2018-03801. 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Request for Approval To Travel to a Restricted Country or Area

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of State has submitted the information collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 we are requesting comments on this collection from all interested individuals and organizations. The purpose of this Notice is to allow 30 days for public comment.

DATES:

Submit comments directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) up to March 28, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Direct comments to the Department of State Desk Officer in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). You may submit comments by the following methods:

• Email: [e-mail]. You must include the DS form number, information collection title, and the OMB control number in the subject line of your message.
• Fax: [phone]. Attention: Desk Officer for Department of State.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct requests for additional information regarding the collection listed in this notice, including requests for copies of the proposed collection instrument and supporting documents, to Anita Mody, U.S. Department of State, CA/PPT/S/L/LA, 44132 Mercure Cir, P.O. Box 1227, Sterling, VA 20166-1227, who may be reached on [phone] or at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

• Title of Information Collection: Request for Approval to Travel to a Restricted Country or Area.
• OMB Control Number: 1405-0228.
• Type of Request: Extension of a Currently Approved Collection.
• Originating Office: Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport Services, Office of Legal Affairs, CA/PPT/S/L/LA.
• Form Number: No form.
• Respondents: Individuals requesting they be granted a special validation, in accordance with 22 CFR 51.64, to use a U.S. passport to travel to, in, or through a country or area as to which U.S. passports have been declared invalid for such travel pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 211a and Executive Order 11295 (August 5, 1966) and in accordance with 22 CFR 51.63(a).
• Estimated Number of Respondents: 250.
• Estimated Number of Responses: 250.
• Average Time per Response: 45 minutes.
• Total Estimated Burden Time: 188 annual hours.
• Frequency: Each time the individual wishes to travel to the restricted country or area.
• Obligation to Respond: Required to Obtain or Retain a Benefit.

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department to:

• Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department.
• Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
• Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please note that comments submitted in response to this Notice are public record. Before including any detailed personal information, you should be aware that your comments as submitted, including your personal information, will be available for public review.

Abstract of Proposed Collection

The Secretary of State may exercise authority, under 22 U.S.C. 211a, Executive Order 11295 (August 5, 1966), and 22 CFR 51.63, to invalidate all U.S. passports for travel to a country or area if he determines that any of three conditions exist: The country is at war with the United States; armed hostilities are in progress in the country or area; or there is imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of U.S. travelers in the country or area. The regulations of the Department of State provide that an individual's passport may be considered for validation for travel to, in, or through a country or area despite such restriction if the individual's travel is determined to fall within one of several categories established by the regulations. 22 CFR 51.64. Without the requisite validation, use of a U.S. passport for travel to, in, or through a restricted country or area may justify revocation of the passport for misuse under 22 CFR 51.62(a)(2) and subject the traveler to felony prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1544 for misuse of a passport or other applicable laws.

The categories of persons specified in 22 CFR 51.64(b) as being eligible for consideration for passport validation are as follows:

(a) An applicant who is a professional reporter and journalist whose trip is for the purpose of collecting and making available to the public information about the restricted country or area;

(b) An applicant who is a representative of the American Red Cross or the International Committee of the Red Cross on an officially sponsored Red Cross mission;

(c) An applicant whose trip to the restricted country or area is justified by compelling humanitarian considerations; or

(d) An applicant whose trip to the restricted country or area is otherwise in the national interest.

The proposed information collection solicits data necessary for the Passport Services Directorate to determine whether an applicant is eligible to receive a special validation in his or her U.S. passport book permitting the applicant to make one round-trip to a restricted country or area. The information requested consists of the applicant's name; a copy of the front and back of the applicant's valid government-issued photo identification card with the applicant's date of birth and signature; current contact information, including telephone number and mailing address; and a statement explaining the reason that the applicant thinks his or her trip is in the national interest, supported by documentary evidence. Failure to provide the requested information may result in denial of a special validation to use a U.S. passport to travel to, in, or through a restricted country or area.

Effective September 1, 2017, upon determining that there is imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of U.S. travelers in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Secretary of State imposed a passport restriction with respect to travel to the DPRK. The estimated number of recipients represents the Department of State's estimate of the annual number of special validation requests individuals who wish to use their U.S. passport to travel to the DPRK will submit, based on the current number of requests following the implementation of the Secretary of State's passport restriction. At this time, there are no other countries or areas that are the subject of passport restrictions pursuant to 22 CFR 51.63.

Methodology

Instructions for individuals seeking to apply for a special validation to use a U.S. passport to travel to, in, or through a restricted country or area is posted on a web page maintained by the Department (travel.state.gov). The web page directs applicants to submit the requested information via email to the Passport Services Directorate ([e-mail]) or by mail to Special Validations, U.S. Department of State, CA/PPT/L/LA, 44132 Mercure Circle, P.O. Box 1227, Sterling, VA 20166-1227.

Information collected in this manner will be used to facilitate the granting of special validations to U.S. nationals who are eligible. The primary purpose of soliciting the information is to establish whether an applicant is within one of the categories specified in the regulations of the Department of State codified at 22 CFR 51.64(b) and therefore eligible to be issued a U.S. passport containing a special validation enabling him or her to make one round-trip to a restricted country or area, and to facilitate the application for a passport of such applicants.

Brenda S. Sprague,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services, Consular Affairs, Department of State.