Men from Arab and Muslim countries who missed recent deadlines to register with immigration authorities will get a second chance, but the controversial reporting requirement will be extended to more nationalities, the Justice Department will announce on Thursday.According to official notices readied for publication in the Federal Register, men from Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Indonesia and Bangladesh will now have to register with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.Men from 18 other countries who missed previous registration deadlines will have another opportunity to report between January 27 and February 7, without facing a penalty for having failed to come forward. ‘‘As an act of grace, and as an act that is entirely within the Attorney General’s discretion, the Attorney General has decided to permit those individuals who were required to register (previously) but who did not do so, an additional opportunity to register and provide information in a timely fashion,’’ the INS said.The registration was launched last year by Attorney General John Ashcroft to improve haphazard tracking of foreign visitors. Part of the government’s effort to prevent more terrorist attacks, the programme gained national notoriety after hundreds of men were detained in the first phase of registration last month. None was a terrorist.The requirement applies to male visitors, age 16 and older, who entered the country before September 30, 2002, and intend to remain. Women, green-card holders, naturalised US citizens and people who have received political asylum are exempt. (LATWP)
