Director touts new and improved Immigration

People can expect improved, friendlier, and more efficient services at the Division of Immigration, according to new Immigration director Melvin Grey.

Grey, in an interview with the Saipan Tribune, vowed that under his leadership people can see professional Immigration agents and personnel in all regards.

“The immigration folks have taken a lot of negative comments in the past. I think it’s largely not fair to them,” he said.

The director explained that with the processing of papers for nonresident workers, other alien cases are coming in.

“There is public health involved, Labor involved, Immigration involved. We have different entities involved. If one makes a delay, it can delay the other one in moving forward. We have a chain reaction,” he said.

Grey stated he believes that the reason as to why Immigration received a lot of negative comments in the past, is because “Immigration is the last stop.”

Immigration may have been on time or may have possibly caused the delay too for whatever reasons such as lack of staffing or errors, he said, adding that people looked at it as Immigration’s fault.

“I don’t think all these negative comments were deserving,” he said.

Grey said they are now looking at the processes and find solutions on how Immigration be more efficient.

“We’re making progress, we’re doing better,” the director pointed out.

A few days after he assumed office, Grey implemented a system that makes it easier for tourists to process their papers for an extension of their stay in the Commonwealth.

Under the new system that he recently implemented, the processing for tourists’ extension of their stay would only take five to 10 minutes.

“Before their [tourists] requirement was if they come in pay their application fee, they would sit down in the window, wait if [it] gets approved. They’re told to come back 30 to 45 days later to get the entry permit, the plastic card,” Grey said.

Grey’s priority is to streamline the work process at Immigration by eliminating steps that are not necessary to make it easier for the public to work with them.

Starting last Wednesday, Grey also implemented a one-stop shopping system for government services within the Immigration Office in San Antonio.

Nonresident workers and others have been allowed to pay the $25 alien registration fee together with other fees associated with applications being submitted by companies or individuals.

Those who seek permits that authorize a stay of 90 days or longer, can now pay the $25 alien registration fee and the associated extension filing fee.