11.   Meissner said it could take a year to process applications.

12.   She says the petitions are so tedious that it usually takes one of her staffers a full day to process one application.

13.   She said the department was working around the clock to process applications.

14.   Staff had been using two floors of Immigration Tower to process applications, but will use nine floors from Saturday afternoon.

15.   The accord is expected to make it easier for American corporations to process patent applications in Japan.

16.   The company is also experimenting with using its storefronts, many of which stand empty for much of the year, to process college loan applications and immigration documents.

17.   The fee will cover the extra cost incurred by INS to process applications, she said.

18.   The Justice Department operates the office of the pardon attorney to process applications for White House consideration.

19.   The INS-reorganization bill would create a Bureau of Immigration Services within the Justice Department to process applications for citizenship, visas, asylum and refugee status.

20.   Thurm said major parts of the plan violated current regulations, since they would call for private workers to process applications for food stamps and Medicaid.