Now the DOS is saying the designation of Armenians was erroneous to begin with. Gotta love our State Department: they’re the best and brightest, right? Ain’t it good to know INS knows who needs to be watched?
Here’s an excerpt of the text of the rule (bolding mine):
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Registration of Certain Nonimmigrant Aliens From Designated Countries; Notice
[[Page 77642]]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[AG Order No. 2638-2002]
Registration of Certain Nonimmigrant Aliens from Designated
Countries
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: This Notice requires certain nonimmigrant aliens to appear before, register with, and provide requested information to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service on or before February 21, 2003. It applies to certain nonimmigrant aliens from one of the countries designated in this Notice who were last admitted to the United States on or before September 30, 2002, and who will remain in the United States after February 21, 2003. The specific requirements are set forth
in the Notice. This Notice is applicable to certain nationals and
citizens of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia who entered the United States on or before September 30, 2002, and who will remain in the United States after February 21, 2003. Aliens described in this Notice are required to register and provide additional information to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service between January 13, 2003, and February 21, 2003,
inclusive. This Notice also rescinds an earlier Notice, Attorney
General Order No. 2636-2002 of December 12, 2002, which appeared in the
Federal Register on December 16, 2002 (67 FR 77136), and incorrectly
listed Armenia as a designated country.
EFFECTIVE DATES: This Notice is effective on January 13, 2003. Aliens
described in this Notice are required to register and provide
additional information to the Immigration and Naturalization Service on
or before February 21, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Brown, Office of the General
Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW.,
Room 6100, Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-2895.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 265(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (Act''), as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1305(b), provides that [t]he Attorney General may in his discretion, upon ten days notice, require the natives of any one or more foreign states, or any class or group thereof, who are within the United States and who are required to be registered under this subchapter, to notify theAttorney General of their current addresses and furnish such additional information as the Attorney General may require. Additionally, section 263(a) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1303(a), provides that the Attorney General may prescribe special regulations and forms
for the registration and fingerprinting of * * * aliens of any other
class not lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent
residence.’’
The Attorney General has previously exercised his authority under these and other provisions of the Act to establish special registration procedures under 8 CFR 264.1(f). 67 FR 52584 (Aug. 12, 2002). These requirements are known as the National Security Entry–Exit Registration System (NSEERS''). In accordance with the authority set forth in 8 CFR 264.1(f)(4), the Attorney General has determined that certain nonimmigrant aliens specified in this Notice shall be registered and required to provide specific information. The Attorney General has the sole discretion to make this determination. Under this Notice certain nonimmigrant nationals or citizens of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are required to appear at an Immigration and Naturalization Service (Service’’) office to register under NSEERS and provide
additional information. Previous Notices have applied to certain
nonimmigrant nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain,
Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar,
Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. See 67
FR 67766 (Nov. 6, 2002); 67 FR 70526 (Nov. 22, 2002).
In light of recent events, and based on intelligence information
available to the Attorney General, the Attorney General has determined
that the aliens described in paragraph (a) of this Notice must appear
before the Service and provide certain information. This Notice applies
only to certain nonimmigrant aliens from one of the countries
designated in this Notice who were last admitted to the United States
on or before September 30, 2002, and who will remain after February 21,
2003. Based on intelligence information available to the Attorney
General, the Attorney General has determined that registering all
nonimmigrant aliens from the covered countries would not enhance
national security. Moreover, the Attorney General has determined that
it would not be administratively feasible at the present time to
register all of the nonimmigrants from the specific countries covered
by this Notice, and that the delay occasioned by registering all
nonimmigrants from the countries covered by this Notice would
jeopardize the national security. Accordingly, the Attorney General has
determined that only males aged 16 years or older need to be registered
at this time. Furthermore, the Attorney General has determined that an
alien who has an application for asylum pending on the date of
publication of this Notice has already provided sufficient information
in the application for asylum, along with fingerprints, to warrant
exclusion from this Notice.
Although section 265(b) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1305(b), provides a
minimum period of 10 days notice for covered aliens to provide their
current address and other required information, this Notice allows an
alien described by the Notice a period of more than 30 days to
register. The Attorney General has determined that such additional time
to register is in the best interests of the United States and has
extended this time to register solely as a matter of discretion.
Finally, until further notice, once enrolled within NSEERS by
registration under this Notice, an alien described in paragraph (a) of
this Notice is required to register annually with the Service. All
aliens described in paragraph (a) shall comply with all other
provisions of 8 CFR 264.1(f)(5) through (f)(9).
A willful failure to comply with the requirements of this Notice
constitutes a failure to maintain nonimmigrant status under section
237(a)(1)©(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(1)©(i). See 8 CFR
214.1(f). Pursuant to section 237(a)(3)(A) of the Act, 8 U.S.C.
1227(a)(3)(A), an alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this
Notice is deportable, unless the alien establishes to the satisfaction
of the Attorney General that such failure was reasonably excusable or
was not willful. Finally, if an alien subject to this Notice fails,
without good cause, to comply with the requirement in 8 CFR 264.1(f)(8)
that the alien must report to an inspecting officer of the Service when
departing the United States, the alien shall thereafter be presumed to
be inadmissible under, but not limited to, section 212(a)(3)(A)(ii) of
the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(A)(ii). See 8 CFR 264.1(f)(8).