Alien Registration: Usefulness of a Nonimmigrant Alien Annual Address Reporting Requirement Is Questionable
Published: 2005-01-28T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Since 1940, Congress has provided a statutory framework that requires aliens entering or residing in the United States to provide address information. By 1981, aliens who remain in the United States for 30 days or more were required to initially register and report their address information and then to report their change of address only if they move. In the months immediately following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, federal investigators' efforts to locate and interview nearly one-half of the 4,112 nonimmigrant aliens they attempted to contact were impeded by lack of current address information. Nonimmigrant aliens are defined as those who seek temporary entry into the United States for a specific purpose, including those aliens who are in the country as students, international representatives, or temporary workers, or for business or pleasure. Because of growing concern over the government's need to locate aliens, the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 directed GAO to study the feasibility and the utility of a requirement that each nonimmigrant alien in the United States self-report a current address on a yearly basis.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told us that while implementing an annual address reporting requirement for nonimmigrant aliens is technically feasible, such a requirement would increase the number of reporting forms DHS would have to process. In turn, this increase would raise form-processing costs from an estimated $1.6 million to at least an estimated $4.6 million per year, according to DHS, which does not include the cost of enforcing the annual reporting requirement. The consensus of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who investigate activities that may violate immigration law, was that a self-reporting system would be of limited use in locating aliens who are avoiding contact with the government. Nonimmigrant aliens who do not wish to be located are not likely to comply with an annual requirement to self-report address information. Consequently, agents use other databases to locate this class of alien as well as nonimmigrant aliens who may not be aware of address reporting requirements. Public and private databases that record information concerning benefits, an alien's department of motor vehicle records, or credit bureau information are examples of information sources that agents have used to locate nonimmigrant aliens. Despite the unreliability of self-reported information, some agents did recognize the possibility of limited enforcement benefits for implementing an annual address reporting requirement, such as verifying that compliant nonimmigrant aliens are still in the country and providing a basis for detaining noncompliant nonimmigrant aliens. However, existing systems are available for compliant nonimmigrant aliens to notify DHS of address changes. Also, DHS already has the authority to detain all aliens not in compliance with current change of address reporting requirements but has seldom used the authority. Consequently, it is questionable whether the usefulness of an annual reporting requirement would outweigh the cost of implementation and enforcement. DHS reviewed a draft of this report and had technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Since 1940, Congress has provided a statutory framework that requires  aliens entering or residing in the United States to provide address  information under certain circumstances. This information was  historically provided to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS),  which was abolished and whose functions were transferred into the  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003. By 1981, aliens  who remain in the United States for 30 days or more were required to  initially register and report their address while in the country and then  report their change of address only if they move. In the months  immediately following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001,  Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators attempted to locate and  interview 4,112 nonimmigrant aliens by calling upon INS, as the federal  agency responsible for maintaining address information for aliens who are  in the United States, to provide current addresses for the aliens. However,  federal investigators were only able to contact slightly over one-half of the  nonimmigrants they attempted to locate because of INS’s lack of current  address information.
Because of growing concern over the government’s need to locate aliens,  the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 directed  us to study the feasibility and the utility of a requirement that each  nonimmigrant alien in the United States report a current address on a  yearly basis. To address this requirement, we reviewed available  documents concerning nonimmigrant alien address reporting  requirements and interviewed headquarters officials from USCIS and U.S.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We performed our work  between June and November 2004 in accordance with generally accepted  government auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: Scope and Methodology
paragraphs: To determine the feasibility and utility of implementing a requirement that  each nonimmigrant alien annually report a current address, we reviewed  available documents concerning nonimmigrant alien address reporting  requirements and interviewed headquarters officials from USCIS and ICE.  At USCIS headquarters, we interviewed senior officials who were  responsible for alien records management and benefit administration. At  ICE headquarters, we interviewed two senior officials who were  responsible for ICE compliance enforcement activities related to aliens.  We also interviewed 15 ICE Assistant Special-Agents-in-Charge,  supervisors, and special agents who are responsible for immigration  enforcement activities in their Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; Los  Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; and New York, New York field offices.  These offices, according to DHS data, are located in geographic regions  where almost half of nonimmigrants likely to be subject to an annual  address reporting requirement reside. The results of our interviews with  agents in these five field offices may not be representative of the views  and opinions of those in other field offices nationwide. We also  interviewed an official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI)  Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force (FTTTF).
