An April 18th article in the Staten Island Advance highlighted the Citizenship Day program co-sponsored locally by SILS and Project Hospitality. During the event, teams of volunteer immigration attorneys, paralegals, interpreters and other community members helped in prepareing naturalization applications and compile all the documents needed to apply for citizenship. applicants were able to consult with lawyers including SILS attorney Johane Severin, and volunteers to ensure that their documentation was complete.
From the SI Advance article:
The event, held in Project Hospitality's Help Center at 514 Bay St. in Stapleton, was one of six held across the five boroughs and Long Island, as part of nationwide Citizenship Day. The program was sponsored by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and coincides with the city's Immigration Heritage Week.
To be eligible for citizenship, residents must have had a green card for at least five years. But many have been here longer, said Johane Severin, a staff attorney from Staten Island Legal Services.
For people earning minimum wage and trying to cobble together the $675 to file the papers, much less legal fees for help with the application, the free legal help offered yesterday is "a lifesaver," said Olu Ajayi, of Westerleigh, a native of Nigeria who became a citizen in 1986. He is now an immigration law student at the CUNY School of Law.
Read the full article at SILIVE.COM.
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