NSEERS

DHS ends National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program

News Release from Jewell Stewart & Pratt – December 24, 2016 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ended the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program effective yesterday, 12/23/2016. NSEERS was a registry created after 9/11 to track noncitizen men from predominantly Muslim countries. (See our blog post here for more information.) The registry had not been used for years, though the regulatory framework remained intact. (See our blog posts here and here.)

NSEERS has been formally dismantled through a published regulation in the Federal Register that removes the various regulations that comprised the program. Removing this regulatory framework, which was developed over a number of years, prevents any subsequent Administration from using the NSEERS framework without publishing a new regulation.

© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2016

All Countries Relieved from NSEERS Compliance

As of April 28, 2011, all countries that were designated as part of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) have been relieved of compliance and removed from the NSEERS list.  Accordingly, nationals and citizens of 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, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are no longer subject to the NSEERS registration requirements.

Department of Homeland Security suspends some, not all, NSEERS requirements

News Release from Jewell & Associates - December 4, 2003 In an interim rule effective December 2, 2003, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has suspended the 30-day and annual re-registration requirements of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS).  It is important to note, however, that other NSEERS requirements remain intact.  Registered individuals still must notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of changes of address or employment and must comply with departure control requirements whenever leaving the United States.  Willful failure to comply with the special registration provisions or with any future call-in notice or additional registration requirements would make a subject foreign national removable from the United States.

As background, The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) requires foreign national nonimmigrants (non-green card holders) who are either from certain countries or who fit certain profiles to register as they enter and depart the United States.  NSEERS also includes a "call-in" component under which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has required certain nonimmigrants from specific countries to register at a local office.  NSEERS countries designated to date are: 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.

For complete, up-to-date information on NSEERS requirements, see the web site of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at http://www.ice.gov/graphics/enforce/imm/imm_sr.htm.

© Jewell & Associates 2003

Special Registration (NSEERS) update

News Release from Jewell & Associates - January 24, 2003 We previously reported on the INS's newly implemented National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). This program requires foreign national nonimmigrants (non-green card holders) who either are from certain countries or who fit certain profiles to register as they enter and depart the United States. NSEERS also includes a "call-in" component under which the INS requires certain nonimmigrants from specific countries to register at a designated INS office.

It is very important that foreign workers and others who are required to register do so and contact an immigration lawyer prior to registering. Willful failure to register by the deadline can result in deportation and possible future inadmissibility to the United States.

REGISTRATION DEADLINES

To date, there have been four groups of countries designated for call-in registration for the NSEERS program, and each group has been assigned a deadline. However, due to early poor publicity and misunderstandings, individuals in the first two groups who failed to register by their deadline will have one final window of opportunity. Following is a summary of the groups and deadlines. Contact your immigration attorney for more detailed information about the registration deadlines, including the individuals required to register under each.

Group I: The December 16, 2002, deadline required male nationals and citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya to register if they were born on or before November 15, 1986, entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 10, 2002, and remained until at least December 16, 2002. Individuals who failed to meet this deadline have one final opportunity to register between Monday, January 27, 2003, and Friday, February 7, 2003.

Group II: The January 10, 2003, deadline required male nationals and citizens of Afghanistan, Oman, Algeria, Qatar, Bahrain, Somalia, Eritrea, Tunisia, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Yemen, and North Korea to register if they were born on or before December 2, 1986, entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 30, 2002, and remained in the United States until at least January 10, 2003. Individuals who failed to meet this deadline have one final opportunity to register between Monday, January 27, 2003, and Friday, February 7, 2003.

Group III: The February 21, 2003, deadline requires male nationals and citizens of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to register if they were born on or before January 13, 1987, entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 30, 2002, and will remain in the United States after February 21, 2003. Such individuals must register between Monday, January 13, 2003 and Friday, February 21, 2003.

Group IV: The March 28, 2003, deadline requires male nationals and citizens of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, and Kuwait to register if they were born on or before February 24, 1987, entered the United States on a nonimmigrant visa on or before September 30, 2002, and will remain in the United States after March 28, 2003. Such individuals must register between Monday, February 24, 2003, and Friday, March 28, 2003.

It is important to be aware that additional restrictions apply for program participants who depart from the United States. Departures must be registered with the INS and can only be made from an official list of pre-approved airports and other ports. The INS web site (http://www.ins.usdoj.gov) provides a list of the approved exit points.

© Jewell & Associates 2003

National security entry-exit regulation

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) has mandated new reporting requirements for certain nonimmigrants, aliens who hold temporary visas (i.e. not Legal Permanent Residents or U.S. Citizens), through the National Security Entry-Exit Regulation (NSEER; 8 C.F.R., Parts 214 & 264). These requirements become effective on a limited basis on September 11, 2002 and are effective at all ports of entry on October 1, 2002.