LAWRENCE — Sal Lupoli is tired of his workers waling away because they're confused or intimidated by the complexity and cost of becoming U.S. citizens.
Working with city officials and nonprofit groups, the developer of the Riverwalk complex thinks he has come up with a way to help legal immigrants become full-fledged members of the community. It's called the Lawrence Citizenship Initiative.
Lupoli is the owner of Salvatore's Italian Restaurants, Sal's Pizza franchises and a growing real estate empire anchored on the banks of the Merrimack River at Riverwalk. He employs 400 people in his pizza restaurants alone.
"The difficulty at my company is keeping qualified individuals," said Lupoli.
Many of his workers are immigrants with green cards that allow them to work and remain in the country for up to 10 years. But too many are failing to apply to become citizens or renew their green cards.
Then they "go underground," Lupoli said. "They go from being legal to being illegal. They become a detriment to society."
Unable to work legally, they lose their job or quit, Lupoli said, and go to work in the underground economy, hoping to fly under the radar.
To address the issue, Lupoli has teamed with city officials, local nonprofit groups and the Larry Fish Foundation, founded by Larry Fish, the retired Citizens Bank chairman.
At a meeting with the editorial board of The Eagle-Tribune, Lupoli, Mayor Michael Sullivan, other city officials and representatives of several nonprofit groups presented plans for the initiative, which they hope will offer "one-stop shopping" for legal immigrants seeking citizenship.
Lupoli's human resources director, Miguel Lopez, said 10 employees of Lupoli's company will be enrolled in a pilot program that will guide them through the citizenship process until they are ready to take the Oath of Allegiance — promising to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States."
Lupoli, whose grandfather immigrated from Italy as a child, hopes to roll out the initiative for adoption by other businesses across the Merrimack Valley and beyond if it proves successful at Sal's.
The $10,000 pilot program is funded by the Fish Foundation, Lupoli and the city of Lawrence, with the foundation contributing $5,000 and Lupoli and the city $2,500 each, according to John Macdonald, vice president of Corporate Strategy and Communications for the Lupoli Companies.
Some of that money will help the employees pay the $675 application fee to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, the agency that processes applications for the Department of Homeland Security.
Local nonprofit groups will help employees with other parts of the process: English as a Second Language classes, if needed; civics courses to help pass the citizenship exam; and legal advice as they proceed through the system.
During the pilot program, Lupoli's employees will receive help from the nonprofits free of charge. Eventually, the cost of those classes and legal advice will be incorporated into the program, which will be set up much like any benefit program at a company, with the employee contributing through a payroll deduction.
The fund will continue to take corporate donations to help subsidize or give full scholarships to those eligible.
Backers of the program emphasized that it is strictly for legal immigrants.
Lupoli said that in the past he could help employees who needed the few hundred dollars it cost to file citizenship applications.
But since 9/11, the citizenship process has become more expensive, cumbersome and legally challenging.
Now immigrants spend upward of $2,000 to gain citizenship. A cottage industry has sprung up to cash in on their confusion, often charging exorbitant fees for little or no help, Lupoli and others said.
Abby Colbert, an attorney with the Irish Immigration Center in Boston who is helping with the citizenship initiative, said getting people to apply for citizenship can be difficult, which is why a workplace program is so valuable.
"Often, people have to be talked into getting citizenship," she said. "They think, 'I can work, so what's the big deal?'"
But green cards expire after 10 years and noncitizens can't vote or become fully participating members of the community.
Citizenship "never expires. ... you can never be deported."
Ralph Carrero, director and superintendent of the Lawrence Family Development Charter School, said many Lawrence residents could be helped by the initiative — 75 percent to 80 percent of the 75,000 people who live in Lawrence are members of a minority, he said.
Employers will also benefit if the program can stabilize the work force, he said. In Massachusetts 14.5 percent of the population is foreign born. Without the newcomers, the work force would be shrinking and businesses that want to grow would have to look elsewhere.
Michael Sweeney, an attorney who works in the city's Planning Department, said that's why the city got involved.
"This is an important economic tool," he said. "The mayor wants to be part of the solution in any way he can."
Steps toward citizenship
r Fill out application and pay $675 processing fee after five years as the holder of a "green card."
r Take English as a second language classes, if needed.
r Study U.S. history and civics, as needed.
r Take civics exam.
r Interview with Citizenship and Immigration Service.
r Submit biometric information, including fingerprints.
