SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (SF) - TUESDAY November 8, 1988 Edition: FINAL Section: NEWS Page: A7 Word Count: 492
Kathy Bodovitz, Chronicle Staff Writer

The amnesty program was set up in two phases: Applicants were granted temporary status and 18 months later they became eligible to apply for permanent residency and a work permit known as a green card.

Applicants on May 5, 1987, the first day of the program, were eligible for phase two yesterday.

The second application is just as important as the first because anyone who does not apply for permanent residency within one year of becoming eligible will revert to illegal status and may be deported.

"Today begins the most important part of this whole process we've been through these last 18 months," said Harold Ezell, INS Western Regional Commissioner.

In a small ceremony staged by San Francisco immigration officials, Ezell accepted applications from Oscar Ojeda of El Salvador and his wife, Raquel Ojeda of Mexico, making them the first Bay Area residents to apply for permanent residency.

"I feel very happy to get my residency," said Oscar Ojeda, a 29-year-old machine operator.

Applicants must submit a fee of $80 per person or $240 per family, a photograph and results from an HIV virus test if they did not submit those results with their initial application.

In addition, applicants must either pass a combined oral and written test on English, history and civics, administered by immigration officials, or register for a 60-hour course in those subjects and show proof that they completed at least 40 hours.

A third option - a multiple choice proficiency test that requires knowledge of English - will be available in a month or two.

"My gut reaction is that most of these people who have been out in the community working will be able to pass the test without the course," said district Director David Ilchert.

"The great percentage of those who will go to school is the housewife who's been home all this time raising children," he said.

The courses will be offered by more than 100 institutions around the Bay Area, including community colleges, adult education schools, churches and nonprofit organizations.

PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN

To spread the word about phase two, the INS is using television commercials and is mailing pamphlets with tear-out applications to all temporary residents.

Helen Toribio of the Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Services is concerned that the INS is not doing enough. "We haven't witnessed any real attempt to get the word out to people," she said.

The coalition is also worried that the INS tests may be unreasonably difficult. On the first draft of the test, "there was a multiple choice question: Which organization was established immediately after World War II to secure peace? The League of Nations, the United Nations and a couple others," she said.

"It's not common knowledge that you would need to know in your everyday life," Toribio said.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1988. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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