aus "The Miami Herald": Published Tuesday, May 22, 2001 House approves new visa deadline >From Herald Wire Services WASHINGTON -- The House voted Monday to extend by four months the deadline for undocumented immigrants to apply for visas while in the United States, but the Bush administration said it would support more time than that. The Republican measure was approved 336-43 in an expedited vote, but even before the bill passed many lawmakers were looking to the Senate to provide more time than allowed in the measure. All Democrats in the Florida delegation voted for the bill. Four Republicans -- John Mica, Adam Putnam, Clifford Stearns and Dave Weldon -- voted against it. Joe Scarborough did not vote. Jeane Mamo, a White House spokeswoman, said Bush favors ``a longer period of time than the four months.'' Asked if he would rather see a 12-month application period -- the length supported by House Minority Leader RichardGephardt, D-Mo. -- Mamo said only that the president is ``open to good ideas.'' Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, supports a one-year extension instead of the four months. But she said the four-month extension was ``better than nothing -- it's welcome relief.'' ``We can't look a gift horse in the mouth,'' Ros-Lehtinen said. ``Four months should be a big help. We've had an incredible amount of attention on this recently, and people should be prepared for this.'' She also praised Rep. George Gekas, R-Pa., the new chairman of the immigration subcommittee, for putting the measure on a legislative fast track. ``Rep. Lamar Smith never would have done this,'' said Ros-Lehtinen, referring to the Texas Republican who blocked many efforts to ease immigration rules when he was subcommittee chairman. An estimated 640,000 illegal immigrants were eligible under the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act to apply for visas without leaving the country. The law took effect in December and expired April 30. The law applied to illegal immigrants who are spouses or relatives of U.S. citizens, or legal residents or employees sponsored by employers. They had to have been in the country on or before Dec. 21, 2000, to be eligible. Kevin Rooney, acting commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, told Congress this month that the agency favors six to 12 more months because the INS was slow to come up with regulations, which delayed the application process while the law was in effect. The four-month bill was passed in an expedited process usually reserved for noncontroversial legislation. The bill bypassed the committee process, debate on it was limited to 40 minutes and it could not be amended. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, scheduled the quick vote because there was bipartisan agreement that more time needed to be given, said spokesman Kevin Washington. Under House rules, the measure had to pass by a two-thirds majority. That left those who support a longer application period to decide whether to vote against the bill or accept it with the hope that the Senate would add more time. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said the House proposal would create an ``explosion'' of work at the INS at a time when the agency will be dealing with other visa programs. The four months will expire while spending debates are ongoing in Congress, so lawmakers will not be able to provide staff and money the agency might need to handle the workload, she said. ``The INS . . . is incapable of dealing with this in a four-month period,'' said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who is sponsoring Senate legislation for a one-year application period. Herald staff writer Frank Davies contributed to this report.