The Emerald Isle hosted a farewell breakfast for The Consul General of Ireland Eugene Hutchinson on Thursday, June 23rd, 2005 at the Sky Club200 Park Ave, Met Life Building to thank him for his friendship and support to the EIIC and the Irish community in the US. We wish Eugene continued success and happiness in his next posting as Irish Ambassador to Malaysia.

Seen at the breakfast were Board and staff members (LtoR): Elizabeth Champ, Liam Boyle, Judy Farrell, Donald Kelly, Frank Schorn, Noreen O'Donoghue, Brian O'Dwyer, Sean Benson, Consul General Eugene Hutchinson, Mae O'Driscoll, John Garvey, Aine Sheridan, J.P.Delaney, Siobhan Dennehy.

More information about who we are can be found here

May 2005: Irish Politicians visit USA.

We have been glad to welcome delegations from both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to our Woodside office to present the case for assistance to the Irish Immigrant population. Issues such as lack of health coverage, new drivers licence restrictions and immigration difficulties facing the new Immigrant were put to the members.

Thanks to the FG members Deputies Paul Connaughton TD FG Spokesman on Emigrant Affairs, Simon Coveney MEP, Dinny Mc Ginley TD and Michael Ring TD were here on May 5th 2005. Thanks also to Patricia Grogan of The Aisling Center who gave a very comprehensive presentation of the issues facing the undocumented Irish.

Later that same week on Saturday May 7th we were very glad to host the FF delegates of Senator Paschal Mooney, the Seanad Spokesman for Foreign affairs and Deputy John Cregan TD of Limerick.

A sincere thanks to all our visitors. We are delighted that you stopped by and we welcome your continued interest in the Irish abroad.

The Emerald Isle brought a stand to the fair in Patchogue. We hope to have an outreach to more Irish fairs and events in the future. Please support us and drop by to say hello, join our mailing list or ask a question. We will be glad to help. Our thanks go out to the organizers of the fair for their kindness and help and also a special thanks to Elizabeth Champ, who put so much time and effort into setting up our contribution.

Briscoe Awards 2005

Christmas Party

Yes! We sure had fun and we even have a picture to prove it.
Good food, some drink, Secret Santa and a visit to Woodlawn. I even managed to get a hair cut as well!

Irish Ambassador's visit

Ambassador Noel Fahey (center)
with some of the EIIC Staff.

We were delighted to welcome the Irish Ambassador who visited us recently in our Woodside offices.

Ambassador Fahey (above)
with members of the EIIC Board
and executive.

Thank you to all who support us and remember to support all those who took advertisements in our annual Dinner Dance journal.

Some more - thanks to Terence MacNamara for the following snaps.

The 12th Annual

ROBERT BRISCOE AWARDS

took place

Honoring

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG

Mayor, City of New York

 Howard P. Milstein

Co Chairman, President & CEO, Emigrant Savings Bank

at

January 2005

The awards were presented by Robert’s son, Hon. Ben Briscoe, former member of the Irish parliament- The Dail.

The awards are bestowed each year on members of New York’s Jewish community in appreciation of efforts to better the lives of Irish immigrants.

Robert Briscoe was the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ireland.  He was elected to that office in 1956, a time when New York City had not yet seen its first Jewish mayor.

Bush Seeks Tougher Immigration Policy, Temporary Worker Program

President Bush says America can be both "a welcoming society and a lawful society" before introducing his guest worker program.

President Bush urged Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation to help secure the U.S. border from illegal immigrants and called for a temporary worker program that would allow some immigrants to work openly in the United States for a fixed period of time.

Speaking November 28 in Tucson, Arizona, Bush said the United States “has always been a compassionate nation that values the newcomer and takes great pride in our immigrant heritage,” but he said illegal immigrants were violating U.S. law.

“The American people should not have to choose between a welcoming society and a lawful society. We can have both at the same time,” he said.

The president urged that a new temporary worker program be established that would allow some immigrants to register to work legally for a fixed period of time before returning home. Such a measure, he said, would reduce pressure on the border and “bring workers from out of the shadows.”

But, he said, the program “would not create an automatic path to citizenship,” and would not provide amnesty to those who have illegally entered the United States.

“This program would help meet the demands of a growing economy, and it would allow honest workers to provide for their families while respecting the law,” he said. Read more here

Wynee MacPhearson, Acting Deputy Director, CIS New York District, has announced that the New York District Pilot Program officially ended on January 27, 2005. Pilot Program cases allowed for marriage based adjustment of status applications to receive an interview within 90 days of filing. No prior warning was given.

The CIS Announcement read as follows-

"The New York District Pilot program officially ended on January 27,2005. Cases that have already been scheduled through March 29, 2005 out of the pilot will remain on calendar and be interviewed as pilot cases. Cases that have not been scheduled as of January 27, 2005 will be processed through the regular national benefits center system and will be scheduled through Claims4. This means that most pilot cases filed in December and afterwards will be processed regularly and will not be valid for 90-day interviews."

-If your case has not been set down for an interview at this point, your case will not be eligible for the Pilot Program and will be sent to the back of the queue. Applicants relied on the fact that their cases would be considered on the merits within 90 days of filing. Many cases were filed without EAD's or advance parole applications and strategies were set based on the fact that Pilot Program would be in place. Moreover, many applicants bore the expense of re-filing thinking that the huge delays that they incurred would be offset by the creation of the program.

USCIS announced, after the close of business on Friday, October 1 (the first day of the 2005 fiscal year), that it has enough cap-subject H-1B petitions in the pipeline to meet the fiscal year 2005 cap. All cap-subject petitions received after last Friday will be returned. The next date on which cap-subject H-1B filings can be accepted by USCIS will be April 1, 2005 (for a start work date on or after October 1, 2005).
l

The State of New York is threatening to suspend the drivers licenses of almost 300,000 immigrants who cannot verify their Social Security numbers.

The March is on
Saturday, March 5th 2005 at noon, assemble along Junction Boulevard and 37th Street in Jackson Heights

Protest the attack on immigrant communities.

 One License for All
 DMV should not act as immigration enforcement.
This is a civil rights and immigrant worker rights issue
Stop Driving Immigrant Workers Underground

For more information contact
NYCPP (212) 388 3210

NEW IRISH PASSPORT INSTRUCTIONS

OASIS SITE

A passport is an internationally recognised travel document confirming your identity and nationality. Your Irish passport is issued by the Irish Government through the Passport Office here in Ireland. If you are living abroad, Irish passports are issued through Irish embassies and consulates throughout the world. In addition to confirming your identity and nationality, your passport essentially is a request from the Irish government that other governments abroad permit you to travel or stay in their terrority and afford you lawful aid and protection. While your Irish passport is an internationally recognised travel document, it does not give you an automatic right to enter other countries.