Representatives of the American Immigration Lawyers Association recently conducted a liaison meeting with representatives from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The meeting produced several newsworthy items including the following:

- INS Commissioner Meissner has recommended the INS undergo a major reorganization. Planning is underway, but no date was mentioned regarding a formal submission of the plan to the Department of Justice or to Congress.

- The INS noted a substantial increase in applications filed at each of the four regional service centers. INS headquarters has instructed each of the service centers and the district offices to complete previously authorized and budgeted hiring. The INS is also working with contractors to ensure that INS offices remain adequately staffed. Nevertheless, funding constraints are limiting what the INS can do to meet the increase in demand.

- AILA expressed its concern that problems at the Texas Service Center "have virtually shut down operations" there. Reports have come in that cases are only assigned to examiners upon filing a complaining and that cases are sitting in boxes for months without being touched. The INS noted that it is aware of the problems, but that the situation was expected to improve when the Immigration Card Facility is moved to another location. Furthermore, the TSC is reallocating resources toward I-129 and I-140 cases. However, the increase in workload will result in the inevitable increase in backlogs. The INS refused to grant AILA's request for permission to file cases in alternate service centers.

- The INS has announced that Service Centers have discontinued a recent practice of issuing Notices to Appear in deportation proceedings when the INS discovers that a person who applies for an immigrant visa is out of status. This is presumed to be because such persons are normally eligible for voluntary departure status and adjust status before any proceedings are completed.

- The INS is supporting the extension of Section 245i of the Immigration and Nationality Act (see Legislative Update article in this issue).

- The INS WILL permit the expediting of fingerprint checks on a case by cases basis. Some INS district directors have mistakenly informed the public that there is a blanket prohibition on expedites.

- The INS indicated that Section 343 of the new immigration law, which requires credentialing of health care workers, may be a violation of provisions in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The INS stated that the Office of the US Trade Representative would need to make this determination.

- The INS is expected to soon issue a new regulation implementing the 1996 immigration law's sections dealing with students. The regulations are not expected to be retroactive except for students who depart the US with new I-20s seeking to "extend" their completion dates. They would be covered.