Amnesty Forms Ready on Monday

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service officials announced Wednesday that the agency will begin distributing amnesty application forms at legalization offices on Monday, eight days before the official start of the landmark amnesty program.

Applications will be available next week at 14 new legalization offices and at the agency’s permanent offices in downtown Los Angeles and Westminster, according to Jane Arellano, Los Angeles deputy district director for reform.

Immigration service officials also released an address to which residents of the agency’s seven-county Los Angeles district may mail completed applications.

Harold Ezell, Western regional immigration service commissioner, encouraged illegal alien residents of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties who wish to apply for amnesty to either seek help from a qualified voluntary agency near their homes or to mail applications directly to a post office box in Bell. The full address is: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service--Legalization, P.O. Box 4000, Bell, Calif. 90201-0004.

The toll-free phone number with tape-recorded information about the law is (800) 777-7700.

The 15 legalization offices in the Los Angeles District, along with the other amnesty offices across the nation, are scheduled to open their doors officially on May 5.

INS officials also announced the names of 26 voluntary agencies in the Los Angeles area with which the agency is willing to sign cooperative agreements that would provide them partial reimbursement for assisting in processing amnesty applications. Spokesmen for several of the agencies, however, said they are uncertain whether they will have the necessary funding to be able to help process applications, and others said they have decided not to sign agreements with the INS.

Ezell said that agencies signing the agreement will be authorized to charge basic fees of no more than $75, with up to $25 for fingerprint and photograph services.