In the fall of 2002, the U.S. government instituted special procedures that required some nonimmigrants who enter the U.S. (on or after September 11, 2002) to be fingerprinted and photographed when arriving in the U.S.; to report in person to a USCIS office; to notify Immigration of every change in address, employment, school, etc.; and to inform an immigration officer when leaving the U.S. The original program, otherwise known as the National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS), was amended in December 2003. There is no longer a 30-day or one-year re-registration requirement. In place of the previous requirement, the December 2003 rule will allow DHS, as a matter of discretion, to notify individual nonimmigrant aliens subject to NSEERS registration to appear for one or more additional continuing registration interviews in those particular cases where it may be necessary to determine whether the alien is complying with the conditions of his or her nonimmigrant visa status and admission.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Special Registration Procedures. Generally, you must do the following:

1. Departure Registration
   Every person who was specially registered at either Call-In or Port-of-Entry (POE) is subject to “departure registration.” Special Registrants must (1) depart only from specially designated ports and (2) comply with special departure processing, which involves an appearance before a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. Turning in the I-94 or being processed by airline personnel does NOT satisfy this requirement.
   
   
2. Reporting Changes of Address
   You must report address changes within 10 days of moving.

Please note that you MAY NOT use a P.O. Box for your address.

An advisory on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) web site states that nonimmigrants who have been admitted to the U.S. without being designated as a special registrant by an immigration official, are NOT special registrants and are NOT required to follow special registration procedures. (Upon re-entry to the U.S., however, an individual may be selected for special registration.)

For more detailed information about Special Registration, please see the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement web site at:

• Special Registration