This
week the INS added five more countries to the list required for special
registration. The new countries placed in “Group 4” special registration are
Bangladesh
,
Egypt
,
Indonesia
,
Jordan
,
and
Kuwait
.
The addition of these countries brings the total of countries named for special
registration to 25.
Only males born on or before
February
24, 1987
,
who entered the
US
in nonimmigrant status on or before
September
30, 2002
,
are required to register. Lawful permanent residents are not required to
register, nor are people who have been granted asylum. People who have asylum
applications pending on or before
January
16, 2003
are not required to register, but those with an asylum claim filed after that
day will be. Nonimmigrants in the
US
as diplomats or employees of a foreign government or international
nongovernmental organization are not required to register.
Those subject to special registration under this rule must report to a
designated INS office between
February
24, 2003
,
and
March
28, 2003
.
They must present their passport, visa and other immigration documents, as well
as evidence that they are working or studying in accordance with their
nonimmigrant visa. They must also present proof that they are residing in the
US
.
They will be fingerprinted and photographed, and must provide any additional
information the INS requests.
Individuals
subject to special registration will have a number of important requirements.
Each year the person remains in the
US
,
the individual will be required to reregister within 10 days of the anniversary
date of the initial registration. Also, if an individual changes one’s
address, employment, or educational institution, the person must inform the
Service within 10 days of this change on a Form AR-11 SR. Lastly, upon leaving
the
United
States
,
the individual must appear before a Service officer at a designated
port-of-departure and depart from that port on the same day.
On
January
16, 2003
,
the Attorney General authorized a reopening of the special registration period
for certain nonimmigrants. The extension allows individuals who failed to
register by their previous deadline to fulfill their special registration
requirement without penalty. These individuals will be allowed to comply with
special registration between
January
27, 2003
,
and
February
7, 2003
.
The
reopening only applies to individuals from countries named for Group 1 or Group
2 special registration. Specifically, special registration has been reopened
for:
Group
1:
Iran
,
Iraq
,
Libya
,
Sudan
,
and
Syria
Group
2:
Afghanistan
,
Algeria
,
Bahrain
,
Eritrea
,
Lebanon
,
Morocco
,
North
Korea
,
Oman
,
Qatar
,
Somalia
,
Tunisia
,
United
Arab Emirates
,
and
Yemen
.
One
of the apparent reasons for the reopening of the special registration period is
a critical error that was located on the INS’s website. A notice written in
Arabic and posted on the website indicated that individuals must register if
they “entered the
US
legally on or AFTER”
September
30, 2002
.
The notice should have properly read, “on or BEFORE
September
30, 2002
.”
