Foreign nationals from 18 countries residing in the US faced a deadline on Friday to register with the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or else face the possibility of deportation or arrest.
The INS in December issued a list of countries whose citizens require closer scrutiny. The list includes foreign visitors present in the US as non-immigrants before October 1, 2002 from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The rule also extends to nationals of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia beginning Monday.
The INS has targeted temporary foreign visitors from these countries as "presenting elevated national security concern" and estimates the requirement wil affect about 7,200 visitors, comprised mostly of students. The rule applies only to males 16 years or older.
All registrants are fingerprinted and photographed. Government-issued documentation is reviewed and questions of a "law enforcement nature" may be asked, according to the INS.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the US has implemented new programmes to tighten security and immigration policy. The Homeland Security Act was signed into law last November and represents the most comprehensive reorganisation of US government since 1949. It gathers 170,000 federal employees from 22 separate agencies, including the INS, into a single cabinet-level entity, in efforts to strengthen response to future threats.
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