Government Services for Immigrants: USCIS presentation
I attended an in-service training at Queens Library, put on by the New Americans Program (my department), about government services and information for immigrants. There were representatives from federal, state and local government. Some of the information is only relevant for New Yorkers but I am going to post all of it here.
First, we had a short presentation from Andrea J. Quarantillo, the NYC District Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services which is the department of the federal government that deals with immigration issues. Ms. Quarantillo took pains to stress that USCIS is a services and helping agency, not an immigration enforcement agency. They do not enforce immigration law but rather help people to apply for naturalization (becoming a US citizen), green cards (permanent residents) and for legal permits to work in the United States. USCIS also deals with international adoptions. They are also in charge of the applications & process for Haitians to apply for temporary protected status due to the disaster in Haiti.
The USCIS actually has a great new website that has good categories and instructions on what to do depending on the services you need or your immigration status. In my opinion, it’s much easier to use and to navigate through and even people with somewhat limited English proficiencies can potentially find help. It will certainly be easy for web-savvy librarians (and aren’t we all?) to learn how to navigate this site to assist patrons and it is much easier to find forms which has always been the number one concern of patrons as far as my experience goes. Ms. Quarantillo solicited feedback on the website through the online feedback form so that they can continue to improve usability.
There is a toll-free number for immigration assistance that is currently open from 8 AM to 8 PM (with automated assistance 24/7) to accommodate questions about immigration and the Haiti earthquake. You can also make appointments online through their online system but anyone with questions that relate to the Haiti situation can be served at any USCIS Immigration Center. There are two local offices in the greater NYC area, one in Manhattan and one in Garden City on Long Island . The office in Garden City will be closing soon and two different locations will replace it, one in Suffolk County and one in Queens. The Queens location will be in Long Island City and should be open by the end of the summer or early fall and will be easily accessible by public transportation.
There are a lot of materials online and paper materials available to help people find information and apply for different immigration statuses, including a new booklet that tells organizations how to start their own US Citizenship test preparation classes. USCIS is also starting to make presentations in different communities on what the citizenship interview process consists of. They are trying to reach out to people who are prepping for citizenship and people who are eligible but who haven’t applied.
There was an interesting question about what a Moroccan family can do (mom and dad both with permanent resident status, green card holders) to be reunited with their child in Morocco. The librarian who asked this also asked how he could personally help them through this process…I love librarians! Ms. Quarantillo said that family reunification goes through both the USCIS and the Department of State and that the process for permanent residents (not naturalized citizens) goes very slowly. First, the parent/child relationship is established by USCIS and then once established, it goes to the Department of State for the child(ren) to get visas to enter the US. She also said that for permanent residents (green card holders) who are eligible for naturalization and interested in family reunification, the process can be sped up greatly when they become naturalized citizens because of specific laws and regulations in regards to family reunification for US citizens.
Ms. Quarantillo mentioned that citizenship processing is going much faster more recently than it has in years. I thought this was a good thing but it was pointed out to me that this could be because less people are applying for citizenship because of the huge fee hike last year.
