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Waiting for the dream
by Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio
December 13, 2002

Immigrants are encountering long lines at Minnesota's only INS office. Nearly every morning at the Bloomington INS facility hundreds wait outside in the winter cold. Often, many are turned away because the INS doesn't have enough staff to answer their questions. INS officials and others say the lines are growing longer because the number of immigrants to this country remains high and Congress is adding more rules on how to handle them.

Bloomington, Minn. — One of the newest immigration rules grows from worries over terrorism. All young men from several Middle Eastern countries who are immigrants must report to the INS by next week. Hussan, a University of Minnesota dentistry student, has been standing in line outside the Bloomington INS office since 5 a.m. on a cold December day.

"They asked me to come to have my fingerprint and photograph because I'm born in Syria, they ask all the males over 16 years old," Hussan said.

Hundreds wait in line behind Hussan. Those who arrive early are among the 300 people the INS will see that day. They are here to satisfy a myriad of INS requirements.

John Nock, standing in line just ahead of Hussan, is with his new wife. As an immigrant, she needs to fill out a form with her new name. Nock is taken aback at the length of the line and worries about being turned away.

"Have to take another day of vacation and come on back. They don't make it too easy," Nock says.

Nearby is Ola Bildtsen from Sweden. The software engineer has been in line since 5 a.m. waiting to fill out a form that allows him to live and work in this country. This is his third try. Two weeks earlier he arrived at 8 a.m. and was turned away. The security guards at the door told him the quota of people who'd be seen by INS was filled.

"The second time I got here at 6:45 and waited here about an hour and 20 minutes, and was then told to go home," Bildtsen said. Immigrants can make appointments for some INS requirements but not others. INS spokesman Tim Counts says there isn't money or staff to handle appointments for everyone. He says many of those waiting in line could get help another way.

"A fairly significant number of those who come to our office are simply seeking information, simple information, or application forms that they can get either by calling the 800 number or by going on the Internet to the INS Web site," Counts said.

The Web site works for people who have access to the Internet. The phone service works for people who speak English or Spanish. However a signficant share of Minnesota's immigrants come from southeast Asia and Somalia.

Steven Thal, an immigration attorney based in Minnetonka, says many immigrants want to talk to INS officials in person because they have questions about delays due to the INS' huge backlog of cases.

"It might be pending for many months. Often times it's very difficult to get through on the phone lines, and they elect to go in and that certainly has added to the lines," Thal said.

The long lines at the Bloomington INS office also reflect compassion. Congress has granted immigrants from Liberia and Somalia extra time to stay in this country because their homelands are unsafe. But to qualify they must apply.

By one estimate, the INS is behind on four million immigration cases nationally.

There's little sympathy for immigrants. Many Americans take the view they are a drain on the economy, should feel lucky to be here and not fuss about the red tape and waiting. However, advocates take a different view. They point out nearly half the new jobs being created in this country are filled by tax-paying immigrants. Attorney Steven Thal says many who come to the U.S. want to start or expand businesses.

"Are we creating the kind of atmosphere where we're not going to have investors come in and obtain immigrant status here?" Thal says.

Officials at the Bloomington INS office are trying to smooth some of the agency's rough spots. They reduce the time people spend in line outside on cold winter mornings by opening the doors early.

On a typical December day, as the cold penetrates their jackets and caps, people who've been waiting for as long as three hours jostle to form a single file rank required by security guards. They are escorted in through metal detectors and then to warm waiting rooms. Everyone get's in. By mid-morning, there are still slots for people with questions, a welcome exception to days when people needing to navigate the labyrinthine INS bureaucracy are turned away.

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