Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has signed into law the legislation which grants immigration amnesty to just over 4,000 foreigners who are physically present in American Samoa without current lawful immigration status, as well as those who are lawfully in the territory but subject to specific numerical limitations on their registration by country.

The measure increases — for fiscal year 2015 only — the quota for certain countries, and the government had made clear during Fono hearings that anyone with a criminal record does not qualify for the amnesty program. Background checks are carried out for every applicant, who will be required to have a sponsor.

According to the Administration, the legislation will increase existing quotas to account for 2,474 foreigners who registered under the amnesty campaign launched earlier this year “plus another 1,637 who were lawfully present and already in the Immigration Board queue awaiting their quota to come available.”

In a Sept.19 letter informing Fono leaders that the bill is signed into law, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga said the administration has been working for months to provide a pathway for many foreigners residing in the territory without legal status, along with those lawfully in the territory but subject to country numerical limitations on their registration.

He said he is pleased to have worked with the Fono on this measure to open countries numerical limitations, to enable qualified applicants to register their status legally in American Samoa.

“The people we are talking about are contributing members of society, in some cases along with their families, who have fallen into circumstances not always of their own making,” he wrote.

“We owe them the opportunity to become full-fledged members of the community so they can fully partake in all community affairs and be fully counted for public planning purpose when federal assistance decisions are made arising out of our population count,” he said and thanked the Fono for approving the bill.

Deputy Attorney General Mitzie Jessop, a member of the ASG Amnesty Committee, said that the bill being signed into law is “the culmination of a collaborative effort on the part of many departments and individuals. And we are grateful to everyone for their hard work and we are also grateful to the Fono for supporting our efforts.”

“And now the hard part begins. All of the amnesty files must be prepared to be be submitted to the Immigration Board,” said Jessop responding to Samoa News questions. “Even with the Amnesty bill passing, we must still comply with all of the other immigration laws that are already in place.”

“All immigration laws will be followed and this  includes the submission of clearances and the payment of fees and bonds. So the Immigration Office has a lot of work ahead of it,” she said.

The governor’s chief legal counsel Steven Watson, also a member of the ASG Amnesty Committee, told Samoa News, that the Amnesty Team will be shortly commencing a public outreach program.

According to the language of the bill, citizens of Samoa are the highest nationality recorded, at 2,845— followed by Tonga at 457, Filipino at 446, Fiji with 101, China 96, Korea 12, New Zealand 19, and Vietnamese 17.

Other countries included in the bill—but all with less than ten citizens are: Australia, Tuvalu, Germany, Indonesia, Federated States of Micronesia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Great Britain, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Taiwan.