Special Registration

Special Registration
ינואר 10, 2003

In the past couple months, ארצות הברית. Immigration Naturalization Service, at the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General John Ashcroft, has implemented a program requiring MALE nationals/citizens of certain countries who are present in the U.S. to appear before an official at their local INS office and report their exact whereabouts and activities in the U.S. The program does not affect nationals and citizens of the specified countries who are also U.S. lawful permanent residents or U.S. אזרחי. אולם, practically all other types of non-immigrants present in the U.S from these designated countries are impacted by this program. חשוב לציין, women are excluded from the programs requirements.

More on the Special Registration Requirements

The first special registration program required the following class of males to register with their local INS office by December 16, 2002:

1. from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria and Libya,
2. who were born on or before November 15, 1986 ו -
3. who were last admitted into the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 10, 2002 ו -
4. who will remain in the U.S. at least until December 16, 2002,

The second special registration program imposed similar requirements on males from 13 additional countries with a reporting deadline of January 10, 2003:

1. males from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen,
2. who were born on or before December 2, 1986
3. who were last admitted into the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 30, 2002 ו -
4. who will remain in the U.S. at least until January 10, 2003

The third special registration program impose similar requirements on males from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with a reporting period of January 13, 2003 through February 21, 2003:

1. males born on or before January 13, 1987,
2. who were last admitted into the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 30, 2002 ו -
3. who will remain in the U.S. at least until February 21, 2003.

The Bush Administration sees these measures as an effective way to protect the U.S. from terrorism and enforce our immigration laws, particularly with respect to individuals from countries known to have strong terrorist ties or a strong anti-U.S. presence.

Civil libertarians and other groups view these measures as excessive and knee-jerk, and part of a political agenda to appeal to the public’s fears and lead us to believe that we are a much secure country.

As a result of the implementation of this program, numerous out of status individuals who have registered with INS, have ended up being detained and placed in deportation proceedings. Other out of status individuals (I would suspect, most), אולם, will likely NOT register out of fear of facing such a demise, choosing instead to deal with the consequences of failing to register at a later time.

Others in legal status are generally not placed in custody or detained and are sent on their way following the recording of extensive information.

The program is the subject of several federal court challenges across the U.S., and the extent to which this program will continue in its current form, extend to other nationalities, או לחילופין, face elimination as a result of a federal court order remains to be seen.