Special Registration for Students from Designated Countries with the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS)

Dear International Student,

Many of you are already aware of the requirement for nonimmigrants from designated countries
(Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman,
Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Eremites, and Yemen),
including those on F, J, H, and L visas, to register with the INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service)
upon arrival to the United States. These individuals were given instructions to do so at the port of
entry upon their arrival to the US.

There have been recent changes to this law which now require:

Group 1)
All nonimmigrants including temporary foreign visitors/students/scholars who are citizens or
nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan or Syria who were admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants
on or before September 10, 2002, and who plan to stay in the United States until at least December 16, 2002, must register with their local INS office by December 16, 2002.

Group 2)
All nonimmigrants including temporary foreign visitors/students/scholars who are citizens or nationals of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen who were present in the United States as non-immigrants before October 1, 2002, and who plan to stay in the United States until at least January 10, 2003, must register with their local INS office by January 10, 2003.

Group 3)
All nonimmigrants including temporary foreign visitors/students/scholars who are citizens or nationals of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Armenia who were present in the United States as nonimmigrants before October 1, 2002, and who plan to stay in the United States until at least January 10, 2003, must register with their local INS office by February 23, 2003.
Failure to comply with this regulation will jeopardize your non-immigrant status.

This handout will give you information about the Special Registration process, including who must register and where to register. This information was taken from the INS website, which you can access at: http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/statements/ReminderState.htm
According to the INS, more details regarding Special Registration will be posted on their website within a few days, so we encourage you to keep checking the website.

The Milwaukee INS office is located at 310 East Knapp Street (414-297-1571).

What is Special Registration?
Special Registration is the first phase of a new system that will let the government keep track of the arrival and departure of nonimmigrants who come to the U.S. every year. Some of the approximately 35 million nonimmigrants who enter the U.S. every year will be required to register with the INS in accordance with the special registration procedures. These special procedures will require that certain nonimmigrants be fingerprinted and photographed when arriving in the U.S. If the nonimmigrant stays in the U.S. for 30 days or more, they will have to appear in person at an INS office and will have to notify the INS when they change address, employment, school, etc. Nonimmigrants who must follow these special procedures will also have to notify INS when they leave the country. They must do so ONLY by reporting in person to an INS officer at a specially designated port of departure.

NOTE: Not all ports of entry are also ports through which a nonimmigrant subject to special registration may depart. (A Notice to this effect was published in the Federal Register on September 30th, 2002.)

Who Must Register?

• Nonimmigrants who are nationals or citizens of Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Eremites, and Yemen
• Nonimmigrants who have been designated by the State Department at American embassies or consulates
• Any other nonimmigrant identified by INS officers at airports, seaports and land ports of entry in accordance with 8 CFR 264.1(f)(2).

How to Register?
An INS officer at the arrival port of entry will refer nonimmigrants subject to registration to the area where they will be photographed, fingerprinted, and interviewed. Special Registration (Long Version) provides detailed information on these procedures.

Where to Register?
Initial Registration
An INS officer will register nonimmigrants subject to the special procedures when they arrive at a U.S. airport, seaport, or land port of entry.

After 30 Days or More in the U.S.
Registered nonimmigrants who remain in the U.S. for 30 days or longer must report for an inperson interview at a designated INS interviewing office for special registration between 30 and 40 days after their arrival date. NOTE: Not all INS offices are designated as interviewing offices for special registration. Registered nonimmigrants who remain in the U.S. for one year or longer must report in person to the nearest designated INS interviewing office each and every year, no later than 10 days from the anniversary of initial arrival date into the U.S. A list of designated INS interviewing offices for special registration will be given to nonimmigrants upon their initial registration (and is available through the above link on the Website). The location of the designated INS district offices or sub-offices may also be found by calling the INS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

When Leaving the U.S. (NOTE: Departure Procedures in Effect on 10/01/2002)
Registered nonimmigrants are required to notify an INS officer when they leave or travel from the U.S.
When a nonimmigrant is initially registered, they will be given a list of airports, seaports, or land ports to use to leave the U.S. Please note: All special registrants MUST depart ONLY though one of these designated ports of departure. (A Notice to this effect was published in the Federal Register on September 30th, 2002.) This requirement went into effect on October 1, 2002.