Published: November 10, 2009 08:33 am      

Pursuing citizenship

Workshop to help immigrants

Services provided by a Lexington-based program soon will be available in Madison County to help immigrants overcome the hassles often associated with pursuing U.S. citizenship.

The Maxwell Street Legal Clinic, a program of the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, in partnership with Eastern Kentucky University, will host a free workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, in the EKU Perkins Building. The building is located on Kit Carson Drive south of the Eastern Bypass.

“In our area, there are very few places where people can get legal advice about issues related to becoming a (U.S.) citizen,” Powell said.

Being able to get a work permit, applying for a “green card” to obtain permanent-resident status or becoming eligible to take the U.S. citizenship test are just a few examples of the hurdles facing immigrants, according to Venezuela native Sandra Anez Powell, director of Kentucky River Foothills' Hispanic Outreach Program.

“We are delighted (the clinic) are coming,” Powell said. “This is a community effort to bring those resources to Madison County. This will help demystify the process of immigration.”

Workshop volunteers will assist eligible legal, permanent residents apply for citizenship by providing information and advice on the process. Free access to immigration attorneys who will assist in preparing the application and help to review the application upon completion also will be available.

“For many people, it is difficult to travel to the Lexington office for the workshops or to attend offered classes on a regular basis. For this reason, we propose to take the services to the clients,” Powell said.

The U.S. citizenship test is the most common challenge with pursuing legal U.S. status, said Abbey Poffenberger, EKU assistant professor of Spanish. “The exam covers the fundamental concepts of American democracy, history and geography,” she said. “A candidate for naturalization may only be asked 10 questions during the exam, but the list that they are responsible for memorizing contains over 100 questions.”

The free workshop is just the first step, however, as EKU students and faculty will continue to provide free tutoring in both U.S. civics and to assist immigrants with English proficiency, Poffenberger said.

“This is a long-term commitment led by EKU students and faculty,” she said. “We plan to hold this workshop on a yearly basis, yet the tutoring in Civics and the English language will be available throughout the academic year.”

This workshop is sponsored by EKU’s foreign languages and humanities department, international education office, multicultural student affairs office, Latino Student Union and Spanish Student Association.

Other sponsors include Foothills Community Action Partnership's Hispanic Outreach Program and the Mujeres Unidas (Women United) group.

For more information about the workshop, call Powell at 624-2046, Ext. 222.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.