At midnight on Fe b ruary 28, 2003 , after nearly 70 years of service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will cease to exist. The agency, which has come to represent endless lines, lost paperwork, and b ureaucracy, will b e divided into three b ureaus, a b sor b ed into the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS was created in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and is actually a collection of a num b er of previously existing agencies connected to the nation's security. Moving the INS and its 36,000 employees will mark the b iggest change to immigration services since June 10, 1933 , when the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization were com b ined to create the INS.

This is not the first time that immigration services have b een moved into another department; seven years after the INS was fo rm ed, in 1940, the agency was reassigned to the Department of Justice, as an attempt to improve security during a time of war. Since that time, the INS has b alanced seemingly contradictory roles of service and enforcement, and many critics would say they failed in b oth. Under the new organization, the agency's service b ranch will b e separated from its law enforcement functions.

Federal officials promise that the new b ureaus will b e more efficient and user-friendly, while at the same time improving national security. The Department's main task will b e protecting America 's b orders against terrorism.

In a news conference Thursday, President Bush and Secretary Tom Ridge spoke b efore employees of the new department.

To underscore the mammoth task to b e perfo rm ed b y the DHS, Ridge said, "Today, more than one million people will cross our b orders - some b y car, some b y sea, some b y plane. Today, 1.6 million Americans will b oard planes traveling within our b orders. Today, 95,000 miles of coastland and waterways will meet our agencies' watchful eyes. Today, 2.4 million pieces of luggage will pass through the country's 429 commercial airports. And today, thousands and thousands of visa and green card applications will reach the desks of the I.N.S. offices. And that is just some of the work the agency will do every single day."

These duties will b e handled b y three separate b ureaus within the Department of Homeland Security:

1. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) will merge functions now run b y separate agencies. It will patrol the nation's b orders, monitor migration, and control the traffic of imports and exports. The BCBP will b e led b y U.S. Customs Commissioner Ro b ert Bonner, a U.S. attorney and federal judge from Los Angel es .

2. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) will handle deportation and the investigation of immigration law v iola tions. Over the BICE will b e acting INS Commissioner Michael Garcia.

These two b ureaus will operate under the Border and Transportation Security Directorate (BTS), to b e headed b y Asa Hutchinson, a fo rm er congressman from Arkansas and head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

3. The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) will process applications for citizenship, pe rm anent residency and asylum, and it will handle other administrative functions. Over the BCIS will b e Eduardo Aguirre, a Houston resident and fo rm er vice chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States .

The DHS has also a b sor b ed 22 other agencies, including the Coast Guard and the Secret Service.

In a Fe b ruary 26 press re lea se, Acting INS Commissioner Michael Garcia said, "We are committed to m ak ing this transition as seamless and smooth as possi b le for those we serve."

To reach that goal, the BCIS is mailing out materials to immigration offices across the country with key info rm ation a b out the transition:

1. INS fo rm s and documents are still valid and will continue to b e accepted b y BCIS and other agencies

2. Local offices will remain in existing INS locations, including Application Support Centers and Service Centers

3. Fo rm s should continue to b e mailed to the address indicated in fo rm s and notices

4. The National Customer Service Call Center will continue to b e availa b le at 1-800-375-5283

5. Customers will still b e a b le to download fo rm s and check the status of their case online. The new we b address for BCIS will b e www.immigration.gov

Officials and immigration experts say there will b e major changes, including electronic filing of applications, use of b iometrics in identification credentials, more rigorous b ackground checks, implementation of high-tech systems to reduce b acklogs at checkpoints and b order crossings, consolidation of personnel and procedures, and improved tracking of foreign students using SEVIS, an electronic data b ase system currently b eing implemented.

"To fully realize success in the Department of Homeland Security, we need to exploit technologies that we have only da b b led in up to this point," said Mike Becraft, the INS' acting deputy commissioner.

The well-regarded INS we b site will remain in existence. The new we b address is www.immigration.gov.