…undocumented U.S.-based Guyanese rush to get regularised

AMID a clampdown on undocumented immigrants in the United States, hundreds of Guyanese living there have been visiting the consul-general of Guyana in New York in an effort to get themselves regularised.
In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the Consul-General of Guyana to New York, Barbara Atherly, said the demands for passports and birth certificates have been high. “Because of the enforcement of the immigration laws now in the States, a lot of persons are trying to get themselves regularised. So it’s about having a valid passport or some of them may have had name changes, and so we have to work on their birth certificates and things like that,” the consul- general explained.
For 2017, applications for passport replacements have increased. “We have seen an increase in the number of persons reporting that their passports were lost, so they want to get a new one for whatever reason,” the consul-general disclosed, noting that these applications are in the hundreds.

Wanting to leave
While some of the “undocumented” Guyanese have applied for passports and or Identification Cards (IDs), others have reached the stage where they prefer to return home. “We have also seen an increase in the number of persons wanting to go back to Guyana as re-migrants, so they are coming in to get the guidelines for re-migrant status,” she noted.
On a weekly basis, the consul-general in New York reportedly receives a minimum of five applications for emergency travel documents. “Sometimes persons come and ask for an emergency travel document, one way; in a week, we can have at least five, probably more sometimes.”

Additionally, she said members of the Diaspora have been visiting the consulate and enquiring about the opportunities existing in the upcoming Petroleum Sector.
“There are persons who are coming to find out what kind of business opportunities would be available for them and how they could tap into the resources in Guyana,” she explained.
That aside, Atherly said that she is taking critical steps to improve its services.
Already, its staff have been trained in the areas of customer relations, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). As a result of the digitalisation of its services, persons from any part of the world can learn about the services and programmes being offered by the consul-general in New York by the click of a button. Using its user friendly website, https://www.guyanaconsulatenewyork.org/, persons in the Diaspora can also register with the consulate online. According to Atherly, the consulate has a dat- base of persons residing in the U.S. with their areas of interest and specialities.

The consul-general in New York has also active outreach programmes in place.
“We are concerned about senior citizens who are not getting benefits, especially those who are not getting benefits in Guyana. So what we have done is introduce a programme for home visits for those persons who are incapacitated in one way or the other or [who] happen to be living in a home,” the consul-general explained.
She added, “so their relatives are allowed to call in the information to us, and we plan a home visit, once a month for the different areas, whether it is in Queens or Brooklyn.”
Once visits occur and the verification process is completed, the consul-general facilitates the process of acquiring the necessary documents and having them sent to Guyana.
On a monthly basis, the consulate assists 15 to 20 persons, according to Atherly.
Additionally, the consulate takes its services to the community on a quarterly basis. The last outreach conducted at Schenectady in New York attracted over 200 persons. “We also do consulate Saturdays. So once in every quarter we open the consulate to cater for persons who are working during the week, and would want to come,” she added, while noting that the “response has been overwhelming, and really, really heartening.”