NAFTA

As someone who is now a "resident alien", I am all too familiar with
the trials of dealing with the INS.  I first came to the USA on a J1
visa, then got an H1 visa, and then finally my green card (a history
that covered 6 years), and I have personally gone through everything
Jack Thompson described (with regard to his Polish colleague) and
more, including the apparently absurd process of having to leave the
country to come back in on a new visa even though you are already
here legally.  I will never forget the "advise" I once received from
an INS inspector at Los Angeles International Airport who (after I
had arrived on a return trip from London) had detained me for 3
hours early one morning due to a supposed irregularity in my visa
(which turned out to be their mistake not mine).  His parting words
were "Ma'am, the INS doesn't offer advise, we wait to be asked."

My primary suggestion is get advice from an experienced  immigration
attorney and carry their phone number with you at all times--don't
try to do INS stuff on your own.  It can still take you years, but
it will take even longer without legal help--they know what to
expect and how to get the INS to work the way it is supposed to.
Good luck!

J. Claire Dean
Dean & Associates Conservation Services
3438 NE 62nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97213, USA.
503-331-1972
Fax: 503-331-0762

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:6
                 Distributed: Wednesday, June 24, 1998
                        Message Id: cdl-12-6-005
                                  ***