Must Be Postmarked by Midnight Wednesday : INS to Accept Mail-In Amnesty Forms

Swamped by last-minute applications for the amnesty program, the government announced Monday that it will allow illegal aliens to apply by mail, as long as the signed forms and application fees are postmarked by midnight Wednesday.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service, which administers the program, announced the mail-in procedure in response to fears by many people that they would not be able to apply in person by the May 4 deadline.

As the yearlong program draws to a close, some INS legalization offices around the nation have been so crowded that many people have had to stand in line for hours--and, in some cases, days.

Later Farm Deadline

Farm workers, who qualify under a separate program, have added to the crush because many do not know that their program runs until Nov. 30. As a result, some aliens discouraged by seemingly overwhelming lines and those who are ill or otherwise unable to travel were in danger of missing the legalization opportunity.

“We are doing everything in our power to ensure that everyone who is eligible will be able to apply for this generous program,” INS spokesman Duke Austin said.

Immigrants who have lived in this country illegally since before Jan. 1, 1982, except for brief absences, may apply. Individuals must pay a $185 filing fee. Families are charged a maximum of $420.

Through Sunday, 1,353,914 people had applied, with another 464,803 applying under the farm worker program, the INS said.

Initiated Policy

Before Monday’s announcement, regional INS officials determined whether their offices would accept mail-in applications; several in the West and Southwest, including Los Angeles, had initiated the policy. Now, all of the 100 INS legalization offices nationwide will be obligated to accept applications by mail.

Immigration activists reacted to the announcement with muted enthusiasm, saying the INS was acting sensibly in allowing people to mail in their applications, but they characterized the move as too late to appreciably increase the number of applicants.

In Austin, Tex., Norma Plascencia Almanza of the National Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Forum called the new policy “another piece of information that muddies the water.” With only two days left, she said, “the reality is that most individuals will not get the word in time.”

Several advocates of illegal immigrants asserted that with lines growing longer for the last several weeks, the INS should have ordered offices to remain open until midnight. “That would have been preferable to having people mail in their forms,” said Linda Wong of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Wong and others said many immigrants fear that their forms might get lost in the mail and that others, still not trusting the INS, believe that the agency would deny ever receiving the materials.

At the INS in Washington, Terrance M. O’Reilly, deputy assistant commissioner for legalization, brushed aside complaints, saying INS officials “will do our damnedest” to avoid last-minute problems. As for immigrants, he said, “knowing this is the end of the program, people are going to do whatever is necessary to get in the door.”

O’Reilly said people who mail applications may send “skeletal” applications and need not produce supporting documents until they are interviewed. In turn, the INS will mail work authorizations to aliens whose appointments are scheduled more than a month away.

No Fees in Cash

He said applicants must not send their fees in cash or personal checks but should use certified checks or money orders.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, the architect of the national amnesty for illegal aliens pronounced the program a success and forecast similar results from sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers.

Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.), co-sponsor of the major overhaul of the country’s immigration system, predicted that “in five years there will not be a core of illegal undocumented aliens in this country.”

Appearing at a press conference with INS officials, Simpson said he was satisfied with the turnout of amnesty applicants.

As the senator and INS officials spoke, amnesty applicants lined up on the sidewalk outside, waiting to hand in their applications.

INS Western Regional Commissioner Harold Ezell said that as long as applicants were in line by midnight Wednesday at any of the area’s legalization offices, their files would be accepted.