每天读一篇英语小故事：Immigration Goes Online

英语自学网

　　Thousands of immigrants who need to file papers related to immigration
status, green cards, and resident cards no longer have to stand in line for
hours on end. The immigration office now has a new system called Info Pass.
Applicants simply schedule a time and a date to meet with an immigration officer
using Info Pass. They don't even have to go to the immigration office. Info Pass
is a website that they can access on their home computer or a library
computer.
        　　To beat the crowds, immigrants in Los Angeles used to get in line the night
before. They would start lining up outside the building at 6:00 p.m. and spend
the night in the cold or, occasionally, in the rain. By the following morning,
there might be 200 people in line. This, of course, was an unpleasant surprise
to people who thought they were early birds by arriving at 7:00 a.m. Sometimes
people would sell their place in line to others for $50 or more.
        　　Where there are lines, there are vendors. No one had to worry about going
hungry in line because of the variety of hot and cold food and drinks being sold
all night long. Occasionally the police received reports about people being
pickpocketed while waiting in the overnight lines. But such reports were rare.
Many immigrants prefer not to get involved with police for fear of being sent
back to their native country.
        　　With the new system, people with appointments are in and out of the
building within an hour. Applicants show up 15 minutes before their appointment
time. Things are so efficient now that about 120 applicants per hour can be
processed through the immigration office. Before Info Pass, it was about 40
people an hour.