DOS Final Rule with Technical Corrections to Visa Regulations
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 55417-55419]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13oc99-8]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Parts 40 and 42
[Public Notice 2980]
RIN 1400-AB03
Technical Corrections to Regulations Regarding the Issuance of Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas
AGENCY: Bureau of Consular Affairs, State.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This rule makes minor technical and editorial changes to various sections of the Department of State's regulations, necessitated by changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act, and in certain cases, for greater overall clarity.
EFFECTIVE DATES: This rule takes effect October 13, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: H. Edward Odom, Chief, Legislation and Regulations Division, 202/663-1204 (odomhe@state.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A number of revisions, both of an editorial variety and certain ones necessitated by changes in the law, are reflected herein.
22 CFR 40.1--Definitions
Section 631 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) (Pub. L. 104-208) amended section 221(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act by striking ``four months'' and adding ``six months.'' Correspondingly, the Department amended the regulation at 22 CFR 42.72(a) extending the validity period of an immigrant visa to six months [see 62 FR 27693]. That statutory change is applicable to 22 CFR 40.1(a) as well, as an alien who is applying for an immigrant visa as the accompanying spouse or child of the principal alien may do so for the validity of the principal alien's visa, which IIRIRA increased to six months.
Also, editorial changes are made to paragraphs (f), (g), (i), (l), (m).
22 CFR 40.21--Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude and Controlled Substance Violators
Minor editorial corrections are made to 22 CFR 40.21, paragraphs (a) and (b).
22 CFR 40.81--Ineligible for Citizenship
An addition is made to 22 CFR 40.81 to clarify the meaning of the regulation. This is done to assist consular officers in ascertaining the visa eligibility of certain applicants, especially with respect to individuals who are former members of the armed services.
[[Page 55418]]
22 CFR 42.21-- Immediate Relatives
An addition to 22 CFR 42.21, Immediate Relatives, is made to reflect a revision to the INA as done by Sec. 219(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-416). This revision entitles the children of deceased U.S. citizens to immediate relative status.
22 CFR 42.71--Authority To Issue Visas; Visa Fees
A technical correction is made to 22 CFR 42.71 changing the incorrect reference cite ``INA 243(g)'' to read ``INA 243(d).'
'Final Rule
The implementation of the rules as a final rule is based upon the ``good cause'' exception established by 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and 553(d)(3). The changes made either confer a benefit upon aliens as authorized by the new statute or make minor editorial changes that do not change substance or procedure. These editorial changes were made simply for clarity and to comply with the Presidential Memorandum on Plain Language, dated June 1, 1998. The agency hereby finds that notice and public procedure thereon is unnecessary because the rule confers a benefit authorized by law upon eligible aliens and involves no substantive or procedural change from present practice. In addition, pursuant to Sec. 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Department has assessed the potential impact of this rule and it has been determined, and the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs hereby certifies, that it will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The rule has no economic effect beyond that of the statutory requirements already in effect which it implements.
As required by 5 U.S.C. chapter 8, the Department has screened this rule and determined that it is not a major rule, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 80412.
This rule imposes no reporting or record-keeping action on the public requiring the approval of the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
This rule has been reviewed as required by E.O. 12988 and determined to meet the applicable regulatory standards it describes. Although exempted from E.O. 12866, this rule has been reviewed to ensure consistency with it.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 40 and 42
Aliens, Immigrants, Immigration, Nonimmigrants, Passports and visas.
In view of the foregoing, 22 CFR Parts 40 and 42 are amended as follows:
PART 40--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for Part 40 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104.
2. Amend the introductory text and paragraphs (a), (f), (g), (i), and (l) of Sec. 40.1 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.1 Definitions.
