CUNY Citizenship Now

News, Events, and Publications

News

Deferred Action For Undocumented Youth

On Friday, June 15, 2012 President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will implement a program for granting “deferred action” to undocumented youth who meet certain requirements. VIsit our deferred action page for more information.

NYCitizenship in Schools Initiative Extended Another Year

NYCitizenship in Schools, the program providing free naturalization assistance to the parents of New York’s school children, has been extended for another year. NYCitizenship in Schools is a partnership of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), Citibank and CUNY Citizenship Now working with other agencies. The CUNY/NYC Citizenship Corps is a key component of this effort. NYCitizenship in Schools provides free immigration information, assistance and financing options to eligible parents of students in the city’s public schools who are lawful permanent residents and seeking to begin the application process to become U.S. citizens. Last year, NYCitizenship in Schools, with help from the CUNY/NYC Citizenship Corps, assisted 1,179* permanent residents apply for U.S. citizenship at ten events. We want to share some information about those who we have served, for you to have a better idea of the impact we are making in our communities.

Click here to see some interesting facts about these 1,179 immigrants:*

The majority of them are woman (754, 64%).
The majority are from the Dominican Republic (209) followed by Haiti (125), Jamaica (121) and Trinidad and Tobago (103).
Most of them live in Brooklyn (460, 39%) and Queens (352, 29.8%).
Most participants tell us they are employed (605, 51%), while 387 (32.8%) are unemployed. One hundred and twenty seven did not answer this question. (We probably should keep an eye on participants filling all fields in the PRFs for us to have complete information the next time around).
More than half of the participants (610) are in the 24-44 age bracket.
We help many people in need. Six hundred and thirty four (53.7%) of our participants are receiving some form of public assistance (including Medicaid and food stamps).

With the help of our dedicated volunteers, we expect to exceed that number in the coming twelve months and continue helping parents who struggle to make ends meet. Thanks to our partners: the Department of Education, the Office of Financial Empowerment, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the East River Development Alliance and the Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union.

*As per data available as of 9/11/2013.

Events

The goal of Citizenship Now! events is to help eligible individuals prepare their forms N-400, Application for Naturalization. Most events are held on Saturdays. During our Citizenship Now! events applicants receive the following services:

Evaluation of eligibility for naturalization.
Assistance in completing the N-400 Application for Naturalization form.
Information on gathering the documents necessary to be included in the application packet.
Free photographs required for the application.
Review of complete application packet by an attorney or an immigration counselor.

10/19/2013 - Citizenship Now Application Assistance Event with Council Member Annabel Palma, the New Americans Campaign and NALEO (Bronx) >>

10/26/2013 - Citizenship Now! Application Assistance Day with the New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) (Brooklyn) >>

11/9/2013 - Citizenship Now Application Assistance Event with NYS Senator Kevin Parker, Councilman Jumaane Williams, New Americans Campaign and NALEO (Brooklyn) >>