Volunteer Neil who assists with the Legal & Immigration
programme assists them with their Citizenship paperwork.
 By Kieran C. O'Sullivan

IPC Banquet

I want to remind readers that our annual fundraiser is coming up on Saturday Oct. 13th. This is the 25th Anniversary Banquet and Celebration. There will be music by Kevin Doherty and friends, and Irish dancing by Brady Academy of Irish Dance. Fr. Dan Finn, one of the founders of the IPC 25 years ago, who has worked for decades helping immigrants will be our guest of honor. Tickets are now available. Call or email us for more details

Irish can apply for New USA Visa lottery

The State Department has just released details of the application period for this year’s Diversity Visa (DV) 2014 lottery. Online registration for the DV-2014 Program will begin on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and conclude on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time. Go to www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period to submit an entry. The lottery is free to enter.

Immigration Calls
It is interesting that in recent months I’ve had a number of calls and emails from people in Ireland information on US citizenship via one or both parents. One caller this week misses out on deriving US citizenship automatically simply because his father did not live here for five years after turning the age of 14. Below is just basic information on a very complicated area of law. If any readers have any queries, I can be called or emailed at the email above. Child Citizenship Act Of 2000
In 2001, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 became effective. The aim of this law, which, among other things, amends Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), is to facilitate the automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship for both biological and adopted children of U.S. citizens who are born abroad and who do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth.

The following are the Act's requirements:

1. At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization.

2. The child is under the age of 18.

3. The child must be residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent after having been lawfully admitted into this country as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence.

4. If the child has been adopted, the adoption must be final.

The Act's Other Provisions

Another section of this new law provides that children (biological and adopted) of U.S. citizens who are born and reside abroad (that is, they do not enter the U.S. as permanent residents) and who don’t become U.S. citizens at birth can apply to USCIS for a certificate of citizenship if the following conditions are met:

1. At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, whether by birth or naturalization.

2. The U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the U.S. for a total of at least five years, at least two of which were after the age of 14. If the child's U.S. citizen parent cannot meet this requirement, it is enough if one of the child's U.S. citizen grandparents can meet it.

3. The child is under the age of eighteen.

4. The child resides abroad in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent and has been lawfully admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant.

Children who acquire citizenship under this new provision do not acquire citizenship automatically; rather, they must/must apply to USCIS for a certificate of citizenship and go through the naturalization process.

Legal Clinic

Our next clinic is on Tuesday Oct. 2 at 630 PM at the Banshee, 934 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester.

Our clinic attorneys Dan Harrington and Chris Lavery are among leading experts in the field of immigration, naturalization and removal law, and practice exclusively on immigration matters each week before the US Citizenship and Immigration Service in Boston.

Disclaimer: Please note that the information contained in it is provided to inform generally, and is not intended as a substitute for individual advice. Immigration law is subject to frequent changes and individual circumstances can affect the application of certain legal provisions. For individual legal advice, please contact the Irish Pastoral Centre directly regarding upcoming legal clinics or consultation with an immigration attorney.

Email me your immigration query or a topic you would like us to cover today: [email protected]