INS OFFERS LEGAL ENTRY WINDOW.

Byline: Helen Guthrie Smith Staff Writer

NORWALK - After talking for a year about marriage, Rudy Arana and Martha Ortiz exchanged vows at the county clerk's Norwalk office Friday - and took the first step toward helping Ortiz gain her coveted green card.

The Los Angeles residents are among hundreds of couples in Los Angeles County who are rushing to take advantage of a recent change in federal immigration law that makes it easier for the spouse of a U.S. citizen or legal resident to obtain a green card if they marry and file certain forms by April 30.

Arana, 38, and Ortiz, 36, said acquiring legal residency status will have a big impact on their lives and their three children's.

``Now it makes it more easier,'' he said.

The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act, enacted Dec. 21, includes a provision that allows qualified immigrants to apply for lawful permanent residency status - while living in the United States - even if they entered without inspection, overstayed a visa or worked without authorization, according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

A citizen can apply for a spouse, children, parents and siblings. A lawful permanent resident can apply for a spouse or for unmarried children younger than 21, INS spokeswoman Sharon Gavin explained.

Employers can also sponsor an immigrant.

To qualify, the immigrant has to have been in the United States since Dec. 21 and file forms by April 30 or face a $1,000 penalty.

While stopping short of calling it a general amnesty program, Gavin said this ``huge change'' in the law might prompt someone who is interested in getting married to push up the date, or ``might provide the impetus'' for couples who live together, and may have children together, to get married.

The INS also is cautioning immigrants to beware of fraudulent schemes. The last time the agency allowed undocumented immigrants to change their residency status, many paid thousands of dollars to scam artists who never filed their INS petitions or later discovered they didn't qualify for a benefit.

But fraud wasn't on the minds of couples inching toward a row of windows at the Norwalk county clerk's office where clerks helped process their marriage licenses.

Several couples said the law would help them. Among them were Ruben Nova, 25, and Socorro Padilla, 28, who held their 1-month-old son, Erik.

Nova, a Pomona resident, said he and Padilla have lived together for two years and were getting married ``for the baby and for (her) papers.''

For more information, phone the INS at [phone] or visit the INS Web site, www.ins.usdoj.gov.