Another New York City public university will soon be joining the CUNY Citizenship Now! initiative, offering complementary legal assistance to immigrants who are going through the citizenship process.
The official opening of the Queens College office of City University of New York (CUNY) Citizenship will take place this coming Tuesday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the school.
According to the CUNY Queens College website, the office “empowers immigrants to represent themselves through the pro se model of legal assistance. CUNY Citizenship Now! is the largest university legal assistance program in the nation, providing free and confidential citizenship and immigration law services to local communities since 1997.”
CUNY Citizenship Now! has partnered with the Queens College Immigrant Student Support Initiative since 2023. The initiative aligns with CUNY’s advocacy to support programs for undocumented and immigrant students.
Some of the services that will be available are assistance with naturalization, family-based petitions, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), temporary protected status, certificates of citizenship, renewal and replacement of immigration documents, full and partial fee waiver requests, and Freedom of Information/Privacy Act requests.
Members of the NYC college community will have priority access to immigration attorneys two days a week.
CUNY Citizenship Now! attorneys and paralegals help thousands of people each year with the process to attaining citizenship.
In addition to one-on-one consultations by appointment, the program offers nationally recognized services to assist large groups of people with completing their immigration applications. Staff members regularly participate in free workshops and informational events to educate the community about immigrant rights, citizenship, and the latest developments in immigration law and policy. CUNY also partners with the New York Historical Society to offer civics classes for green card holders.
Jay Hershenson, vice president and senior advisor to the president, Queens College Office of Communications and Marketing, will act as master of ceremonies. Invited speakers to Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony include Queens College President Frank H. Wu; Jennifer Jarvis, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Queens College; Monique Francis, interim director, CUNY Citizenship Now!; Council Member James Gennaro; a representative for NYS Senator John Liu; Assembly Member Sam Berger; and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Jr. Queens College undergraduates Tao Wu, a native of China, and Kirk Persaud, a native of Guyana, will provide testimonials as the recipients of CUNY Citizenship Now! services.
The office will be located at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing NY, and can be reached through the Student Union Staff and Faculty Club.
