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Washington,
D.C. - In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's
increased measures to detain, deport, and generally
monitor non-U.S. citizens living in the United States,
and in the spirit of the Justice for Defrauded Korean
Immigrants campaign of the Korean American Coalition,
volunteers from the Washington DC Area Chapter (KAC-DC)
are working to help legal Korean immigrants become naturalized
citizens, register to vote, and register their change-of-address
with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
(BCIS). The bilingual workshop will be held on Saturday,
June 28, 2003, in McLean, VA. The event, scheduled from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will be held at the McLean Korean
Presbyterian Church, 7144 Old Dominion Drive, McLean,
VA 22101. Please see below for specific details on workshop
requirements.
Justice
for Defrauded Korean Immigrants Campaign
The Justice
for Defrauded Korean Immigrants campaign arose from
the collective actions of activists in northern California
who were concerned about 274 Korean immigrants facing
deportation for obtaining green cards that the federal
government claims were fraudulently obtained. Earlier
this year, the San Jose Mercury News reported that a
longtime INS supervisor accepted at least $500,000,
in bribes from immigration consultants in exchange for
green cards he authorized.
Billed as
"one of the largest green-card fraud schemes in recent
Bay area history", KAC members and activists in the
San Francisco and Sacramento Chapters are leading a
national policy advocacy campaign to establish fair
process and relief for the defrauded immigrants. KAC
is working to mobilize a coalition of Korean and other
Asian American organizations in hopes to gain the support
of Congress to pressure the Department of Homeland Security
to adopt a more equitable policy with respect to the
Korean cases.
KAC-DC
Citizenship Workshop
"In the current
political climate, it is more important than ever for
Koreans who live in the U.S. to become naturalized Americans.
As a Korean advocacy organization, we hear stories of
Legal Permanent Residents who are detained while entering
the United States for seemingly simple issues such as
DWI convictions," said Gie Kim, Executive Vice President
and immigration attorney. To meet the increased demand
for naturalization, KAC-DC is planning more citizenship
workshops for the rest of the year. KAC-DC is seeking
venues for future Citizenship Drive events. Please contact
KAC-DC if any organization or church would like to host
a workshop for its members.
N-400
Trained volunteers
will assist eligible applicants -- legal permanent residents
who have resided in the United States for at least 5
years -- in filling out the required naturalization
form. Each applicant is responsible for submitting his
or her completed application to the BCIS (formerly known
as the INS). Individuals seeking to apply for citizenship
should bring the following items:
- $310
check or money order, payable to BCIS (application
fee) · $25 cash or check to KAC-DC (processing fee)
- $10 photograph
fee
- Green
Card
- Passport
- Social
Security Card
- Record
of Travel outside the United States since becoming
a Legal Permanent Resident
- Addresses
for the past 5 years
- Employment
information (name, address) for the past 5 years
- Spouse's
information (date of birth, social security number,
alien registration number, date of marriage)
- Children's
information (date of birth, social security number,
alien registration number)
- Selective
Service Registration card
VOTER
REGISTRATION
Voter registration
forms will be available for Virginia residents who are
U.S. citizens and who fit other eligibility requirements.
Volunteers will be on hand to assist eligible participants
in completing the form.
AR-11
Volunteers
will assist eligible participants- permanent residents,
non-immigrants, and other foreign nationals legally
residing in the United States- in filling out the required
change of address form (AR-11). Individuals seeking
to register their change of address should bring the
following items:
- Visa
and/or Green Card
- Passport
- Address
of current school or place of employment
The Korean
American Coalition is a national membership-based nonprofit
community service, education and advocacy organization
established in 1983 to facilitate the Korean American
community's effective participation in civic, legislative,
political and community affairs. KAC was founded in
Los Angeles, home to the largest number of Korean Americans
in the nation. KAC's Washington, D.C. Area Chapter,
formerly known as the Korean American Alliance, began
operations in January 2001.
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