[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1523-1524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-730]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 42
[Public Notice 2319]
Visas: Documentation of Immigrants Under the Immigration and
Nationality Act as Amended
AGENCY: Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule promulgates changes to the regulations
implementing the Diversity Immigrant Program provided for in INA
201(a)(3), 201(e), 203(c), and 204(a)(1)(G), as amended. After analysis
of the comments received, the Department has decided to make the
changes proposed in its Notice of Proposed Rule Making of November 13,
1995.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 21, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cornelius D. Scully III, Director,
Office of Legislation, Regulations, and Advisory Assistance, Bureau of
Consular Affairs, Department of State, (202) 663-1184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Notice 2284 at 60 FR 56961 proposed
amendments to Sec. 42.33 of 22 CFR Part 42 which implements the
Diversity Immigrant Program established by INA 201(a)(3), 201(e),
203(c), 203(e)(2), and 204(a)(1)(G), as amended. Specifically, the
Department proposed to modify the petitioning procedure by requiring
that aliens petitioning for selection to compete sign their petition
and include, with the petition, a photograph of the kind required with
applications for nonimmigrant visas, on the reverse of which the alien
must have printed his or her name. In addition, the Department proposed
to include authority for the collection of a processing fee in case it
is decided that such a fee should be charged.
During the comment period, the Department received three comments.
One commenter agreed that it would not be unreasonable to impose a
processing fee to cover the cost of the selection process; the other
two did not comment on the fee issue.
All three commenters opposed the proposals to require signature of
the petition and submission of a photograph with the petition. All
three represent organizations which, presumably for a fee, assist
aliens in preparing and submitting their petitions for consideration
under the Diversity Immigrant Program. All three emphasized the
``hardships'' that these new requirements would impose upon aliens who
use their services. One of the three set forth a detailed step-by-step
description of the organization's handling of petitions for its
clients, pointing out how imposition of these new requirements would be
inconsistent with the procedures the organization has established, at
least with respect to the mail-in period for consideration during
Fiscal Year 1997.
Effectively, all three commenters are opposing these proposed new
requirements because, at least with respect to the forthcoming mail-in
period, they make it difficult for the organizations to conduct this
aspect of their business as they have done up until now. All three
assert that this will impose a hardship on their clients. The
Department does not believe, however, that implementation of this
change can be said to impose a hardship on such aliens. Notice of the
revised requirements is being disseminated world-wide as part of the
annual notice of the mail-in period. This dissemination is occurring
more than a month before the first day of the mail-in period and the
period itself will be a full thirty days.
The Department has long been aware that there are organizations,
both in the United States and elsewhere, that have assisted aliens to
compete in the various immigrant visa lotteries that have existed since
1987, including the current Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The
Department neither encourages nor discourages such activities, but
merely acknowledges their existence. At the same time, the Department
does not believe that it is either necessary, or even appropriate, that
it should refrain from establishing such requirements and procedures as
it considers necessary to ensure the integrity of the process, simply
because their establishment may inconvenience some such organizations
and the arrangements they have made for assisting their clients. Also,
the Department believes that those aliens who are genuinely motivated
to compete for immigration under the Diversity Immigrant Program will
not find it impossible, or even unduly difficult, to have their
petitions reach the designated address by the expiration of the mail-in
period.
The Department also believes that whatever inconvenience may be
caused by these changes must be weighed against the abuses they are
designed to prevent. During the comment period, the Department received
yet another communication from an immigrant visa issuing office about
an apparent impostorship. The alien concerned had a name very common in
the country, equivalent to John Smith in the United States. Vital
records in the country are unreliable and incomplete. This alien
recently approached the consular office asserting that he was the
``John Smith'' who had been selected in the FY 95 mail-in period. The
office's records reflect that some months previously it had issued a
Diversity Immigrant visa to a ``John Smith'' with the same date and
place of birth as the alien now claiming to be the rightful winner. Had
these new requirements been in effect for the FY 95 mail-in period, the
consular officer would have been able to match the photograph with the
applicant and the signature on the petition with other samples of the
applicant's handwriting. As it is, there is no possible way to
ascertain which of the two ``John Smiths'' was, in fact, the one whose
application was selected during the FY 95 mail-in period. As a result,
the Department has concluded that it should make the changes as
proposed.