USCIS’s ORS staff provided cost estimates for existing change of address  processing costs and for an annual nonimmigrant alien address reporting  requirement. We attempted to obtain supporting explanations and  documentation to verify these estimates, but were not provided  information on all. On the basis of our efforts to determine the reliability  of the estimates for which supporting information was provided, which  included verifying calculations and bringing any discrepancies we found to  their attention, we believe that they are sufficiently reliable for the  purposes of this report.  We did not use cost estimates for which  supporting information was not provided.
section_title: Background
paragraphs: Through initial registration and change of address notifications, all aliens  are to provide their identity and an address where they can be located  while in the United States. USCIS receives and maintains alien address  information for benefits administration and immigration law enforcement,  and can share this information to help other law enforcement agencies  identify and locate aliens for national security purposes.
Generally, nonimmigrant aliens provide their identity and address  information at the time of their entry and during their stay in the United  States using 1 of 12 different forms. For example, nonimmigrant aliens  arriving in the United States are generally required to complete the two- part Arrival and Departure Record (Form I-94). The first part records  nonimmigrant aliens’ arrivals and includes the nonimmigrant alien’s  address in the United States. The second part is to be surrendered when  nonimmigrant aliens leave the country. DHS is to match the first and  second parts of the Form I-94 to identify those nonimmigrant aliens who  have left the country. However, as we reported in May 2004 and DOJ’s  Inspector General reported in 1997 and 2002, legacy INS lacked many  Form I-94 departure records, and as a result, INS could not identify all of  the nonimmigrant aliens who had left the country.
Over the years, Congress established various requirements for immigrant  and nonimmigrant aliens to report their addresses while residing in the  United States. Currently, aliens are generally required to report their  change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving. Failure to report a  change of address can result in an alien being taken into custody and  placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge. The alien can  be fined, imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or removed. Because  legacy INS did not inform aliens of change of address notification  requirements when they entered the country, in our November 2002  report, we recommended that legacy INS publicize change of address  notification requirements nationwide. According to USCIS officials, as of  November 2004 this recommendation was not implemented because  USCIS was in the process of revising the change of address form used by  aliens and did not want to begin publicity efforts until the revised form  was finalized. Figure 1 shows the evolution of nonimmigrant alien  reporting requirements, beginning with the establishment of the Alien  Registration Act of 1940 to the present, with the 1981 amendments  marking when annual reporting requirements of nonimmigrant aliens were  repealed.
Although Congress, in 1981, eliminated the requirements that all aliens  annually report their addresses and that nonimmigrants report their  address every 90 days, Congress, through various acts, reinforced the  importance of the government being able to identify the lawful entry of  nonimmigrants into the United States. Specifically, prior to the terrorist  attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress mandated that INS improve its  ability to identify nonimmigrant aliens who arrive and depart the United  States and who overstay their visas. The Illegal Immigration Reform and  Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, for example, authorized the  Attorney General to establish an electronic student tracking system to  verify and monitor the foreign student and exchange visitor information  program and develop an entry and exit control system to collect arrival  and departure records for every alien entering and leaving the United  States. After September 11, 2001, the USA PATRIOT Act, enacted in  October 2001, re-emphasized the speedy implementation of an entry-exit  system for U.S. visitors. In August 2002, DOJ issued a rule that became  effective September 11, 2002, concerning the registration and monitoring  of certain nonimmigrants. Under this rule, DOJ imposed special  requirements on nonimmigrants from designated countries. For  nonimmigrant aliens arriving in the United States, these requirements  included being fingerprinted and photographed at the port of entry. The  rule also required nonimmigrant aliens to reregister after 30 days and  annually. In December 2003, DHS issued an interim rule suspending the   30-day and annual reregistration requirements that were in effect prior to  that date. DHS determined that its United States Visitor and Immigrant  Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program and other new processes  being implemented would meet the national security needs.
