The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is urging Caribbean and other immigrants with green cards without expiration dates to immediately replace them or face penalties. The division of the Department of Homeland Security said that these immigrants may have to pay US$370 to replace these cards or face criminal penalties. It said immigrants who repeatedly fail to comply with the new requirement face up to 30 days in jail and a US$100 fine. The U.S. said about 750,000 green cards with no expiration dates were issued between 1977 and 1989. "It's a security issue; it's making sure the right person has the right card," said Bill Wright, a spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. With the new requirement, some legal Caribbean immigrants with criminal records who obtained their green cards without an expiration date between 1977 and 1989 may be in a dilemma. Immigration officials said if they apply for the new green card they may face deportation since, under the 1996 Immigration Law, immigrants are regarded as deportable for crimes, however minor, which occurred years ago. Under the new measure, immigration officials said even if the immigrant served a prison term or paid a fine for the offence, he or she still faces deportation. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com