Two of the commenters opposed the photograph requirement on the
ground that some potential petitioners may find it difficult to obtain
a photograph meeting the specifications set forth in the proposed rule.
The Department finds it difficult to take this comment seriously, since
the requirement proposed is identical with the photograph requirement
for nonimmigrant visa applicants which has been in effect for decades.
Every
[[Page 1524]]
year more than 5 million nonimmigrant visa applicants in countries
throughout the world manage to comply with this requirement, and the
Department cannot believe that those wishing to compete for
consideration under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program will have any
greater difficulty than the millions upon millions of nonimmigrant visa
applicants have had.
Finally, one of the commenters asked whether the petitioner was
required to sign the sheet of paper containing the information or
whether the information could appear on one sheet of paper and the
signature on another which would be stapled to it. The commenter urged
that the latter be allowed, because of processing problems which the
organization would otherwise have, and commented that it was not clear
from the proposed rule whether its suggested alternative was
legitimate. It was the Department's intent that the petition continue
to be a single sheet of paper, on which the petitioner is to type or
print legibly the information required and which the petitioner will
sign below the last line of information. The Department finds no basis
for complicating the process by having the information on one sheet of
paper and a signature on a separate blank sheet of paper stapled to it.
Moreover, the Department does not believe that either the Supplementary
Information in the proposed rule or the proposed text of 22 CFR
42.33(b)(1) can reasonably be read to mean anything other than that. In
any event, the Department hereby re-emphasizes that all petitions are
to consist of a single sheet of paper on which are inscribed both the
required information about the petitioner and the petitioner's
signature.
This rule is not expected to have a significant impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. In addition, this rule would not impose
information collection requirements under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. This rule has been reviewed as
required under E.O. 12778 and certified to be in compliance therewith.
This rule is exempt from review under E.O. 12866, but has been reviewed
internally by the Department to ensure consistency with the objectives
thereof.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 42
Aliens, Documentation, Immigrants, Passports and visas.
PART 42--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for Part 42 continues to read:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104.
2. Section 42.33 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(1) and by
adding paragraph (i) to read as follows:
Sec. 42.33 Diversity immigrants.
* * * * *
(b) Petition for consideration--(1) Form of petition. An alien
claiming to be entitled to compete for consideration under INA 203(c)
shall file a petition for such consideration. The petition shall
consist of a sheet of paper on which shall be typed or legibly printed
in the Roman alphabet the petitioner's name; date and place of birth
(including city and country, province or other political subdivision of
the country); the country of which the alien claims to be a native, if
other than the country of birth; name[s] and date[s] and place[s] of
birth of spouse and child[ren], if any; a current mailing address; and
location of consular office nearest to current residence or, if in the
United States, nearest to last foreign residence prior to entry into
the United States. The alien shall sign his or her signature on the
sheet of paper, using his or her usual signature. The alien shall also
affix to the sheet of paper a recent photograph of himself or herself.
The photograph shall be 1\1/2\ inches square (37mm x 37mm) and the
alien shall clearly print his or her name in the Roman alphabet on the
reverse of the photograph before affixing the photograph to the sheet
of paper.
* * * * *
(i) Processing fee. In addition to collecting the immigrant visa
application and, if applicable, issuance fees, as provided in
Sec. 42.71(b) of this part, the consular officer shall also collect
from each applicant for a visa under the Diversity Immigrant Visa
Program such processing fee as the Secretary of State shall prescribe.
Dated: January 16, 1996.
Mary A. Ryan,
Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs.
[FR Doc. 96-730 Filed 1-19-96; 8:45 am]
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