News Updates
NSEERS Registration Program Terminated
Effective April 28, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will relieve nonimmigrant nationals or citizens of the following countries from the special registration procedures under the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS):
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
DHS states that NSEERS is being eliminated because it is now a redundant program, given that DHS has implemented new automated systems which capture the arrival and departure of nonimmigrants. Such systems include USVISIT (the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program, a program which records the arrival and departure of foreign nationals; verifies their identities; and authenticates and biometrically compares travel documents); and APIS (Advance Passenger Information System, which requires the electronic transmission of passenger manifests to U.S. Customs and Border Protection). These
programs make NSEERS redundant and no longer useful in the provision of increased security.
Note that anyone who is presently subject to NSEERS must continue to comply with departure control requirements if they depart the U.S. prior to April 28, 2011. If you have any questions about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact your LMAC attorney.
What is uncertain at this time is whether individuals who failed to comply with NSEERS requirements while they were in effect will still face the consequences of failure to register/ comply. The Federal Register Notice indicates that only the registration and departure requirements have been lifted. Specifically, the Notice states “This notice does not relieve any alien of any other requirement under the law.” Therefore, whether ICE will exercise lenience with former NSEERS violations is unclear.
Also unclear is how this Notice impacts individuals of other nationalities who were registered with NSEERS based on their personal profile or travel history. For example, a Jamaican citizen who was registered with NSEERS by CBP at the border. Note, however, that an NSEERS registration is deemed terminated upon departure from the U.S. through a designated port of departure. Therefore, unless the person is re-registered upon the next admission to the U.S., they are no longer subject to NSEERS requirements, regardless of the Notice.
Background: NSEERS was first implemented in 2002 in reaction to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. NSEERS was designed to assist the government in tracking the arrival, presence and departure of individuals from certain countries based on a national security threat profile.
In general, the program applied to men of the above nationalities, age 16 or older, who entered the U.S. in a nonimmigrant visa status between certain dates. These individuals were required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service/ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (INS/ICE). The NSEERS registration process also applied to such individuals seeking admission to the U.S. However, at the border
NSEERS applied to both men and women from seven countries: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, South Korea, and Syria. In addition, NSEERS could be applied at the discretion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to anyone meeting certain criteria.
NSEERS registration involved the provision of digital photographs, fingerprints, and a great deal of personal information. Those subject to NSEERS were also required to comply with certain check-in provisions, and were required to register their departure from the U.S. at certain designated ports. Failure to register carried serious consequences, including the denial of subsequent visas and petitions, and a finding that the individual is subject to removal from the United States.
Should you have questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact your LMAC attorney.
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