This afternoon, Betsy Gotbaum visited the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! hotline.
Citizenship Now!, believed to be the largest hotline of its kind in the nation, was co-launched by the Daily News and CUNY in April 2004 to address the systemic lack of access to free immigration information for the people who need it most. Since its inception, the program has helped more than 55,000 people.
For the sixth year in a row, approximately 400 volunteers were standing by to offer expert legal advice, in confidence and for free, from Monday, April 27 to Friday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Betsy Gotbaum visited with the volunteers, and passed out her immigrant guide in 6 different languages. Half the lines are dedicated to English speakers and half are answered in Spanish, but the advisers also speak more than 20 different languages. 
Services include confidential one-on-one consultations with immigration attorneys and paralegals, as well as citizenship and family immigration application assistance and community educational activities. All services are free and available to all members of the public.
Citizenship Now! is led by Daily News columnist Allan Wernick, an attorney and Chair of CUNY’s Citizenship and Immigration project.
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