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02 December 2003

U.S. Terminates Re-registration Requirements for Visitors

New entry-exit system to focus on individuals, not "broad categories"

By Anthony Kujawa
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Effective December 2 the Bush administration terminated its mandatory re-registration requirements under the National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS), says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Spokespersons for Arab-American groups welcomed the announcement.

A new more inclusive system will focus on individuals instead of on "broad categories" of people, Department of Homeland Security's Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson told reporters.

Hutchinson called the phasing out of the NSEERS domestic interview requirement "another important step forward ... to maintain the integrity and security of our nation's immigration systems."

"This change will allow us to focus our efforts on the implementation of US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) while preserving our ability to interview some visitors when necessary," he said.

The new automated entry/exit system -- US-VISIT -- will be launched January 5, 2004. Most visitors traveling on visas to the United States will be required upon entry at U.S. air and seaports to have two fingerprints scanned by an inkless device, and a digital photograph taken by immigration officials.

Hutchinson said DHS "will utilize a more tailored system that is individual-specific rather than the broad categories by geography," according to the Associated Press.

The decision affects 177,260 people who registered with NSEERS through September 30, 2003. NSEERS was implemented September 11, 2002, with its primary goals to prevent terrorists and known criminals from entering the United States, identify terrorists already in the country and "develop a capacity to enforce overstays," said Kris Kobach, counsel to the U.S. Attorney General, at a briefing earlier this year. NSEERS has consisted of three components: Point-of-Entry (POE) Registration, Special Registration and Exit/Departure Controls.

Through POE registration, temporary visitors entering the country who were identified as "presenting an elevated national security concern" were fingerprinted, interviewed and photographed.

With Special Registration, also called "Domestic Call-in Registration," the Attorney General directed nonimmigrant men 16 years of age or older who are nationals of 25 specified countries to register at immigration offices within a certain time period.

Nonimmigrant visitors from the following 25 countries were divided into four "Call in Groups," and required to register: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait. The first two groups' registration deadline ended February 7, 2003. Registration closed for the third group on March 21 and for the forth group on April 25. 83,519 individuals registered at U.S. immigration offices through the "call in" program.

At the time of initial registration, individuals were told they are required to re-register in one year after registering through the domestic "call in" program, or after thirty days if initially registered at a port-of-entry.

According to a December 1 Department of Homeland security fact sheet, the DHS will be able to require individual nonimmigrant aliens subject to NSEERS registration to appear for one or more additional continuing registration interviews in "those particular cases where it may be necessary to determine whether the alien is complying with the conditions of his or her nonimmigrant visa status and admission."

But the DHS says there will no longer be a mandatory requirement for all persons registered to report for interviews as was previously required.

NSEERS has been widely criticized as discriminatory for its use of nationality-based criteria in determining who was required to register, and Arab-American and civil rights groups praised the decision to end the re-registration requirements.

"We appreciate the government's decision to eliminate the special registration program, which has done little to promote security and has alienated thousands of law-abiding visitors to our nation," said Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Nihad Awad December 1 upon the DHS announcement. "

"Any new screening procedures should not be based on religion, ethnicity or national origin, but instead reflect the American values of equal justice and religious freedom," he said.

The decision, said Awad, will "bring relief to thousands of people who are anxious about being singled out and discriminated against when visiting the United States."

Also commenting on the decision, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee President Mary Rose Oakar said, "the elimination of the call-in requirements is a positive step, and helps move us away from a system which discriminates against individuals based solely on their national origin."

At a press briefing on the more inclusive US-VISIT program earlier this year, Hutchinson told reporters that the goal of US-VISIT is to enhance the security of the United States while expediting legitimate travel and trade. The program provides the ability to verify the identity of incoming visitors, record the entry and exit of non-U.S. citizens, and confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies, he said.

"For the first time we will have a comprehensive system [with which] we will be able to confirm the identity of a visitor to the U.S. in a biometric fashion; this gives us a tremendous new security capability," said Hutchinson.

Under US-VISIT, many of the procedures upon entry and exit to the United States will remain unchanged, said Hutchinson. Upon entry, he said, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers will continue to review travel documents, such as visas and passports, and ask questions about the visitor's stay in the U.S.

But now when an immigration official electronically scans the visa in the visitor's passport, the photo and biographic data collected during the visa application interview will become available on the official's computer. The visitor will then be asked to put one and then the other index finger on a glass plate that will electronically capture two fingerprints. The fingerprints will be run through a database to ensure the visitor is eligible to enter the United States. Visitors also will be asked to look into a camera and their picture will be taken. The photo can be taken while fingerprinting is in process.

With US-VISIT, upon exit from the United States travelers will see automated, self-service kiosks at international departure areas, where visitors with visas will be asked to scan their travel documents electronically and repeat the fingerprinting process on the inkless device. DHS officials said this process will verify the visitor's identity and departure and will confirm compliance with U.S. immigration policy. The exit confirmation will be added to the visitor's travel records to demonstrate compliance and record the individual's status for future visits to the United States.

"All of these entry and exit procedures address our critical need for tighter security and our commitment to expedite travel for the millions of legitimate visitors we welcome each year to conduct business, learn, see family or tour the country," said Hutchinson.

"The U.S. wants to continue to be a welcoming nation," he said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)