February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Patrick Markey
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and newly elected New York Sen. Charles Schumer have lent their support to Jan Reddy, the Dublin-born immigrant fighting to stay in the United States so her daughter Chelsea can continue with the specialized medical treatment she needs.
The mayor’s office has been in contact with the INS and was able to get Reddy a 60-day reprieve while immigration officials consider her case, Colleen Roche, a spokeswoman for Giuliani’s office, said.
Schumer has also written a letter to Edward McElroy, the district director of the INS office in New York asking for humanitarian consideration of Reddy’s case, a spokesman for Schumer’s office said.
"Ms. Reddy’s sole reason for wanting to remain in the United States is to avail her daughter of the services which she so desperately needs," the letter reads.
Reddy visited the U.S. in 1992 and Chelsea was born in New York. In 1996, the INS granted her a year-long B2 visa, which allowed her to stay in the U.S. and enroll her daughter in school, according to Gilda Riccardi, Reddy’s attorney
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INS officials again renewed that visa for six months in 1997, but on June 20 of this year, when Reddy applied for another extension, she was initially told she needed to supply additional information, Riccardi said. Before Reddy could hand over any additional documents, she was denied her extension. She must now wait for an INS decision on her original application, Riccardi said.
Chelsea suffers from multiple disabilities and is currently in speech and physical therapy. Since 1996 has made slow but definite progress, and the school that she attends allows her to be integrated in classes with other children, her mother said.
While refusing to comment on the details of individual cases, an INS spokesman said the agency will review any petition filed by an attorney for their client.