USIA Removes Czech Republic from Skills List
[Notices]
[Page 67431-67432]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24de97-141]
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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Exchange Visitor Program; Skills List
AGENCY: United States Information Agency.
ACTION: Amendment to delete the Czech Republic from the Exchange Visitor Skills List. Retroactive release from Skills List obligation for all countries without skills lists.
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SUMMARY: The Exchange Visitor Skills List is amended by deleting the fields of specialization for the Czech Republic at the request of the Government of the Czech Republic. Also, in the case of all governments which have requested removal from the skills list, their citizens are retroactively no longer required, on the basis of the skills list, to comply with the two-year home residence requirement of 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
DATES: This amendment shall become effective upon publication in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for further information should be addressed to: Patricia B. Gribben, Chief, Waiver Review Branch, Exchange Visitor Program Services, USIA, 301 Fourth Street, SW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20547, telephone (202) 401-9800.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the provisions of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(E), The Secretary of State designated on April 25, 1972, a list of fields of specialized knowledge or skill (referred to as the Exchange Visitor Skills List) and those countries which clearly required the services of persons engaged in one or more of such fields. Any alien who was a national or resident of one of those countries and obtained an exchange visitor visa and/or became a participant in an Exchange Visitor Program involving a designated field of specialized knowledge or skill after the effective date of that notice was subject to the two-year home country physical presence requirement of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and 22 CFR 41.65(b).
Pursuant to the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977, section 217 of the United States Information Agency Authorization Act of August 24, 1982 (Pub. L. 97-241) and Executive Order Nos. 12048 (March 27, 1978) and 12388 (October 14, 1982) the Director, United States Information Agency, on June 12, 1984 further amended the 1972 Exchange Visitor Skills list, as revised in 1978, to increase the designated fields of specialized knowledge of skills. The 1984 amendment gave notice of the addition of China and the deletion of Cambodia, Iran and Viet-Nam from the skills list as well as the indefinite suspension of Afghanistan. In September, 1986 an amendment reflected the deletion of South Africa, addition of Iraq and changes in Group 4 for the People's Republic of China. It also clarifies that the skills list for the People's Republic of China is not applicable to exchange visitors from Taiwan. A February 1987 amendment gave notice of the indefinite suspension of Libya and the addition of two fields to Group (1) of the skills list for the People's Republic of China. Amendments in March and April, 1987, contained date corrections. An amendment in December, 1988 added additional fields to the skills list for the
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People's Republic of China and in July, 1993 an amendment removed Spain from the skills list.
A comprehensive revised Skills List was published in the Federal Register on January 16, 1997. This list became effective March 17, 1997.
This notice amends FR Vol. 62, Doc. 97-677, January 16, 1997.
Accordingly, the Exchange Visitor Skills List, is further amended by deleting the Czech Republic from said list. It also provides retroactive release from the skills list obligation for citizens of countries which are not listed on the Exchange Visitor Skills List.
Dated: December 18, 1997.Les Jin,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 97-33499 Filed 12-23-97; 8:45 am]
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