The seventh annual Citizenship Day event was held April 5 at Florida Coastal School of Law.
Local attorneys and law students volunteered their time and knowledge to guide legal permanent residents seeking citizenship status.
Volunteers counseled the applicants on properly filling out paperwork and what to expect during the naturalization process.
The Citizenship Day project received financial and/or in-kind support from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Florida Coastal School of Law, Hola Noticias, Technology Transfer, Meymand, Opulent Clothing Co., The Jacksonville Bar Association, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and several student organizations from Florida Coastal.
In preparation for the event, the participating attorneys viewed a naturalization CLE webinar to learn how to prepare the application and to spot possible pitfalls. They provided free assistance to legal permanent resident applicants who were pre-screened for eligibility.
The overall effort was coordinated by Florida Coastal professor Kara Roberts, a JALA immigration attorney who teaches a practitioners clinic focusing on outreach to our Northeast Florida immigrant residents.
Roberts said the event gets better each year.
“The actual Citizenship Day event is really only one part of the entire effort that is implemented by the students. Many hours of outreach in the immigrant community, applicant screening and event coordination are invested by the students prior to Citizenship Day,” Roberts said.
She said her students recruit and coordinate volunteer contributions of the student groups.
“We all congratulate and thank the dozens of students and attorneys who put time and effort into making this resource available to so many deserving applicants,” Roberts said.
Support of Citizenship Day is one of The Jacksonville Bar Association’s Law Week observances and it fits perfectly with this year’s theme: “Why Every Vote Matters.”
Many of the pro bono attorneys also serve on the Law Week committee.
Cyndy Trimmer, pro bono attorney and Law Week committee member, said “Ours is a country established by immigrants who believed that people should have a voice. Many of the applicants served today came from countries in which the people’s opinions are not heard and may be punishable. It makes the theme of Law Day, ‘Why Every Vote Matters’ a very meaningful backdrop to today’s event.”
While student volunteers helped the participants fill out the N-400 naturalization applications, the participating attorneys counseled applicants about issues
that may arise and whether additional legal assistance may be advisable.
Attorneys conducted a final review of the documents and ensured that all applicants were eligible to apply for citizenship.
The event helped 80 legal permanent residents to complete the naturalization application process.
Those who did not meet the eligibility requirements were referred to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid for further pro bono representation or to other community agencies for assistance.
More than 100 immigrant residents received services, making Citizenship Day 2014 another resounding success and another meaningful pro bono effort.
Sincere thanks are extended to the attorneys who participated: Ronald Austin, Melina Buncome, Rebecca Caballero, Luke Cornelius, Lenny Feigel, Laura Gapske, Ardian Gjoka, Nancy Hale, Ada Hammond, Elizabeth Heffington, Jordan Johnell, Michael Kelley, Jim Kowalski, Danielle Krogh, Silvia Manzanero, Jesse McIntyre, Robyn Moore, Christopher Page, Nicolle Piquet, Teddy Rivera, Daniel Ross, Jeffrey Totty, Cyndy Trimmer, Karen Winston, John Woodlee and Katrina Wosko.
For information on pro bono opportunities throughout the 4th Judicial Circuit or to be added to the list of attorneys interested in Citizenship Day 2015, contact Kathy Para, chair of The Jacksonville Bar Association Pro Bono Committee at [email protected].