Services June 27, 2007 - 6:22am

BALTIMORE (AP) - The Motor Vehicle Administration has been called on to improve its services to foreign nationals because long waiting times and unclear requirements have led to immigrant drivers being exploited, advocates said.

Among the complaints are that the MVA's phone lines are constantly busy, and applicants have to wait as long as six months to make an appointment. This results in opportunists offering to make appointments for immigrants for as much as $100, advocates say.

State officials say they are striving to provide better services to immigrants while balancing the need to keep licenses secure.

Maryland is one of eight states that gives driver's licenses and identification cards to foreign-born residents, regardless of their immigration status.

Del. Patrick L. McDonough, a Baltimore County Republican, said illegal immigrants from other states are flooding to Maryland to get licenses.

"Maryland is one of the worst states in the country and is popularly known through the grapevine for this," said McDonough, one of the House of Delegates' opponents to illegal immigration. "It has put a huge burden on the MVA."

In 2003, the MVA implemented an application process for foreign citizens. Since September, it has required in-person appointments at one of 10 MVA offices to review documents.

But the agency has struggled to keep up with the demand for services.

"This is the latest manifestation of the overall lack of services to the foreign-born community and the differential services they receive at the MVA," said Elizabeth Alex, an advocate with immigrant rights group CASA of Maryland. The group filed a lawsuit against the MVA two years ago, alleging that it with creating illegal barriers to immigrants trying to obtain licenses.

MVA Administrator John T. Kuo said the agency is working to reach out to groups in the Latino and Asian communities to find ways to better serve customers.

This summer, the agency will spend half a million dollars to open a call center equipped with new scheduling technology and staffed by employees fluent in Spanish, devoted solely to handling the requests for appointments.

Now, the MVA receives 4,000 calls a day for all services, and only eight of the 65 operators assigned to schedule appointments.

"Part of the challenge we're experiencing is that individuals don't understand the documentation requirements," Kuo said. "We are really trying to build a win-win partnership with many of the community advocates."

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