ADC Press Release | Contact: Laila Al-Qatami | 202-244-2990 | media@adc.org.
Washington, DC | April 24, 2006 | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) will be holding a press conference on Tuesday, April 25, at 9:30am EST to brief the media about the troubling problem of naturalization delays the community is experiencing. At the press conference you will hear stories related to ADC from people experiencing this problem. Similar press conferences are scheduled to take place in Michigan, California, and Texas (see below for times and locations.)
Community members have reported to ADC that they are experiencing significant delays in their naturalization petitions filed with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These delays exceed the 120-day processing time requirement in the processing, and in some cases are up to four years.
Recently, naturalization petitioners who filed writs of mandamus to compel the processing of their delayed petitions were granted their naturalizations immediately after filing the writs. However, the added writ-filing step that many naturalization petitioners now must take is creating significant delays and is not affordable for all petitioners.
ADC’s work on this matter has been noted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Immigration and Litigation (OIL) and was the subject of an internal March 13, 2006 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo. DOJ and OIL agree that USCIS delays are unreasonable and must be addressed. For more information see: https://www.adc.org/index.php?id=2791
Under ADC’s coordination, attorneys across the nation will be filing writs on the day of the press conference. ADC will hold a press conference at its National Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as well as in Dearborn, MI; Anaheim, CA; and Dallas, TX where you will hear the stories of some individuals who are experiencing this problem.
WHAT:
Press conference addressing issue of Immigration Naturalization Delays
WHEN:
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
9:30am EST
WHERE:
ADC National Headquarters
1732 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
RSVP Required: Contact ADC Media Department
202-244-2990 or media@adc.org
ADDITIONAL PRESS CONFERENCES ALSO SET TO TAKE PLACE ON TUESDAY, APRIL 25
MICHIGAN
9:30 am EST–Dearborn, Michigan
ADC Michigan Regional Office
13530 Michigan Ave., Suite 329
Dearborn, MI 48126
RSVP Required: Contact Rima Elzein, ADC Legal Advisor
313-581-1201
relzein@adc.org
TEXAS
2pm CST–Dallas, Texas
Law Office of Karen Pennington
701 Commerce St., Ste. 110
Dallas, TX 75202
RSVP Required: Contact: Karen Pennington, Esq.
214-741-7711
PenningtonLaw@yahoo.com
CALIFORNIA
4:00pm PST–Anaheim, California
Mashney Law Offices, PC
501 N. Brookhurst St., Ste. 306
Anaheim, CA 92801
RSVP Required: Contact Stephen B. Mashney
714-612-0157
mashney@hotmail.com