Consistent with the above registration requirements, US-VISIT is part of  the U.S. security measures for all visitors (with limited exemptions)  holding nonimmigrant visas, regardless of country of origin. Specifically,  US-VISIT’s program objectives include (1) collecting, maintaining, and  sharing information (including address data) on aliens who enter and exit  the United States; (2) identifying aliens who have violated the terms of  their visit; and (3) detecting fraudulent travel documents, verifying traveler  identity, and determining traveler admissibility through the use of  biometrics.
section_title: USCIS Officials Believe Implementing an Annual Nonimmigrant Alien Address Reporting Requirement Is Technically Feasible
paragraphs: USCIS officials told us that it would be technically feasible to implement  an annual nonimmigrant alien address reporting requirement. The officials  said that the current NIIS system for processing alien change of address  forms could be upgraded to facilitate the nearly fourfold increase in  processing volume that likely could result from implementing an annual  nonimmigrant alien address reporting requirement. USCIS currently  processes about 550,000 nonimmigrant change of address forms each year,  and the officials estimated that about 2.6 million nonimmigrants could be  required to report under an annual requirement.
The officials estimated that an increase of over 2 million address reporting  forms would increase USCIS’s current annual change of address form  processing costs from about $1.6 million to at least $4.6 million per year.  The estimate of the cost increase includes computer operations and  maintenance, printing of address reporting forms, and additional data  entry staff. USCIS’s estimate does not include the potentially substantial  cost of enforcing the address reporting requirement, which would include  hiring, training, and compensating additional ICE agents.
USCIS is considering incorporating the current NIIS change of address  system into the US-VISIT program. On October 4, 2004, officials from  USCIS formally requested that DHS move responsibility for all alien  change of address registration from USCIS’s ORS to the US-VISIT  program. Although US-VISIT officials told us that placement of  nonimmigrant change of address information responsibility within   US-VISIT might be a viable option, the program is not currently designed  to monitor aliens during their stay in the United States. These officials told  us that incorporating address change data into the US-VISIT program  would require a change in US-VISIT program requirements, including  changes in US-VISIT’s budget and technical requirements. As of November  2004, DHS officials had not made a decision whether to integrate address  change data into US-VISIT.
section_title: Most ICE Agents Believe Annual Nonimmigrant Alien Address Reporting Would Be of Limited Utility
paragraphs: Sixteen of the 17 ICE agents we contacted in headquarters and in the field  said that implementing an annual nonimmigrant alien address reporting  requirement would have limited utility in assisting them in locating  nonimmigrant aliens because the annual registration is based on self- reported information. ICE agents in Houston, Texas; Los Angeles,  California; Miami, Florida; and New York, New York, responsible for  immigration enforcement activities said that when conducting  investigations, they do not use the NIIS change of address data currently  submitted by nonimmigrants to help locate nonimmigrants as part of their  investigations. They said that because the change of address information is  self-reported data, it is often less reliable than data from other databases.  According to the agents, nonimmigrants who intentionally are not in  compliance with immigration or other laws or otherwise do not want to be  contacted by the government are not likely to accurately self-report their  address information to DHS under an annual requirement. However, these  nonimmigrants might be found using non-DHS information systems.  Nonimmigrant aliens who comply with address reporting requirements or  seek DHS benefits might be found using existing DHS systems or other  information sources. Still other nonimmigrants who may not be aware of  address reporting requirements or forget to file might also be found using  other existing systems.
ICE agents said that they consider the data found in existing public source  database systems such as department of motor vehicle records, credit  bureaus, court filings, and Internet search engines that compile address  and other information to be more current and reliable than self-reported  change of address data housed in NIIS. Typically, nonimmigrants are  located through public source databases because they have been involved  in financial transactions, have driver’s licenses, and may participate in  other activities (e.g., submitting an application to rent an apartment)  resulting in information that can be tracked by investigators. For example,  a nonimmigrant alien applying for credit from a financial institution is  required and has an incentive to provide accurate address information.  Because of data-sharing arrangements among financial institutions and  credit bureaus, the address information provided by the nonimmigrant  alien to the financial institution also is available through other public  source databases, according to the agents.
