IMPORTANT NOTICE: On January 2nd, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that immediate relatives of U.S. citizens present in the United States, who are in the process of seeking immigrant visas with the Department of State to become lawful U.S. permanent residents, may apply for I-601A provisional unlawful presence waivers before departing the United States to attend their immigrant visa interviews. USCIS will begin accepting provisional unlawful presence waivers on March 4th, 2013.

Overview:

Ø  Will become effective March 4, 2013

Ø  Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens only (spouse/parent/child U21), not for LPR etc.

Ø  If you entered U.S. illegally and have overstayed can file waiver inside the States  (without triggering the 3/10 yr bar)

Ø  Can file the waiver inside  the States without having to leave and wait for a “provisional approval” at consulate before departing.  Once they get this approval then they depart and process at consulate

Ø  Must show extreme hardship to QR – standard is totality of circumstances, not single list of factors

New York Times: coalition to apply election strength to immigration debate

Coalition to Apply Election Strength to Immigration Debate

By JULIA PRESTON

In a new nationwide campaign, groups that favor a path to citizenship for most of the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants will seek to mobilize the same coalition that helped to carry President Obama into his second term, while treading lightly enough to avoid disrupting the delicate immigration overhaul negotiations in the Senate.

On Tuesday, a coalition of Latino, Asian, African-American, labor and church groups announced plans to throw their weight into the immigration debate, saying they want Congress to move quickly on the complex and volatile issues, with legislation introduced in the Senate as early as March. But they refrained from providing details about the path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that they favor, saying it would be “premature” to be specific when the thorny issue is still being discussed at the White House and by bipartisan groups of lawmakers in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.

Janet Murguía, the president of NCLR, one of the largest national Latino organizations, said an overhaul bill with a clear path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants in the country was “a matter of fundamental respect for the Latino community.”

But she said the groups’ leaders were looking to lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, to chart the precise course those immigrants would follow.

The coalition also includes the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the Service Employees International Union, among other unions; the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which includes many of the largest African-American civil rights groups; and a range of church groups, including evangelical Christians.

The coalition is building on a record of mobilization from the elections in November. The labor unions and the Latino and Asian immigrant groups led efforts that turned out many thousands of voters in states like Colorado, Florida and Nevada, which were crucial to Mr. Obama’s re-election.

The groups said they would hold a series of street rallies in coming weeks, especially in states of the eight senators in the bipartisan group, leading up to a major rally in Washington on April 10. On Feb. 25, the groups will begin a national bus tour that will travel to 19 states. The service employees union will run a $250,000 Spanish-language radio ad this weekend in major markets in 25 states.

—

To view the Irish Consulate’s February newsletter, please click on link below (or copy and paste):

The Irish Consulate’s NYC February 2013 Newsletter.

And the dinner dances start this weekend!

Save the date!

Save the date!

Donegal Association of New York, Inc.

117th Annual Dinner Dance

Spring 2013 Events Calendar

Glucksman Ireland House NYU presents our Spring 2013 calendar of events with support from:

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June

1. January

   1. Friday, January 25th at 8pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Cillian Vallely and Peter Maguire

      Uilleann piper Cillian Vallely joins his old friend and outstanding flute and tin whistle player Peter Maguire. Peter’s percussive, highly ornamented wooden flute playing and Cillian’s flowing “open” piping style blend together for a distinctive and attractive duo sound.

   2. Thursday, January 31st – Friday, February 1st: Origins, Authenticities: a two-day symposium in collaboration with the Jordan Center

      Sponsored by the Glucksman Ireland House and the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, this opening session of the Diasporas Project Series tackles the vexing question of where we all come from and how we represent ourselves as nations, religions, and races. Do people really have ultimate origins, and why do they claim to need to? Free and open to the public.

2. February

   1. Friday, February 8th – Saturday, February 9th: The Ambassadorship of Literature symposium

      A symposium on diplomacy and literature that will bring together scholars and practitioners to address the relationship between embodied statecraft and the literary voice in realms of extraterritorial jurisdiction. See the event page for full schedule. Free and open to the public.

   2. Friday, February 8th at 8pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Jerry O’Sullivan:
      Music from the O’Farrell Collection

      POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER FORECAST FOR HEAVY SNOW. RESCHEDULED TO FRIDAY, MARCH 22ND

      Jerry O’Sullivan, New York’s finest home-grown uilleann piper, plays selections from the popular early 19th century O’Farrell collection.

   3. Saturday, February 9th 10:30-11:00am: Masters Program in Irish and Irish-American Studies Session

      POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER FORECAST FOR HEAVY SNOW. RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD

      Learn more about NYU’s dynamic, interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Irish and Irish-American Studies at Glucksman Ireland House NYU at this special morning session with a sample of two lectures in Irish Studies. Read more about our MA online and bring your questions. Free and open to the public.

