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Department of Homeland Security/Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service: * Immigration benefits previously provided by the Department of Justice’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) are now the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service (BCIS). All familiar customer services are to remain in place. * According to an official statement of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), this investigative and enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security began to seek out and apprehend specific Iraqi nationals unlawfully present in the U.S. as part of a joint initiative with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on March 20, 2003. * National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) continues to be in effect. Citizens/nationals of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, and Kuwait who must register with the BCIS (formerly INS) are to do so on or before April 25, 2003. Further information relating to the Special Registration Program can be obtained by visiting the BCIS website at www.bcis.gov/graphics/shared/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm. Department of State: * DOS issued a worldwide caution on March 19, 2003. U.S. government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert and may temporarily close or suspend public services from time to time for security reasons. * U.S. Embassies and/or U.S. Consulates in the following countries were affected by temporary closures to the general public in March: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Khazakstan, Macedonia, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen. * DOS placed U.S. Embassies in Kuwait, Damascus and Tel-Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem on ordered departure status prior to the official U.S. military action in Iraq, pursuant to which all non-emergency personnel and family dependents were to depart the respective country immediately. * DOS issued an updated travel warning to alert Americans to increased tensions and continued security concerns in Pakistan and authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel at the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulates in Pakistan. * DOS also issued an updated travel warning to alert U.S. citizens that it has authorized the voluntary departure of adult family members and non-emergency personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa based on reports that terrorists have planned attacks against U.S. interests in Yemen. * DOS issued individual travel warnings for Liberia, Sudan, Angola, Indonesia, and Vietnam, with the DOS also authorizing the departure, on a voluntary basis, of family members at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City due to concerns of the presence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and lack of adequate medical care and facilities in the region. * DOS issued a public announcement to alert Americans that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a travel advisory to three SARS-affected regions, indicating that people planning elective or nonessential travel to mainland China and Hong Kong; Singapore; and Hanoi, Vietnam may wish to postpone their trips until further notice. The CDC has also been distributing health alert notices at ports of entry to people returning from these regions. * DOS also issued a public announcement to alert U.S. citizens that the Government of Ontario declared SARS to be a provincial emergency. This declaration was issued after the deaths of three individuals from SARS and the apparent manifestations of the disease in more than 50 individuals across the province. Canada is attempting to limit the spread of the outbreak by screening all passengers at airports for SARS symptoms. * Individual public announcements have also been issued for the Middle East, North Africa and East Africa. * U.S. Embassy Caracas, Venezuela has resumed regular consular services. * Foreign nationals wishing to obtain a visa from a U.S. Consulate are reminded that consular processing/procedure is highly fluid; flexible travel plans are recommended. Department of Labor: * The DOL has indicated that the long-awaited regulation implementing a revamped and streamlined labor certification program (referred to as “PERM”) may be ready in the April to July 2003 timeframe but that the publication date of such regulation will not be the same as the effective date. Instead, because the automated system that will process labor certifications may not be ready until fall 2003, the effective date of such regulation will be the same date as the date the automated system is in effect. It is not yet known whether, and to what extent, the interim regulation will be changed from an earlier proposed regulation.

 

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