In some cases, nonimmigrant aliens find it to their advantage to keep DHS  apprised of any address changes. According to agents we contacted,  nonimmigrant aliens must provide correct and current address  information to USCIS to request benefits such as a change in immigration  status from visitor to student or from nonimmigrant to permanent resident  status. The DHS databases that house address information on  nonimmigrants seeking benefits are of some use for finding accurate  address data. For example, USCIS uses the Computer-Linked Application  Information Management System (CLAIMS) system to process requests for  immigration benefits and enters updated address information into  CLAIMS. The agents said that, consequently, they rely on CLAIMS as one  source of nonimmigrant address information within DHS. However,  address information in CLAIMS and NIIS are not linked in a manner such  that an address change in one would update an address in the other  database. In our November 2002 report, we recommended that legacy INS  remedy this type of problem by ensuring that alien address information in  all DHS databases is consistent and reliable. As of November 2004, this  recommendation had not been implemented.
Although almost all of the 17 agents we interviewed stated that self- reported nonimmigrant alien addresses would not be helpful in locating  nonimmigrants, several agents described some possible benefits  associated with an annual nonimmigrant alien address reporting  requirement:    According to one Los Angeles ICE agent, implementing an annual  nonimmigrant alien address requirement could be useful if biometric data  (e.g., fingerprints and digitized photographs) were included with forms  during the reporting process so that nonimmigrant alien registration forms  could be traced to other DHS forms, such as visas, and also linked to a  biometric identifier. The agent stated that linking nonimmigrant address  information with biometric data included with forms, rather than with  names entered on reporting forms, would assist in ensuring accuracy of  the address information. However, current alien address notification plans  do not address the potential costs or the feasibility of implementing such a  biometric approach or any reengineering required to link any biometric  indicators gathered by US-VISIT to alien address systems.
The FBI’s FTTTF official we interviewed stated that an annual  nonimmigrant alien address reporting requirement could provide a useful  list of nonimmigrants the task force could refer to during investigations of  potential terrorists. If nonimmigrant aliens were required to report their  current address annually and within a specified time period (for example,  between January 1 and 15 of each year), the annual reporting requirement  could allow federal investigators to refer to a list of nonimmigrants  reported to be within the United States on the date the form was  submitted to DHS. Federal investigators would, consequently, be able to  use the annual address report as a source of data, supplemental to other  sources of address information, according to the official. It is important to  note that address information entered by nonimmigrants on the I-94  entrance form or US-VISIT information, coupled with compliance with the  current change of address notification requirements, would provide this  information, making an annual registration requirement redundant,  assuming the alien provides accurate address information.
Agents in ICE’s Detroit, Michigan, and Houston, Texas, field offices and  one ICE headquarters official told us that violation of an annual address  registration requirement could be used to allow ICE, in the absence of  other charges, to temporarily detain nonimmigrant aliens to allow for  questioning regarding other potential crimes. However, as we reported in  November 2002, violation of the current address notification requirements  by aliens also provides a basis for temporary detention and questioning,  but historically legacy INS infrequently enforced address reporting  requirements.
section_title: Concluding Observations
paragraphs: While implementing an annual registration requirement for nonimmigrants  is feasible, the consensus of the USCIS and ICE headquarters officials and  ICE field office agents we contacted recognized that a self-reporting  system would be of limited use in locating the group of aliens who are not  in compliance with immigration laws or otherwise do not want to be  contacted by the government. Nonimmigrant aliens who do not wish to be  located are not likely to comply with an annual requirement to self-report  address information. Consequently, agents have used other databases to  locate this class of alien and have found such databases to be more  current and reliable than the existing self-reporting system. Potential  benefits cited by law enforcement agents, such as the ability to verify that  the nonimmigrant alien is still in the country and to provide a basis for  detaining noncompliant aliens, might be available with current systems  and law but have seldom been used. For these reasons, it is questionable  whether the usefulness of an annual reporting requirement would  outweigh the cost of implementation and enforcement.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We requested comments on a draft of this report from the Secretary of  Homeland Security.  DHS reviewed a draft of this report and had technical  comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this letter to the Secretary of the Department of  Homeland Security and interested congressional committees. We will also  make copies available to others upon request. In addition, the letter will be  available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://wwww.gao.gov.
If you or your staffs have any questions about this letter, please contact  Darryl W. Dutton at (213) 830-1086 or me at (202) 512-8777. Key  contributors to this letter are Samuel Van Wagner, Ben Atwater,   Grace Coleman, Nancy Finley, and David Alexander.