AILA Teams Up with Partners to Help Thousands Become U.S. Citizens

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 18, 2013

CONTACTS:
George Tzamaras 202-507-7649 gtzamaras@aila.org	Belle Woods 202-507-7675 bwoods@aila.org

Washington, DC - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is proud to sponsor the 7th annual Citizenship Day on Saturday, April 20, 2013. Each year, at sites across the country, AILA attorneys and other stakeholders provide assistance to lawful permanent residents eligible for naturalization. This year, AILA again in partnership with "ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía!" will hold 40 naturalization clinics in 23 states and the District of Columbia serving thousands of immigrants who aspire to become citizens.

"Citizenship Day is a highlight among the many events AILA participates in each year. This is a day when we help qualified immigrants prepare the final papers that will lead to their becoming American citizens," said AILA President Laura Lichter.

AILA Citizenship Day is an award-winning, one-day, multi-site event where attorneys provide free or low-cost assistance to eligible legal permanent residents who wish to apply for U.S. citizenship. The event is made possible through the strong partnerships between AILA chapters across the country and the grassroots campaign "ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía!" In 2013, AILA Citizenship Day will celebrate its 7th anniversary as a nationwide event and its 5th year working with the campaign. Last year, at events in 16 states, over 2,000 immigrants were served.

Key factors in the success of Citizenship Day are the relationships between AILA, community organizations and stakeholders, as well as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Office of Citizenship and the Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices.

"Individual attorneys help immigrants each and every day but by joining together for Citizenship Day, our abilities are magnified. Applying for citizenship can be a complicated process and it is heartwarming to see the optimism and hope these immigrants have for their future as they reach for the American Dream," said Susan Timmons, Associate Director of AILA's Practice and Professionalism Center.

Citizenship Clinics will be held in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C. A list of clinic coordinators and their email addresses is available after this release.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.

Arizona Marisol Angulo ma@hernandezglobal.com Central Florida Kara Roberts - Jacksonville kara.roberts@jaxlegalaid.org Camila Pachon - Orlando cpachon@legalaidocba.org Dina Castillo-Ward - Orlando dina.castward@gmail.com John Dubrule - Tampa johnd@gulfcoastlegal.org Chicago Cathy Higgins-Mora chiggins@hsplegal.com Edyta Salata edyta@salatalaw.net Maria Frenn Kallmeyer maria.kallmeyer@quarles.com Colorado Aaron Clarke Hall aaron@immigrationissues.com Georgia Anne Koch - Decatur anne@kochimmigration.com Hawaii John Robert Egan jegan@migrationcounsel.com Indiana Christie Popp popplawoffice@gmail.com Michigan David Koelsch koelscdc@udmercy.edu Mid-South: Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisana Bob Lenard rrlenard@aol.com New England: Massachusetts and Vermont Sidney Collier scollier@collierimmigration.com Emily Leung eleung@law.harvard.edu Livia Lungulescu livia@romanovskylaw.com New York Rachel Baskin baskinesq@gmail.com Alfredo Murga alfredo.murga@hua-murga.com

Northern California Erin Quinn equinn@ilrc.org David Palmer david@jewellfirm.com Ohio Stacy Cozart - Cleveland cozart@visaskk.com Matt Nierman - Columbus mnierman@shihablawyers.com Jorge Martinez - Cincinnati jorge@jortinez.com Philadelphia Judi Bernstein-Baker jbernsteinbaker@hiaspa.org Valentine Brown vbrown@duanemorris.com San Diego Susan Worm sworm@immigrationlawclinic.com Monica Rottermann rott.esq@gmail.com South Florida Sui Chung schung@lawgroupusa.com Southern California Yeu Hong yhong@immgroup.com Rajesh Prasad rajesh@parikhlawoffices.com Texas and Oklahoma Frances Valdez fvaldezlaw@gmail.com Utah Margaret Pascual mwpascual@sbcglobal.net Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia Jonelle Ocloo Jonelle.ocloo@gmail.com Washington State Megan Vogel meganvogel@dwt.com Karin Tolgu karintolgu@msn.com Kati Ortiz kati@rioscruz.com