Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and Overseas Embassies and Consulates-Passport and Citizenship Services Fee Changes, 53704-53709 [2015-22054]
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53704
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 173 / Tuesday, September 8, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
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[FR Doc. 2015–22011 Filed 9–4–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 22
[Public Notice: 9257]
RIN 1400–AD71
Schedule of Fees for Consular
Services, Department of State and
Overseas Embassies and
Consulates—Passport and Citizenship
Services Fee Changes
Department of State.
Interim final rule with request
for comment.
AGENCY:
rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with RULES
ACTION:
The Department of State
amends the Schedule of Fees for
Consular Services (Schedule) for certain
passport fees and citizenship services
fees. More specifically, the rule amends
the passport book application services
SUMMARY:
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15:42 Sep 04, 2015
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FDC No.
FDC date
5/5576
07/29/15
ILS OR LOC/DME RWY 1, Orig-B.
5/6313
5/6314
5/6315
5/6647
07/30/15
07/30/15
07/30/15
08/04/15
RNAV (GPS) RWY 31, Amdt 1.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 4, Amdt 1.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 22, Amdt 1.
ILS OR LOC RWY 18L, Amdt 7A.
5/6658
08/04/15
VOR/DME RWY 21, Amdt 3C.
5/7203
07/27/15
RNAV (RNP) Z RWY 22L, Amdt 1.
5/7474
07/27/15
ILS PRM Y RWY 4L, Orig-D.
5/7557
08/03/15
Takeoff Minimums and (Obstacle) DP, Amdt
1A.
5/8224
5/8225
5/8307
5/8308
5/8313
5/8314
5/8315
5/8316
5/8346
5/8351
5/8356
5/8382
5/8383
5/8386
5/8603
5/8608
5/9354
5/9355
5/9356
5/9363
5/9364
5/9365
5/9366
5/9367
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
07/27/15
08/05/15
08/05/15
08/05/15
07/29/15
07/29/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
08/03/15
RNAV (GPS) RWY 29, Amdt 1A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 11, Amdt 1A.
ILS OR LOC RWY 10R, Amdt 3B.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 10L, Amdt 1B.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 10R, Orig-A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 28L, Amdt 2A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 28R, Amdt 2C.
VOR RWY 10R, Amdt 9A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 13, Orig-A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 31, Orig-A.
Takeoff Minimums and (Obstacle) DP, Orig.
RNAV (RNP) Z RWY 2C, Amdt 2.
RNAV (RNP) Z RWY 2L, Amdt 2.
RNAV (GPS) Y RWY 2R, Amdt 2A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 22, Orig.
NDB RWY 7, Amdt 2.
ILS OR LOC RWY 15, Amdt 6.
VOR/DME RWY 15, Amdt 3.
NDB RWY 15, Amdt 6.
COPTER VOR RWY 33, Amdt 2A.
VOR–A, Amdt 2A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 33, Amdt 1A.
RNAV (GPS) RWY 15, Amdt 1A.
ILS OR LOC RWY 33, Amdt 1A.
fee and passport book security
surcharge. The Department is adjusting
these fees in light of the findings of the
most recent annual update to the Cost
of Service Model to ensure that the fees
for consular services better align with
the costs of providing those services.
The passport fee changes will not alter
the total fee paid by passport customers.
The rule also renames the
‘‘Administrative Processing of Formal
Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship’’ fee,
as the ‘‘Administrative Processing of
Request for Certificate of Loss of
Nationality’’ fee, applying the fee to any
request for a Certificate of Loss of
Nationality whether the individual has
relinquished nationality by taking an
oath of renunciation or by voluntarily
and intentionally performing another
potentially expatriating act specified by
statute.
DATES: Section 22.1, Items 2.(a), 2.(b),
and 2.(g) of this rule become effective
September 23, 2015. Section 22.1, Item
8 becomes effective November 9, 2015.
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Subject
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Written comments must be received on
or before November 9, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may
submit comments to the Department by
any of the following methods:
• Visit the Regulations.gov Web site
at: https://www.regulations.gov and
search for the Regulatory Information
Number (RIN) 1400–AD71 or docket
number DOS–2014–0016.
