Posted at 2:30 p.m., Monday, April 30, 2001

Illegal immigrants hurry to meet today's deadline

Advertiser Staff and News Services

People gather at the immigration and naturalization service office to hear instructions on applying for immigration services. Today is a key visa application deadline. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Illegal immigrants are flocking to immigration offices to apply for visas as a deadline approaches today.

Some Immigration and Naturalization Service centers were extending hours Saturday and today, while immigrant advocacy groups and attorneys were working late to help last-minute filers with their applications.

"We're getting long lines at the district offices," said Elaine Komas, an INS spokeswoman. "We're getting a tremendous increase in the volume of calls."

She said that in March the agency received the highest number of visa applications ever for a one-month period. Over a three-month period the agency has handled more than a million calls per month, a 33 percent increase over the typical month.

The deadline has had only a slight effect in Hawai'i, said Donald A. Radcliffe, district director for the immigration office in Ala Moana. About 20 people sat outside the office today, nearly all of them with scheduled appointments and legal status.

Radcliffe said that would likely change by mid-afternoon.

"We've been doing about twice the normal amount we usually do for the last week," he said. "We normally do about five a day. The real crunch will come in six months when we have interviews."

Most of those applying for visas under the temporary program are Hispanics living on Maui, he said.

Filling out the forms is labor intensive and time consuming, said Kathleen T. Taumoepeau, a legal immigrant from Tonga who had come with an inch-thick stack of paperwork. She wanted a visa so she could avoid having to come to the office every three to six months, she said.

"A lot of kids don't appreciate what it's like to be a citizen," she said with a smile. "You appreciate it more when you fill out all these forms."

Vanna Slaughter, executive director of Dallas Catholic Charities, said her organization has been inundated with people seeking immigration counseling services.

"We have handled around 500 people since the first of the year," she said. "That's unheard of. We usually do that by end of the year."