President Obama calls
for Reform
A recent speech by
President Obama brought some welcome attention to the issue of
Immigration Reform. In
the speech the President described how the system is broken, and what
must be done to fix it including, for undocumented immigrants, creating
"a pathway for legal status that is fair, reflective of our values, and
works."
You
can read the entire speech here, or watch a video recording
of it here.
Support for CIR
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg recently launched a "Partnership for a New American
Economy" a coalition of Chief Executives from major Corporations to
push for immigration reform for America's undocumented. One of their
goals is to reshape the national conversation around what it is calling
the "economic case for sensible immigration reform," citing statistics
like immigrants generating more than 5 percent of the national gross
domestic product and owning companies which have created 400,000 new
American jobs since 1990
In an important press
conference in Chicago Billy Lawless from Chicago Celts for
Immigration Reform
joined Illinois officials and law enforcement personnel to call for
reform nationwide. "We ask our police officers to protect and serve and
put their lives on the line, but right now they can't do their jobs
because of the burdens of the broken immigration system," said Billy
Lawless, Board Member of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and
Refugee Rights. "When police can't do their jobs, we should all
be
concerned." See a report of the press conference here
Immigration
Updates
Diversity Visa
Results 2011
"Winners"
of
this past years DV_2011 visa lottery should received notification
between May and July 2010. Those selected have been provided with
further instructions on how to proceed, including information on
fees.
Please beware of
Scams - notification is not sent by email. Check with your local Irish Center to see if you are eligible to proceed.
Individuals
who are not selected do not receive any notification; however anyone
who completed their entry through the official website can check
the status of their application at www.dvlottery.state.gov using the confirmation
number they received at the time of their online application.
It
is not possible to apply for the next visa lottery (DV-2012) at the
moment. Check the U.S. Department of State website for updates
at: http://travel.state.gov/ or check with your local Irish Center for information.
New Online Detainee
Locator System
On
July 23, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a new
online tool meant to help family members locate detained
individuals.
In order to search the new Online Detainee Locator System,
you need to have either (1) the detainee's A# and country of birth, or
(2) the detainee's full name, country of birth, and date of birth .
More
Lost 1-94 Cards!
As
we reported last month the use of paper I-94 forms (the green cards
stapled to passports) has been eliminated for Visa Waiver travelers
with an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)
arriving in the United States from Ireland. Read more here
Fee Waivers for Low
Income Clients
USCIS are seeking
comments from the public on the newly developed Form I-912 (Request for
an Individual Fee Waiver). The 60-day public
comment period is open until September 13, 2010. Please visit regulations.gov to find the form and
instructions or click on the link: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=USCIS-2010-0008
Irish
Centers News
Seniors and undocumented among Irish immigrants
needing support. The Chicago Irish
Center featured in this great story on the Chicago Immigrant Connect
website.
John Keane from the Seattle
Irish Immigrant Support Group was
honored on July 4th with the prestigious Spirit of Liberty Award in
Seattle. The Award, from the Ethnic Heritage Council, was presented by
US Congressman Jim McDermott.
Jim Cummins has
announced his resignation as Chair of the Seattle Irish Immigrant
Support Group.
We a delighted to report that Jim will continue on as VP in Seattle as
he passes the torch to Dublin native Aidan Maher. We thank and
congratulate Jim for his many years of dedicated service to the Seattle
Irish immigrant community and we look forward to working with Aidan
over the coming year.
J-1 Update
In
NY J1 students are getting their social security numbers within a week
in NY this year (it was taking anything up to six weeks previously).
In
San Francisco the IIPC is dong outreach in the Irish Community to
assist J-1 students, some of whom have traveled from other areas in an
effort to find jobs and accommodation.
News
from Ireland
120,000 to emigrate by
end of 2011
The
number of people leaving Ireland this year and next is predicted to
reach 120,000, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute.
See the Irish Times Article here
Rise in suicides as
money woes hit
The
Irish Independent reports that "suicides increased by an alarming 25
per cent last year to 527, according to provisional figures, while
11,966 people presented to hospitals after attempting suicide". http://www.independent.ie/national-news/rise-in-suicides-as-money-woes-hit-2263298.html
Great bargains in
Ireland for seniors
There
are some good savings opportunities for seniors who are traveling to
Ireland, both north and south, this year including. Golden Trekker rail
passes provide free travel throughout the Republic of Ireland for
visiting seniors aged 66 and over. In Northern Ireland Smartcards
entitle visiting seniors to free travel between July 1 and September 30.
For more information
contact Tourism Ireland at 1-800- SHAMROCK or click: http://www.discoverireland.com/us/
Irish Heritage
Certificate
The
Irish Government, by the end of 2010, will introduce a Certificate of
Irish Heritage for people of Irish descent who do not qualify for
citizenship. For more information of claiming Irish citizenship and the
changes since 2005 check out the Department of Justice Equality & Law Reform
website.
Study in Ireland -
Reduced Fees!
The
initiative aims to encourage the children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren of Irish citizens (including non-resident Irish
passport holders with dual citizenship) living outside of the EU to
return to Ireland for their Higher Education studies. The program will
be of particular interest to members of the Irish Diaspora who reside
outside of the EU. Students in this category are normally subject to
full Non-EU tuition fees. Through this Program qualifying students will
benefit from a reduction in tuition fees of up to 40% depending on the
course and Institute of application. For the 2010/2011 intake the IHSP
fee level will be €5,950. Check the IHSP website for more information.
Seniors Connect
If
you are an Irish Senior and you would like to connect, via the phone,
with someone from Ireland for a chat or to discuss an issue call the
toll free number 1-877-997-5777. The Senior Connect program is free, easy
to access and completely confidential.
|
