The Murphy Institute gives back to the larger NYC community in countless ways. Most people know about the Institute’s top-notch public programming and academic programs. But did you know that the Murphy Institute also offers free immigration consultations?
Thanks to a partnership with CUNY Citizenship Now!, anyone with immigration legal questions can make an appointment for a free 30-minute legal consultation at Murphy, offered from 5-8pm on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month (by appointment at 212-642-2029), or at the NYC Central Labor Council on the first, third and fifth Wednesdays of each month from 5-8pm (by appointment at 212-771-1023).
A 20 year-old program, CUNY Citizenship Now! is a way for immigrant New Yorkers to navigate the complicated and often-confusing US immigration system — all at zero cost. The program brings legal counsel to central locations and makes a variety of services available to people who can benefit from them, from Green Card holders seeking naturalization to people navigating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to citizens looking to bring their family members to the United States.
In its early days, the program primarily conducted group naturalization processing workshops. Now, these have morphed into a combination of one-on-one counseling services and small group processing events, and a program ecosystem consisting of 6 full-time immigration centers and 30 satellite sites throughout the city.
Explains Thomas Shea, Senior Staff Attorney with CUNY Citizenship Now!, “There’s overwhelming demand in the city for legal assistance on immigration, and it can be so difficult to find low-cost immigration service providers who provide good service. We have great staff who know and understand this process.”
CUNY Citizenship Now! offers people the opportunity to enter a network of assistance: those seeking services will often be routed in one of three ways: either they’ll discover that they’re ineligible for naturalization, which will save them time and money and prevent them from being taken advantage of by scammers. Or, they’ll be referred to a CUNY Citizenship Now! immigration center, taking them further down the road to getting their green card, or naturalizing, or petitioning for a family member. Or, they might be referred to a low- or non-cost outside agency to receive legal assistance on issues that fall outside Citizenship Now’s scope of services. In any case, they’ll have access to a network of service-providers that they can trust.
Explains Tom, “every time congress touches immigration law, they expand the number of deportable offenses or they make the law more restrictive” which, he says, “is a great reason to naturalize.” However, people who apply for naturalization with deportable offenses on their records can put themselves in removal (deportation) proceedings, . For this reason, it’s important that people receive competent legal screening and good legal advice to understand their status and their options.
As Tom explains, “No matter what, participants leave with something valuable: either information or a referral to continue on on their immigration paths.”
Do you have questions related to naturalization and deferred action? Call 212-642-2029 to make an appointment for your free 30-minute consultation. Services are offered the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 5-8pm at the Murphy Institute.
