Two Queens officials want to bring immigration services back to Queens.
Borough President Melinda Katz and Southeast Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks are renewing calls for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to re-open its Queens Field Office.
In 2012, the federal agency opened up its Queens office at a 48,000-square foot space in Long Island City. The busy office processed 180 naturalization applications and 130 adjustment of status applications per day.
But in January 2015, the site closed down due to a massive flood. It was temporarily relocated to Lower Manhattan, where it has remained since.
Now that it’s been two years, both Katz and Meeks want USCIS to open a Queens Field Office in the Joseph F. Addabbo Federal Building in Jamaica, which is already hosting the Social Security Administration.
“My office has helped thousands of constituents with their immigration matters,” Meeks said. “Yet, never before have my constituents shown as much concern about their immigration status due to the incoming administration”
“Hearing their well-founded concerns, Borough President Katz and I are pressing USCIS to reopen its field office to fulfill this clear need,” he added. “We believe that families should be well-informed and they deserve comprehensive assistance so they have the best opportunity to keep their families together and whole.”
USCIS field offices handle non-asylum applications, such as citizenship and green card applications. It’s important to note they do not conduct immigration enforcement.
The two closest field officers are in Lower Manhattan and Holtsville, Long Island.
Katz formally recommended USCIS to move into the Addabbo Federal Building in April 2016. She noted that Queens is home to over 2.3 million residents, 48 percent of whom were born abroad.
“Many people – both citizens and non-citizens – are feeling tremendous uncertainty about the future,” Katz said. “I’ve long proposed the existing Addabbo Federal Building in Jamaica as an ideal, permanent location for the long-displaced Queens Field Office to enhance customer service and better meet demand.”
“Its optimal location already hosts a federal agency, has vacant space, and has abundant access to mass transit,” she added. “I urge USCIS to further consider Jamaica for a permanent Queens Field Office, and render my office ready to host or assist in facilitating further development of this viable option.”
Below is a map of where the former field office was in Long Island City.
