North Hollywood : Senior Center Offers Green Card Renewal

Noncitizens who hold green cards can file an application to have their legal registrations renewed Thursday at the East Valley Multipurpose Senior Center in North Hollywood.

Legal permanent residents whose green cards are dated 1978 or earlier must apply for new fraud-resistant cards by March 20 or they may have difficulty getting services or reentering the country, said officials with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

“You just make an appointment, walk in, sit down and half an hour later you’re out the door,” volunteer Marv Wilk said.

The new cards will be issued on special holographic plastic to make it difficult to duplicate. They will bear the cardholder’s photograph, fingerprint and signature, INS spokesman Joe Flanders said.

Geneva R. Hyatt, immigration program coordinator for the senior center, has seen all kinds of cards--some with no pictures, some with baby pictures. She said the new cards will bring uniformity to the process.

The new green card costs $75, but the fee may be waived for those who can’t afford it, Hyatt said. It will take six to eight months to receive the new card.

Cardholders may file an application for citizenship for an additional $20. INS agents will process green cards beginning at 9 a.m. at the senior center, 5000 Colfax Ave.

The facility was established as an INS outreach center for green card renewal three years ago, but it also prepares legal residents for citizenship, said Hyatt.

For a green card appointment, call (818) 766-5165. To apply for citizenship, call (818) 988-5165.