Defective sim tray

I got my iPad when it launched here in Mexico (on the 23 of july) but my sim tray was kind of defective because it was a little bit bent making it extremely hard to remove from the iPad. I thought it wasn't a problem until I asked how to configure my 3G on my iPad with my service provider, they told me and when I told them what my signal said they asked me to call Apple Care to resolve the issue. I did and they made me restore my iPad, I got a message saying "Waiting for Activation, This May Take Some Time", I never got the message saying it was activated so Apple Care asked me to go to an authorized service provider (no Apple Store here ), I did and they took my sim tray, they now tell me that it will take 8-10 business days to get the part and that they have to keep the sim tray so the process can start, I don't have that amount of time because I want to travel with my iPad and use 3G, my question is, would an apple store in the USA replace my sim tray for free?

 

Thanks, I'll try that then