DOS on Fee Waiver for Charitable Organization
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS
SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM
AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
Unclas State 206227
Visas
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS
Subject: INA 281 Amendment: Waiver of Visa Fees
I. Summary: Recently the President signed P.L. 105-54 which among other things amends INA Section 281 to provide the Department the authority to waive the visa application and issuance fees for nonimmigrant applicants coming to the U.S. on behalf of charitable organizations in order to perform charitable services for the poor and needy. This cable provides interim guidance for the implementation of the amendment. End summary.
II. Text: The amended portion of INA 281 states "subject to such criteria as the Secretary of State may prescribe, including the duration of stay of the alien and the financial burden upon the charitable organization, the Secretary of State shall waive or reduce the fee for application and issuance of a nonimmigrant visa for any alien coming to the United States primarily for, or in activities related to a charitable purpose involving health or nursing care, the provision of food or housing, job training, or any other similar direct service or assistance to poor or otherwise needy individuals in the United States."
III. Interpretation and interim guidance: VO believes it is the intention of the drafters of the legislation to require the waiver of fees only when the principal purpose of the alien’s entry into the U.S. is to undertake charitable or related activities on behalf of the poor and needy. Further, VO is of the opinion that, in view of the evidentiary burdens upon the applicant and the organization implied under the legislation, under this initial guidance, waivers of fees should be considered only at the written request of an organization in an individual case. Note that both the application (MRV) fee and issuance (reciprocal) fees may be requested to be waived. Pending promulgation of regulations and FAM guidance implementing this provision, when such a request is received, posts should request an advisory opinion from CA/VO/L/A. The AO request should include such facts as whether and why the organization claims fees constitute an undue burden, what charitable functions the alien is expected to engage in and for how long, location of such activities and , if a United States organization, whether it has tax-exempt status in the United States as a non-profit, charitable institution, or, if a local foreign organization, whether it is recognized locally or nationally as a charitable organization.
IV. Posts should note that the operative words in the statute are "poor" and "needy", and that the organization must be a "charitable" organization, not simply non-profit. Therefore, qualifying activities could range from serving in soup kitchens or at food banks to tending the sick in hospices or similar places devoted solely to the poor, but not to attending a convention of a social/charitable organization, even though the organization carries on some charitable activities.
V. VO hopes that a sufficient number of requests will have been reviewed by January 1, 1998 for us to be able to establish FAM guidance which thereafter will obviate the need for most, if not all, advisory opinion requests.
VI. Minimize considered.
Madeleine Albright