The following definitions supplement definitions contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). As used in the regulations in parts 40, 41, 42, 43 and 45 of this subchapter, the term:
(a) (1) Accompanying or accompanied by means not only an alien in the physical company of a principal alien but also an alien who is issued an immigrant visa within 6 months of:
(i) The date of issuance of a visa to the principal alien;
(ii) The date of adjustment of status in the United States of the principal alien; or
(iii) The date on which the principal alien personally appears and registers before a consular officer abroad to confer alternate foreign state chargeability or immigrant status upon a spouse or child.
(2) An ``accompanying'' relative may not precede the principal alien to the United States.
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(f) Dependent area means a colony or other component or dependent area overseas from the governing foreign state.
(g) Documentarily qualified means that the alien has reported that all the documents specified by the consular officer as sufficient to meet the requirements of INA 222(b) have been obtained, and the consular office has completed the necessary clearance procedures. This term is used only with respect to the alien's qualification to apply formally for an immigrant visa; it bears no connotation that the alien is eligible to receive a visa.
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(i) Foreign state, for the purposes of alternate chargeability pursuant to INA 202(b), is not restricted to those areas to which the numerical limitation prescribed by INA 202(a) applies but includes dependent areas, as defined in this section.
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(l) Native means born within the territory of a foreign state, or entitled to be charged for immigration purposes to that foreign state pursuant to INA section 202(b).
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3. Amend Sec. 40.21(a) by revising paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) to read as follows:
Sec. 40.21 Crimes involving moral turpitude and controlled substance violators.
(a) Crimes involving moral turpitude--(1) Acts must constitute a crime under criminal law of jurisdiction where they occurred. A Consular Officer may make a finding of ineligibility under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) based upon an alien's admission of the commission of acts which constitute the essential elements of a crime involving moral turpitude, only if the acts constitute a crime under the criminal law of the jurisdiction where they occurred. However, a Consular Officer must base a determination that a crime involves moral turpitude upon the moral standards generally prevailing in the United States.
(2) Conviction for crime committed under age 18. (i) An alien will not be ineligible to receive a visa under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) by reason of any offense committed:
(A) Prior to the alien's fifteenth birthday, or
(B) Between the alien's fifteenth and eighteenth birthdays unless such alien was tried and convicted as an adult for a felony involving violence as defined in section 1(1) and section 16 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
(ii) An alien tried and convicted as an adult for a violent felony offense, as so defined, committed after having attained the age of fifteen years, will be subject to the provisions of INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) regardless of whether at the time of conviction juvenile courts existed within the convicting jurisdiction.
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4. Revise Sec. 40.81 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.81 Ineligible for citizenship.
An alien will be ineligible to receive an immigrant visa under INA 212(a)(8)(A) if the alien is ineligible for citizenship, including as provided in INA 314 or 315.
PART 42--[AMENDED]
5. The authority citation for part 42 continues to read:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104.
6. Amend Sec. 42.21 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 42.21 Immediate relatives.
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[[Page 55419]]
(b) Spouse of a deceased U.S. Citizen. The spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen, and each child of the spouse, will be entitled to immediate relative status after the date of the citizen's death provided the spouse or child meets the criteria of INA 201(b)(2)(A)(i) and the Consular Officer has received an approved petition from the INS which accords such status, or official notification of such approval, and the Consular Officer is satisfied that the alien meets those criteria.
7. Amend Sec. 42.71 by revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:
Sec. 42.71 Authority to issue visas; visa fees.
(a) Authority to issue visas. Consular officers may issue immigrant visas at designated consular offices abroad pursuant to the authority contained in INA 101(a)(16), 221(a), and 224. (Consular offices designated to issue immigrant visas are listed periodically in Visa Office Bulletins published by the Department of State.) A consular officer assigned to duty in the territory of a country against which the sanctions provided in INA 243(d) have been invoked must not issue an immigrant visa to an alien who is a national, citizen, subject, or resident of that country, unless the officer has been informed that the sanction has been waived by INS in the case of an individual alien or a specified class of aliens.
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Dated: September 16, 1999.Mary A. Ryan,
Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-26612 Filed 10-12-99; 8:45 am]
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