INS Help With Green Cards

Recently (Dec. 15), you published a letter from Amy Wilson regarding the frustration she and her mother experienced in a visit to the Los Angeles district office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Wilson had accompanied her mother to the INS office to help her obtain a replacement for her soon-to-expire green card. Wilson’s mother is one of tens of thousands in the Los Angeles area affected by a recent change in the law mandating that all green cards issued prior to 1978 be replaced with a new counterfeit-resistant version by March 20.

Let me begin by saying that immediately after that letter appeared, we contacted Wilson to complete the processing of her green card application and apologized for any problems she experienced. As the newly appointed Western Regional Director of the INS, I am committed to ensuring that this agency provides members of the public the most professional and efficient service possible. Given our fast-growing workload, fulfilling that pledge presents a supreme challenge, but finding innovative ways to make the INS more “user friendly” is one of the agency’s national priorities.

In the meantime, if readers need to replace their green cards or are interested in seeking some other immigration benefit, there are several services currently available which could save them the time and inconvenience of a trip to one of our offices.

* Immigration forms may be ordered 24 hours a day by calling (213) 526-7647. Those seeking to replace an expiring green card should request Form I-90. The forms will be mailed to the address indicated by the caller within 10 business days.

* Prerecorded answers to the most often asked questions about immigration can be heard in either English or Spanish 24 hours a day by calling that same number. Live assistance is also available during normal business hours after callers have listened to at least one complete recorded message.

* Several volunteer agencies in the Los Angeles area are available to assist those applying for new green cards. For a list of those agencies, write to: INS, 300 N. Los Angeles St., Room 1001, Los Angeles, 90012, Attn: Outreach Coordinator.

Our nation’s immigration laws are far-reaching and complex. We in the INS must do what we can to make the process less bureaucratic and more convenient.

GUSTAVO DE LA VINA

INS Western Regional Director