SECURITY CLEARANCE AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-IMMIGRANTS

Due to recent worldwide events and security concerns, the U.S. government has initiated security clearance and registration requirements for non-immigrants. These restrictions apply to foreign nationals who are not U.S. permanent residents. Hence, travel outside the United States may result in unforeseen delays or even refusal of entry to the United States for certain foreign nationals.

SECURITY CLEARANCES AND VISA ISSUANCE

Please be advised that if you are born in or have recently visited one of the following countries, your visa issuance may be delayed by a security clearance. While the State Department has not officially released the list of affected countries, nationals of the following countries are reported to require security clearances:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. North Korea and Cuba may also be on the list, although American travel to those countries is restricted.

Nationals of these countries who are male and between the ages of 16 and 45 are more likely to be subject to a security check. Security clearance may take 30 days or longer. Reentry to the United States from contiguous territory (e.g. Canada or Mexico) may not be possible before clearance. Thus, lengthy absences from the United States may occur.

Other visa issuance delays may be occasioned by State Department review of whether sensitive U.S. technologies risk transfer to foreign nations. The "Technology Alert List" requires a State Department background check before work visa issuance to foreign nationals working in certain science and technology fields. "Technology Alert List" security clearances may require about 30 days or longer.

Finally, many persons who did not previously need visas to enter the United States, either because they were from Canada or were entering the United States via Canada, now need U.S. visas for the first time.

All these changes make immigration delays during foreign travel quite likely. Please consult an immigration attorney before leaving the United States.

REGISTRATION

Effective September 11, 2002, the INS has implemented procedures to track the whereabouts of foreign nationals. Any non-immigrant who relocates within the United States must file form AR-11 to inform the U.S. government of their new residential address. In addition, certain travelers entering the United States on temporary visas are now required to undergo "special registration" (technically called National Security Entry Exit Registration System or NSEERS). Foreign nationals from countries designated by the State Department as "state sponsors of terrorism" or those who "warrant monitoring in the interest of national security," regardless of country of origin or citizenship, are subject to special registration. Special registration entails fingerprinting, photographing and interrogating a traveler at a U.S. port of entry, requiring the traveler to report back to INS after 30 days, on the anniversary of their admission date to the United States and depart from the United States only through designated locations.

Subject non-immigrants must register every time they enter the United States. According to government statistics, the registration process averages thirty minutes per registrant. However, please include extra time in your travel itinerary, as the process may far exceed thirty minutes.

Special registration currently applies to:

1. any person over 14 who is a national or citizen of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Syria, or a person whom the INS inspector believes to be a national or citizen of one of these countries;
2. individuals identified on a 'lookout' list through the Interagency Border Inspection System;
3. males between the ages of 16 and 45 who are nationals or citizens of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Pakistan, or whom the INS inspector believes to be a national or citizen of one of these countries; or
4. a national or citizen of any country and of any gender whom the inspector has reason to believe presents a security risk, specifically including any person who has

• made unexplained trips to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Somalia, Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia;
• engaged in travel not explained by job or circumstances;
• previously overstayed a U.S. visa; or
• fits security or intelligence profiles for monitoring in the interest of national security.

CALL-IN REGISTRATION affects a large group of males, including those from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, and Kuwait, and requires completion of the registration process at district offices of the immigration service.

Subject nonimmigrants who violate special registration or call-in registration requirements will be entered into a national crime database (NCIC). State and local police check NCIC during routine traffic stops and encounters and may arrest special registration violators, transferring them to the custody of the Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (BICE) (formerly the enforcement branch of the Immigration and Naturalization Service).

The following web site has detailed information about the new special registration requirements: http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/shared/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm.

This information is subject to change without notice. 5/12/2003