   4. Thursday, February 14th at 7pm: Glucksman Ireland House NYU’s 20th Birthday Party

      A special member, student and faculty party to celebrate Glucksman Ireland House’s 20th anniversary. It’s not too late to join as a member and join the party!

   5. Thursday, February 21st at 7pm: The Wreck of the Brig St. John and Its Commemoration, 1849 to present

      Catherine Shannon, emerita professor of history at Westfield State University, will give an illustrated lecture on the ship carrying Irish famine refugees which tragically wrecked in a nor’easter on Grampus ledge off Cohasset, Massachusetts on October 7, 1849.

   6. Saturday, February 23rd 10:30-11:00am: Masters Program in Irish and Irish-American Studies Session

      Learn more about NYU’s dynamic, interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Irish and Irish-American Studies at Glucksman Ireland House NYU at this special morning session with a sample of two lectures in Irish Studies. Read more about our MA online and bring your questions. Free and open to the public.

   7. Tuesday, February 26th at 6:30pm:
      Glucksman Ireland House 20th Anniversary Gala

      The New York Irish community comes out for a special evening to honor Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Glucksman Ireland House NYU’s co-founder, advisory board co-chair, and chairwoman of the American Ireland Fund. For information about purchasing tickets, please contact Miriam Nyhan at Glucksman Ireland House. Individual tickets start at $1,000.

      Can’t come to the gala? Support Glucksman Ireland House with a tax-deductible contribution.

3. March

   1. Friday, March 1st at 8pm: Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Mary McPartlan

      Mary McPartlan, marvelously talented singer and Fulbright scholar, will perform in concert at Glucksman Ireland House with some of her talented friends.

   2. Thursday, March 7th at 7pm: Mary Lou Quinlan shares The God Box Project

      After the passing of her beloved mother, Mary Lou Quinlan, found a collection of her mother’s hidden notes and prayers. Mary Lou will share her experience through excepts from her New York Times bestselling book and through scenes from her one-woman one act play, both entitled The God Box.

   3. Saturday, March 9th at 12pm: Irish-Language Mass at Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
      on Mott Street between Prince and Houston streets

      For the sixth consecutive year, the New York Irish History Roundtable, Glucksman Ireland House NYU, and the Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral will celebrate an Irish-language Mass.

   4. Saturday, March 9th 2pm to 6pm: Lá na Gaeilge: Irish Language Day

      Discover the Irish language in a program designed for learners of all levels, led by NYU Irish Studies Language Lecturers Pádraig Ó Cearúill and Hilary Mhic Suibhne. Free and open to the public.

   5. Saturday, March 9th at 6:30pm: Eighth Annual Barra Ó Donnabháin Lecture:
      Poet Louis de Paor

      Dr. Louis de Paor, Director of the Centre for Irish Studies at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and well-known Irish language poet delivers the eighth annual Barra Ó Donnabháin Memorial Lecture on Liam S. Gógan, perhaps the most neglected Irish language poet of the twentieth century.

   6. Thursday, March 14th at 7pm: The Quest for Annie Moore with Megan Smolenyak²

      Genealogist Megan Smolenyak² cracks a case of mistaken identity as she discovers the real Annie Moore – the first immigrant to arrive at Ellis Island.

   7. Friday, March 22ndth at 8pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Jerry O’Sullivan:
      Music from the O’Farrell Collection

      Jerry O’Sullivan, New York’s finest home-grown uilleann piper, plays selections from the popular early 19th century O’Farrell collection. Rescheduled from February 8th.

   8. Thursday, March 28th at 7pm: Irish Nationalists and the Making of the Irish Race

      Bruce Nelson, professor emeritus of Dartmouth University, explores the way in which the relationship forged between exiled Irish Nationalist living in New York and other remarkable, surprising individuals broadened Irish independence.

4. April

   1. Friday, April 5th at 8pm: The Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Pat O’Connor and Eoghan O’Sullivan

      The popular traditional Irish music duo composed of fiddler Pat O’Connor and button accordionist Eoghan O’Sullivan perform at Glucksman Ireland House.

   2. Friday, April 12 – 14, 2013: Religious Freedom in America, 1813 – 2013

      “Religious Freedom in America, 1813 to 2013: Bicentennial Reflections on People v. Philips” is a weekend of events including a dramatic re-enactment of William Sampson’s historic 1813 courtroom arguments before New York City Mayor De Witt Clinton, a symposium on freedom of religious expression then and now, and concludes with an excursion to the graves of the Judge & the Advocate in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery.

