SPECIAL REGISTRATION. What Happens If You Don’t Register Your Departure From The U.S. but Are Required To?

Beginning November 2002, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service, began implementing a program to register certain foreign nationals in the U.S. The program, referred to as Special Registration, is a system that allows the government to keep track of specified nonimmigrants (B, F, J, H, L, O, P, TN, etc.) entering and currently living in the U.S. Some of the approximately 35 million nonimmigrants who enter the U.S. – and some nonimmigrants who were already in the U.S. when the system was implemented – are required to register with immigration authorities either at a port of entry or a designated immigration office in accordance with the special registration procedures. These special procedures also require additional in-person interviews at an immigration office and notifications to immigration authorities of changes of address, employment, or school. Nonimmigrants who must follow these special procedures will also have to use specially designated ports when they leave the country and report in person to an immigration officer at the port on their departure date.

Currently, males who are 16 years or older and nationals of one of the following countries are subject to these registration requirements: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents, A or G visa holders, or individuals who applied for asylum on or before the date specified for their call-in group are not subject to these requirements. For more information on this program please refer to our Special Registration summary.

As this new system begins to take hold of immigration in the U.S., we are slowly beginning to see a disturbing trend of consequences resulting from even minor violations of these special registration requirements.

In particular, University officials and practitioners nationwide are reporting the denial of re-entry to individuals who failed to register their departure from the U.S. The Associate Director of Admissions at one University in Georgia recently reported that a student from Saudi Arabia who "forgot" to register his departure from the U.S. was stopped and not allowed to re-enter when he tried to return at a port of entry in Washington D.C. The student was allowed to call the school to notify them of his situation, but then had to immediately make arrangements to fly back to Saudi Arabia. The student’s visa was cancelled and his SEVIS I-20 was invalidated.

Due to his failure to register his departure, the student was deemed inadmissible and barred from re-entry for five years. There are waivers available for such bars for nonimmigrants. In this particular case the student applied and received the waiver from BCIS. Once he had the waiver, he was able to reapply and obtain a new visa and can now attempt re-entry. In the meantime, like many others in his situation who lose a whole semester or whose jobs are in jeopardy, once he returns, this student will have to deal with straightening out his schedule and missed classes. Many are not so lucky. Many of these students will spend months or even years outside the U.S. waiting for the waiver or for security checks to clear.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story for this particular student or for any other individual who fails to comply with all of the Special Registration requirements, including registration upon departure from the U.S. The waiver he obtained is valid only for a limited time period. Individuals are required to re-apply for the wavier at various intervals, without the waiver the individual will not be allowed to re-enter the U.S. In addition, as these new requirements and the consequences of noncompliance develop, the impact of noncompliance on the ability of a foreign national to become legal permanent resident of the U.S. ("green card holder") is not yet clear. While nonimmigrants can generally obtain waivers for bars to re-entry for almost any violation, intending immigrants do not have the same luxury. Should this student from Saudi Arabia decide at some point in the future to become a permanent resident, his innocuous failure to register his departure from the U.S. may mean that he will not be eligible for permanent resident status at any point in time in the future.

Special registration compliance also becomes an issue when individuals who are already in the U.S. apply for a change of status to a new category or an extension of their current status with the BCIS. Most BCIS Service Centers are now requesting documentation verifying compliance with registration. In addition, while unconfirmed, there have also been reports that BCIS Headquarters has instructed service centers that they cannot approve petitions without proof of registration.

As the BCIS continues to implement Special Registration and the new entry/exit procedures take effect shortly, it is very important for all foreign nationals to carefully review and discuss the requirements and obligations tied to their status in the U.S. If you are not sure of what these obligations are, contact your immigration counsel. Obtaining advice from an experienced practitioner may mean the difference between being able to remain in the U.S. and being forced to return to your home country.

Return to GT Immigration Observer Table of Contents