USCIS Opens New Field Office in Queens, New York
This past Friday, USCIS celebrated the official opening of its newest full service immigration field office in Queens, New York. Director Alejandro Mayorkas and New York District Director Andrea Quarantillo were joined for the ribbon-cutting ceremony by staff and dignitaries including Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (14th District, N.Y.), Congressman Joseph Crowley (7th District, N.Y.) and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
Director Mayorkas (standing left) applauds as New York District Director Andrea Quarantillo and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney cut the ceremonial ribbon
The office, located at 27-35 Jackson Ave., is situated at the center of one of the most diverse communities in the United States and is expected to serve around 500 people each day. It consists of waiting rooms, an Application Support Center (which offers fingerprinting and photographic services as part of the application process), a naturalization ceremony room, and interview and file rooms. Director Mayorkas noted during the ceremony that the office is part of an ongoing effort to “provide services where our customers live.”
USCIS staff, community leaders, and members of the media listen to opening remarks
USCIS Supervisory Immigration Services Officer Yvette Lugo is one of approximately 100 employees who helped get the office running. She now works there on a permanent basis and noted that previously, “Many Queens residents had to take a very long trip to the Long Island Office, where sometimes they would have to take a cab and pay $60.” She is also confident that the new office will relieve pressure on other offices in the region, and cut down on wait times for applicants.
Antonio Meloni, the Executive Director of a community-based organization in Queens that assists immigrants, believes that the office is an important step in making services more accessible for local citizens and immigrants. “We’ve all stood in line and we all understand how stressful it is…and you may not finish because there are too many people…and now that won’t happen because this new office alleviates that.” He also believes the new office will also save many residents long trips to either Manhattan or Long Island offices, often through tough New York traffic. “It’s a big, big step, a large accommodation for the people.”
In an emotional moment for USCIS staffers, a portion of the new office in Queens was dedicated to former Field Office Director Gwynne K. MacPherson-Williams, who passed away in March 2011 after 38 years of distinguished public service in New York City. A plaque was placed in the new naturalization ceremony room in her memory.
For more information on our new office, please see our website.
posted by USCIS Blog Team @ 12:50 PM
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2 Comments:
This comment is for USCIS director because there is no direct way to contact him.....We salute your decision to open a new service center in queens,NY to help things go quicker .However everybody seems to forget about the one office that is running behind all the offices in the nation on processing time;and that is the Washington,DC field office.That office,located in Fairfax,Virginia serves residents of both northern Virginia and Washington,DC....Please open a new field office in Washington ,DC so us Virginia residents can see our applications processed quicker because waiting a whole year just to become citizen is simply not fair
First of all USCIS needs to focus of stopping all immigration activities, still the economy is bad in this country and there are so many citizens without jobs and if USCIS starts granting citizenship to the filed applications by permanent card(Green card) holders then there are not many jobs in the market. They need to stop doing H1B visas as well and also stop processing the green cards for H1B visa holders. First focus and make sure the economy is stabilized and all the existing citizens who have been long waiting for jobs since year 2009 and 2010. Let them get jobs first and the president needs to bring all the call ceter offshore jobs and overseas projects back to America, once all the citizens gets jobs and also please convey to universities not to give any type of Grant or educatonal tution fees waiver for the foreign students who comes for higher studies to Ameican universities. The reason is the Under graduate students, born and raised ( American Citizens) are not getting aid or Tution waiver for studying higher education. Make sure all the jobs starting from lower to higher level hires and gives preference to American citizens first, and next preference to Green card holders.
Please try to take these steps then the American economy is going to build fast. Otherwise now in America there are more people than needed and also think of the high sky rocketing gas prices and it became so much hard for living only.
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