   3. Thursday, April 18th at 7pm: Glen Hansard talks about music and songwriting

      Grammy-nominated and Oscar-winning singer, songwriter, and actor Glen Hansard comes to Glucksman Ireland House NYU to talk about music and songwriting. Additional info to come, including ticketing.

   4. Saturday, April 20th at 8am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination B2

      This is a certification scheme developed by The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for adult learners of Irish to measure their progress. It is linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (Council of Europe, 2001). The tests provide a benchmark offering six levels in the system of certification for learners within and outside formal academic environments. The test on this date is for Level B2.

   5. Thursday, April 25th at 7pm: The Irish Institute of New York Lecture: Dr. Margaret Mac Curtain on “Diversity and Stability in the Post-Vatican Irish Catholic Church”

      Social activist, feminist historian, and nun Dr. Margaret Mac Curtain, O.P., speaks on the past, present & future of the Irish Catholic Church for the sixth annual Irish Institute of New York Lecture. Free and open to the public.

   6. Saturday, April 27th at 8am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination B1

      This is a certification scheme developed by The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for adult learners of Irish to measure their progress. It is linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (Council of Europe, 2001). The tests provide a benchmark offering six levels in the system of certification for learners within and outside formal academic environments. The test on this date is for Level B1

5. May

   1. Thursday, May 2nd at 7pm: Prof. Marjorie Howes talks about
      “Yeats’s Graves: Last Poems, Death, and Afterwords”

      Prof. Marjorie Howes of Boston College discusses Nobel-winning poet and writer WB Yeats’s later life and writing. Prof. Howes is the author of Yeats’s Nations: Gender, Class, and Irishness, among numerous books and articles.

   2. Friday, May 3rd from 10am to 11:30am: PEN World Voices Festival fiction workshop with Belinda McKeon

      Belinda McKeon is an Irish-born journalist, cultural critic, award-winning playwright and novelist. Solace, her first novel, was named Irish Book of the Year in 2011. She lives in Brooklyn. As part of the PEN World Voices Festival, Belinda will lead a workshop on the craft of writing.

   3. Friday, May 3rd from 1-2:30pm: PEN World Voices Festival: Irish language song workshop with Pádraig Ó Cearúill
      at PEN Festival street fair on Washington Mews

      A native Irish speaker from Gaoth Dobhair in Co. Donegal, Ireland, Pádraig Ó Cearúill is the Senior Irish Language Lecturer at Glucksman Ireland House NYU and a winner of NYU’s Golden Dozen Teaching Award. Join him for a session learning traditional Irish language songs outdoors on Washington Mews as part of PEN World Voices Festival’s street fair.

   4. Friday, May 3rd at 6pm: PEN World Voices Festival: Edna O’Brien reads from her new memoir, Country Girl

      Glucksman Ireland House NYU partners with the PEN World Voices Festival in welcoming Edna O’Brien, as she talks about writing, her life as a writer, and her memoir, Country Girl. Edna is a recipient of the 2011 Frank O’Connor Short Story Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the National Arts Club Gold Medal, and the Irish PEN Lifetime Achievement Award.

   5. Saturday, May 4th 10am to 5pm: Taste of the Yeats Summer School

      Every summer, aficionados of the poet William Butler Yeats come from all over the world to enjoy two weeks of lectures, readings and theater in Sligo, Ireland, and to tour nearby “Yeats Country.” Here is an opportunity to sample the Yeats International Summer School for a day in New York. Along with a full day of programs, we’ll have information on the 57th Summer School.

   6. Monday, May 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th at 7pm: Mondays of May

      Origin theatre company returns for the ninth annual reading series with four works by contemporary European playwrights. Check back to this website for lineup.

   7. Thursday, May 9th at 7pm: Airneál na Bealtaine

      Pádraig Ó Cearúill hosts an evening of traditional music and song with NYU students and local musicians. Free.

   8. Friday, May 10th at 8pm: Blarney Star Concert Series:
      Oisín Mac Diarmada and Séamus Begley

      The popular traditional Irish music duo composed of fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada and button accordionist Séamus Begley perform at Glucksman Ireland House.

   9. Saturday, May 11th at 9am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination A2

      This is a certification scheme developed by The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for adult learners of Irish to measure their progress. — It is linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (Council of Europe, 2001). The tests provide a benchmark offering six levels in the system of certification — for learners within and outside formal academic environments. The test on this date is for Level A2.

   10. Saturday, May 25th at 9am: European Certificate in Irish Language Examination A1

       This is a certification scheme developed by The Language Center at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth for adult learners of Irish to measure their progress. It is linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (Council of Europe, 2001). The tests provide a benchmark offering six levels in the system of certification for learners within and outside formal academic environments. The test on this date is for Level A1.