Case to host statewide workshops with USCIS to help public with immigration concerns

Case to host statewide workshops with USCIS to help public with immigration concerns

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ed Case (Hawaii, Second District) says "growing statewide interest in immigration matters," triggered in part by heightened security -related restrictions, is prompting his office to take a series of immigration workshops on the road throughout the Second Congressional District next month.

"The post-9/11 environment has heightened the need for security and, at the same time, toughened immigration hurdles for many people in a variety of circumstances-including U.S. citizens who want relatives from foreign countries to come here to attend family funerals or to help care for ailing relatives and foreign nationals who want to do business in America but encounter immigration roadblocks to commerce," said Case a member of several congressional groups dealing directly with immigration matters, including the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, Homeland Security Caucus, and U.S.-Philippines Caucus.

"In addition to homeland security needs, the tremendous diversity of our population in Hawaii's Second Congressional District-the most ethnically-diverse district in America-have helped push immigration matters to the very top of my office's list of constituent concerns. These relate mostly but not exclusively to the countries of Asia and the Pacific and concern citizenship or permanent residency applications and temporary visas.

"Immigration laws are complex and increasingly difficult, especially when they're superimposed onto homeland security needs. These workshops will help people understand the laws and receive on-the-spot personal attention from my office and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly called the Immigration and Naturalization Services)."