INS Clamps Down on Change of Address Requirements

The latest Justice Department effort attempting to clamp down on terrorism affects all foreign nationals who are in the United States for 30 days or more.  The immigration laws have long required foreign nationals to report their change of address within 10 days.  While failure to do so has been ignored in the past, this is no longer the case.  The INS is taking these cases seriously and entering violations in the NCIC database so that any subsequent Police stop on a traffic violation could potentially result in detention and deportation.  (See the attached story of a Permanent Resident who is being detained and deported as a result of apprehension for speeding four miles an hour over the speed limit and failure to notify INS of his address change).  Failure to notify has severe consequences: deportation with no possibility of a waiver, which is ordinarily available for even serious crimes, as well as a 6 month sentence and $1,000 fine. 

We recommend that employers implement a system to notify foreign national employees of their obligations to comply with these requirements.  We will be happy to coordinate a notification program with you.

This requirement applies to all foreign nationals including millions of Permanent Residents as well as all nonimmigrants other than those in A or G status.  If everyone complies, INS computers would quickly melt down.  Unfortunately, like so many measures taken recently, this system will do little to prevent a recurrence of September 11, but it goes a long way to assure that our government will have the power to detain those whom it could not charge with a crime.