INS Office Extends Hours for Applicants

The Immigration and Naturalization Service district office in downtown Los Angeles will remain open until midnight Monday to accept residency applications on behalf of illegal immigrants who have close relatives or employees to sponsor them.

Congress last year extended until April 30 a federal statute that allows eligible illegal immigrants to gain lawful status without leaving the country. Previously, such applications had to be filed from U.S. consulates abroad, but that carried a risk: Leaving the U.S. to file from abroad could subject many applicants to 10-year waits before they were allowed to return.

The extension set off a wave of interest that, among other things, sharply increased the number of marriages in Los Angeles and other major cities among illegal immigrants seeking to become eligible by marrying a legal U.S. resident.

Eligible applicants will still face a wait, sometimes years long, until their paperwork is approved. They must pay a $1,000 penalty to complete the process in this country.

The extended hours apply only to the downtown district office at 300 N. Los Angeles St. Petitions will be accepted in Room 1001. The INS will have officers and staff on hand to accept applications and date-stamp the documents to ensure that they are filed by the deadline.

The INS will also accept petitions that are postmarked on or before April 30.