Get Additional 60 Days to Provide Documentation : Aliens Allowed More Time on Amnesty

The federal government on Friday announced a new, more liberal procedure to help illegal aliens apply for legal status before the yearlong special amnesty program ends May 4, but immigrant advocates and some in Congress held out hope for greater concessions that would include a substantial extension of the program.

The new rule, announced at a news conference by Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III and Alan C. Nelson, commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, gives illegal aliens an additional 60 days to provide full medical information and other documentation if they submit their applications in time.

After filing new “skeletal” applications, illegal immigrants will be scheduled for interviews after July 5. At that time, they will be required to provide the documentation.

Less Than 30 Minutes

Nelson said the skeletal applications, which will be accepted beginning April 4, “can be completed in less than 30 minutes. Without the requirement of immediate documentation, there is no reason for any qualified applicant not to file by the May 4 deadline.”

“It is our hope,” Meese said, “that on May 4, every single person who is eligible for legalization will have applied.”

The new policy is an effort to satisfy critics who argue that the special amnesty’s one-year application period is not long enough to allow all eligible aliens to apply for legal residency. But because all applications still must be filed by May 4, the new policy did little to change the minds of advocates who want to see the entire program extended.

Called Inadequate

Richard Ryscavage of the U.S. Catholic Conference described the new provision as inadequate. He said the INS “wants to give the impression they’re doing as much as they can, but they’re not.”

“Business as usual,” said Charles Kamasaki of the National Council of La Raza, asserting that many applicants need additional time to seek counseling and “get their money together” for the application fees, $420 for a family and $185 for individuals.

Legislation extending the May 4 deadline by a year has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. Instead of defusing efforts to pass this legislation, the new policy may stimulate them.

Rep. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), sponsor of the House bill, said: “The Administration has now acknowledged that something should be done for eligible aliens who have not yet applied for amnesty. Why be miserly? Why not be fair and humane? Why not grant a straightforward extension?”

‘Seems Skinflinty’

Similarly, Jerry M. Tinker, staff director of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration and refugee affairs, asserted: “For them not to go the extra mile seems skinflinty and niggardly.”

The legislation faces an uphill battle. While time is the greatest obstacle, many members also are reluctant to tamper with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, fearing that any change will open it up to massive amendments.

Thus, congressional aides said, proponents of the extension--including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), sponsor of the Senate measure--are willing to accept a six-month extension. Other proposals that are being quietly discussed with the INS include administrative changes to allow applicants to provide part of their application fee as “good-faith money” and to pay the rest later.

Lobbying Effort

As time runs out on the legislation, a coalition of immigration interest groups has launched a lobbying effort to persuade senators and representatives to vote for the extension. Among the groups are the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Committee, the AFL-CIO, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Catholic Conference, La Raza and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The groups assert that thousands of additional applicants would come forward if given more time. The INS reported that 1.1 million people have applied in the main legalization program, with 693,000 gaining approval. Immigrants are eligible if they have lived illegally in this country since Jan. 1, 1982. About 320,000 people have applied under a separate program for farm workers.

With six weeks left, the figures fall well below the INS projection of 2 million applicants in the main program alone.

Nevertheless, the Administration has remained adamantly opposed to an extension of the May 4 deadline. At the news conference at a legalization center in suburban Arlington, Va., Nelson and Meese argued that an extension would encourage procrastinators and that a last-minute “surge” is likely.

“The deadline is the deadline,” Meese said.