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INS Proposes Significant
Changes to Rules Governing Visitors and Students
- April 2002
Proposed Rule Would Also Establish Procedures
Requiring Aliens to
Surrender for Removal Within 30 Days of a Final
Order
In its continuing effort to enhance homeland
security and strengthen and control immigration
in the United States, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) is immediately implementing rule
changes governing an alien's ability to begin
a course of study and proposing significant changes
to the rules governing the period of time visitors
are permitted to remain in the United States.
ACA believes this ruling should not affect camp
counselor or support staff programs for a variety
of reasons:
- First, most international staff visit the
United States with a J visa, which is different
from the B visa INS is referring to in their
rule changes.
- Second, all staff are pre-placed in a camp
program, via placement agencies, before receiving
their visas.
- Additionally, the camp program length has
been established and approved by the State Department.
- Finally, unlike other visa holders, camp staff
members do not and cannot change visa status
with in the United States.
Additionally, INS is proposing procedures that
would require an alien with a final order of removal
to surrender to the Service within 30 days of
the issuance of that order. Under the new proposed
rule, aliens disregarding this duty will be prohibited
from acquiring future immigration benefits. INS
is forwarding all three rules to the Federal Register
for publication and public comment.
The interim rule prohibiting non-immigrants admitted
in B visitor status from pursuing a course of
study prior to obtaining approval of a change
to student status takes effect immediately upon
publication in the Federal Register. The change
ensures that those aliens seeking to remain in
the United States in student status will have
received the appropriate security checks before
beginning a course of study.
The proposed rule governing B non-immigrant visitors
will:
- Eliminate the minimum 6-month admission period
for B-2 non-immigrant visitors, and instead
base the admission period on the amount of time
needed to accomplish the purpose of the trip
(in many cases 30 days);
- Reduce the maximum initial admission period
for all B non-immigrant visitors from one year
to six months;
- Limit the conditions for which an extension
of stay in B non-immigrant visitor status can
be granted and reduce the maximum length of
that extension;
- Prohibit non-immigrants admitted in B visitor
status from changing to student status unless
they state an intention to study at the time
of admission; and
- Deny discretionary relief to persons with
a final order of removal who fail to surrender
for removal within 30 days of the final order.
"These new rules strike the appropriate
balance between INS' mission to ensure that our
nation's immigration laws are followed and stop
illegal immigration and our desire to welcome
legitimate visitors to the United States,"
said INS Commissioner James Ziglar. "While
we recognize that the overwhelming majority of
people who come to the United States as visitors
are honest and law abiding, the events of September
11 remind us that there will always be those who
seek to cause us harm."
Information has been taken from www.INS.gov.
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