Special Registration : 5 More Countries & Deadlines Reopened
Posted Jan 17, 2003

A Notice published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2003 announced the addition of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, and Kuwait to the countries whose nationals and citizens are subject to the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) special registration. This latest is the fourth group of countries required to participate in a special registration that was announced in September 2002. This latest phase applies to male nationals and citizens of the listed countries, born on or before February 24, 1987. It applies only to nonimmigrants who were last admitted to the U.S. on or before September 30, 2002 and who will remain in the United States after March 28, 2003. The requirement applies only to nonimmigrants, not to U.S. citizens or permanent residents regardless of their countries of origin.

The registration for this latest group will take place between February 24, 2003 and March 28, 2003, inclusive. All persons subject to the registration requirement must appear before an INS officer for an interview. All registrants will be fingerprinted and photographed. More information pertaining to requirements is available in our December 20, 2002 article, Special Registration - Phase Three. Information regarding Special Registration is also available on the INS WebSite.

In a separate notice, also issued on January 16, 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice reopened the registration deadlines for citizens and nationals subject to the first and second phases of registration. These deadlines had expired. The reopened deadlines allow individuals from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, who were required to register previously but failed to do so, to register during the period from January 27, 2003 to February 7, 2003. The reason given for this reopening was that many persons subject to registration were not aware of the requirement, so these individuals are now being given a second chance.