The Caribbean Bar Association-Central Florida Chapter (CBA-CF) held its annual citizenship drive on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at the New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka, Florida. Although the citizenship drive was scheduled to start at 10:00am, people anxiously show-up by 8:00am and traveled from Tampa and Jacksonville. The citizenship drive was well received by the community, as over sixty individuals and their families came to the event requesting assistance with their citizenship application.
There were about fifteen volunteers (attorneys and paralegals) on hand from the Caribbean Bar Association- Central Florida Chapter and five volunteers from the New Destiny Christian Center. People requesting help with their citizenship application were first asked to complete a questionnaire before they were assigned to a volunteer preparer. The purpose of the questionnaire was to find out if the person’s travel history, potential background check, or immigration history posed a barrier to obtaining U.S. citizenship. Unfortunately, about twenty individuals were advised that the volunteers could not assist them because they may have a potential reason for U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to deny their citizenship application. These individuals were advised to obtain an immigration attorney.
Volunteer preparers assisted green card holders from countries such as Columbia, Guyana, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Kenya. The event was well organized, as people went from the check-in area to the waiting area (where their case was individually reviewed) then they were sent to a volunteer preparer. A photo station was also set-up for those who wanted to take their immigration photo that is required with the citizenship application. “We look forward to having many more of these types of events in the future,” stated Wayne C. Golding, Esq., President of the CBA-CF. The Golding Law Group, PLC provided cocktail patties and refreshments to those attending and volunteering.

According to Gail S. Seeram, Esq., Vice-President of the CBA-CF and Coordinator of the citizenship drive, “We were pleased at the turn-out on Saturday and the influx of phone calls we received from green card holders wanting to file for U.S. citizenship. This event has raised the community’s awareness of how important it is to become a U.S. citizen.” A deciding factor for many people to file for their citizenship is the USCIS proposal to raise the filing fee from $400.00 to $675.00 by the summer of 2007. Also, starting in January 2008, there will be a newly redesigned English reading and writing test and U.S. history and government test.