Immigration: Alien Registration (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Jan. 6, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RL31570 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Andorra Bruno, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many U.S. officials and others have expressed
concerns that the U.S. government is unaware of the addresses and whereabouts of many foreign
nationals in the country. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) contains provisions for the
registration of aliens, including the requirement that aliens provide notification of any change of
address within 10 days. For many years, however, this address reporting requirement was generally
not enforced.
The INA also authorizes the Attorney General to prescribe special regulations for the
registration and fingerprinting of any class of aliens who are not U.S. legal permanent residents
(LPRs). The Attorney General has exercised this authority at various times by requiring that
nonimmigrant aliens (legal temporary residents) from designated countries be registered,
photographed, and fingerprinted at the port of entry.
A rule, which took effect on September 11, 2002, applies expanded special registration
requirements to certain newly arriving nonimmigrants as part of the National Security Entry-Exit
Registration System (NSEERS). NSEERS covers arriving nonimmigrants from designated
countries, as well as other arriving nonimmigrants who are determined to pose an elevated national
security risk. Among other requirements, aliens subject to special registration under this rule are
registered, fingerprinted, photographed, and checked against databases of known criminals and
terrorists at the port of entry. Under the original rule, which has since been amended, those who
remained for at least 30 days had to report to an immigration office to complete their registration and
those remaining for more than 1 year had to reaffirm their registration information annually. A series
of Federal Register notices published in late 2002 and early 2003 similarly required
certain
nonimmigrant males in the United States from designated countries to report to an immigration
office to be registered, fingerprinted, and photographed. A subsequent rule, which became effective
on December 2, 2003, amended the NSEERS regulations. Among other changes, it suspended the
automatic 30-day and annual re-registration requirements.
A proposed rule, published in July 2002, would give notice to aliens, including LPRs, of their
obligation to provide the government with a current address, including any change of address within
10 days, and the consequences of failing to do so.
Congress has acted on alien registration-related measures in recent years. The 107th Congress
enacted the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-173 ), which
directs the General Accounting Office to study the feasibility and utility of requiring nonimmigrants
to submit a current address and, where applicable, the name and address of an employer every year.
In the 108th Congress, the FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations Resolution ( P.L. 108-7 ) contains
language requiring the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security,
to provide Congress with NSEERS-related documents and materials. This report will be updated
as related developments occur.
