Local lawyers host immigration clinic at LaGuardia College

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Volunteer attorneys from the law firms of Arnold & Porter; Cleary Gottlieb, Fried Frank and Simpson Thacher, as well as volunteers from Goldman Sachs, assist immigrants with naturalization forms. Photo Courtesy of NYLPI.

Volunteer attorneys from the law firms of Arnold & Porter; Cleary Gottlieb, Fried Frank and Simpson Thacher, as well as volunteers from Goldman Sachs, assist immigrants with naturalization forms. Photo Courtesy of NYLPI.

By David Brand

Attorneys from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Catholic Migration Services are partnering with various local law firms Saturday to conduct a naturalization clinic for green card holders in Long Island City.

The clinic at LaGuardia College will feature attorneys from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; and Goldman Sachs. It will take place Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lawyers from some of the same firms partnered with NYPLI and Catholic Migration Services for a series of similar clinics last year. Green card holders will have the opportunity to receive free legal services as they apply for U.S. citizenship. 

Attorneys and trained volunteers will meet one-on-one with pre-screened clients to provide naturalization application assistance and answer questions in English and Spanish.

Last year, Annamaria Santamaria, the program associate of Pro Bono Programs at NYPLI, said lawyers had been reaching out to the organization to find out how they could assist noncitizens, including green card holders.

“There has been a lot of motivation, particularly post- [2016 Presidential] election, because people are interested in getting involved in immigration law,” Santamaria told the Eagle in 2018. “The attorneys volunteering are committed on a personal level and they are invested. We have had a lot of people coming back because the nature of the work is so close to home.”