There seem to be a few alternatives where you can deposit cash at a bank, but unfortunately despite being huge national banks, they do not have branches anywhere near me (which is why I've always used BitInstant).

Anyway, despite my dissatisfaction with BitInstant right now, this is their support thread and I think we should respect that. There is a wealth of knowledge on these forums. I'm sure you'll be able to find other threads that can answer your question in more detail.