with appointments for biometric capture appointments at the co-located Application Support Center will be redirected to another nearby ASC through Wednesday, December 26, 2012.

-The naturalization ceremony scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Dec 19, 2012, in the Eastern District Court will take place as scheduled.

We will keep you updated on any further information. We encourage you to let your community and constituents know that if they have any questions regarding appointments to please call the National Customer Service Center (NCSC): 1-800-375-5283 or 1-800-767-1833 / TDD for the hearing impaired.

We appreciate your understanding and your patience at this time.

Thank you,

New York District Community Relations Office

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

26 Federal Plaza

New York, NY 10278