WASHINGTON, April 6: Pakistani citizens coming to the United States will still have to register when they arrive at a US port of entry, warns the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.
In a statement, the INS said it was brought to its notice that some people wrongly believed that once the special registration was over, citizens of the countries on the INS list “do not have to register any more.”
Late last year, Pakistan was placed on a list of 25 mainly Muslim countries whose nationals were asked to register while in the US. The deadline for the Pakistanis to register with the INS expired on March 21. More than 22,000 Pakistanis came for registration.
Talking to Dawn, INS officials said the deadline was for those who were already in the United States and had not registered while entering the country.
All new arrivals, they said, are interviewed by immigration officials at the port of entry and are given a particular date to visit an INS office for registration.
“It is a must, absolutely must that they come on the given date and register,” said an INS official. “They will also be fingerprinted and photographed,” he added.
INS officials said that those who registered during the special registration will have to register again when they re-enter the country and will be told what to do by the officer who interviews them at the port.
“What the officer tells you is more important than what you read in the newspapers or know about the registration process. Follow his or her instructions, not your instinct,” said an INS official.
INS officials also said that those already registered were given a list of specific ports they need to use for leaving and re-entering the country. They must re-enter from the port they used for leaving the United States.
“Upon re-entry from specific ports, Pakistani citizen will be fingerprinted even if they registered within a year and have to go again to an INS office between 30-40 days of their arrival,” said an INS official.
“This means that when you re-enter the country, you have to give fingerprints twice, once at the airport and then at the INS office between the 30th and 40th day of your visit, irrespective of the fact that you have registered at the INS office before your departure within a year,” said Syed Asif Alam.
