Countywide : Help Offered Getting Green Cards Renewed

Immigrants who need to renew green cards issued before 1978 may do so through a British-American Chamber of Commerce outreach program.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service announced in 1993 that immigrants who received permission before 1978 to live and work in the United States must have their registration renewed. Challenges to the policy in federal courts have been unsuccessful.

Anyone holding one of the old green cards must have a renewal form authorized by an INS agent by March 20, 1996. Processing the forms can take as long as six months, said Valerie Blackholly, the chamber’s executive director.

The British-American chamber is offering an outreach session on Sept. 16. INS officers will be available to help applicants fill out papers, usually in less than 15 minutes, Blackholly said.

The program will give applicants an opportunity to renew their registration without waiting in the long lines, Blackholly said.

“Otherwise, they have to go to the INS offices,” she said. “In Los Angeles, that means getting there at 3 in the morning, and in Westminster at 4 in the morning, just to get in line.”

Immigrants of any nationality may use the outreach program. All participants must call ahead for an appointment.

Information: (714) 452-9292.