| Volunteer Neil Hurley assisting a young lady with her Citizenship paperwork. |
Some things you cannot do if not a US citizen:
-Apply for Federal Jobs
-Certain types of jobs with government agencies require U.S. citizenship. This is true for many jobs in the energy, national security and defense sectors.
-Casting a vote
A person who has voted in violation of any federal, state, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance or regulation may be deportable. This applies to voting that occurred before, on or after Sept 30, 1996. You have to be a US citizen to vote in elections here.
-Staying outside of the US
Legal permanent residents (green card holders) are always at risk of losing their green cards if they spend long periods of time outside the U.S. I’ve worked as an immigration counselor since 1996, and over the 16 years I can’t count the number of calls from immigrants who abandoned their legal permanent residency cards. Some of them had their cards taken from them by immigration inspectors based on abandonment of status.
Help is available
Each month at our free legal clinics, we see people on US citizenship matters. Applying for citizenship can be a complicated process for some people, and matters of eligibility, residency and physical presence need to be examined before filing the N400 form.
Change of date on July clinic
If any readers are thinking of applying US citizenship, hand on assistance is available at our next clinic on July 10th at 630pm in The Banshee, 934 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester. We usually have our clinics on the first Tuesday of each month, but this month moved it to the 10th because vacations and the July 4th Holiday Attorneys Chris Lavery and Dan Harrington will be present for one to one free consultations.
Marriage and Immigration cases
We also review marriage based adjustment of status cases at our monthly clinics. If coming for a paperwork review or interview preparation, please bring an entire copy of your application with you. Also bring your passports/visa paperwork/criminal arrest or docket sheets if any. Email me any concerns you have ahead of time at my address above.
Legal & Immigration Clinic assistance
If any readers are contemplating sponsoring relatives, hands on assistance will be available at our next clinic on July 10th at 630pm in The Banshee, 934 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester. Attorneys Chris Lavery and Dan Harrington will be present for one to one free consultations.
Email me your immigration query or a topic you would like us to cover today: Kieran@ipcboston.org
Disclaimer: Please note that the information contained in it is provided to inform generally, and is not intended as a substitute for individual advice. Immigration law is subject to frequent changes and individual circumstances can affect the application of certain legal provisions. For individual legal advice, please contact the Irish Pastoral Centre directly regarding upcoming legal clinics or consultation with an immigration attorney.
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