• Mail (paper, disk, or CD–ROM):
U.S. Department of State, Office of the
Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs
(CA/C), SA–17 8th Floor, Washington,
DC 20522–1707.
• Email: fees@state.gov. You must
include the RIN (1400–AD71) in the
subject line of your message.
• All comments should include the
commenter’s name, the organization the
commenter represents, if applicable,
and the commenter’s address. If the
Department is unable to read your
comment for any reason, and cannot
contact you for clarification, the
Department may not be able to consider
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 173 / Tuesday, September 8, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
your comment. After the conclusion of
the comment period, the Department
will publish a Final Rule (in which it
will address relevant comments) as
expeditiously as possible.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill
Warning, Special Assistant, Office of the
Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs,
Department of State; phone: 202–485–
6681, telefax: 202–485–6826; email:
fees@state.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The rule makes changes to the
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
of the Department of State’s Bureau of
Consular Affairs. The Department sets
and collects its fees based on the
concept of full cost recovery. The
Department completed its most recent
review of current consular fees and will
implement several changes to the
Schedule of Fees based on the costs of
services calculated by the Fiscal Year
2013 update to the Cost of Service
Model.
rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with RULES
What is the authority for this action?
The Department of State derives the
general authority to set fees based on the
cost of the consular services it provides,
and to charge those fees, from the
general user charges statute, 31 U.S.C.
9701. See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A)
(‘‘The head of each agency . . . may
prescribe regulations establishing the
charge for a service or thing of value
provided by the agency . . . based on
. . . the costs to the government.’’). As
implemented through Executive Order
10718 of June 27, 1957, 22 U.S.C. 4219
further authorizes the Department to
establish fees to be charged for official
services provided by U.S. embassies and
consulates. Other authorities allow the
Department to charge fees for consular
services, but not to determine the
amount of such fees because the amount
is statutorily determined.
Several statutes address specific fees
relating to passports. For instance, 22
U.S.C. 214 authorizes the Secretary of
State to set the passport application fee
by regulation. In addition, another
statute authorizes the Department to
collect and retain a surcharge on
passports to help pay for efforts to
enhance border security. See 8 U.S.C.
1714. Although this passport surcharge
was originally frozen statutorily at $12,
subsequent legislation authorized the
Department to amend this surcharge
administratively, provided, among other
things, that the resulting surcharge is
‘‘reasonably related to the costs of
providing services in connection with
the activity or item for which the
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15:42 Sep 04, 2015
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surcharges are charged.’’ Public Law
109–472, 6, 120 Stat. 3554, reproduced
at 8 U.S.C. 1714 (note).
Certain people are exempted by law
or regulation from paying specific fees.
These are noted in the Schedule of Fees.
They include, for instance, exemptions
from the passport execution and
application fees for officers or
employees of the United States
government proceeding abroad in the
discharge of official duties. See 22
U.S.C. 214; 22 CFR 51.52(b).
Although the funds collected for
many consular fees must be deposited
into the general fund of the Treasury
pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3302(b), various
statutes permit the Department to retain
some or all of the fee revenue it collects.
For example, the Department retains the
immigrant visa and passport security
surcharges, see 8 U.S.C. 1714, but the
portion of the passport application fee
not related to the Western Hemisphere
Travel Initiative is deposited into the
general fund of the Treasury.
The Department last changed fees for
passport services in an interim final rule
dated June 28, 2010. See Department of
State Schedule of Fees for Consular
Services, Department of State and
Overseas Embassies and Consulates, 22
CFR part 22 (75 FR 36522). Those
changes to the Schedule went into effect
July 13, 2010. A final rule regarding
those fees was published on February 2,
2012 (77 FR 5177). The Department last
changed fees for visa and citizenship
services in an interim final rule dated
August 28, 2014. See Schedule of Fees
for Consular Services, Department of
State and Overseas Embassies and
Consulates—Visa and Citizenship
Services Fee Changes, 22 CFR part 22
(79 FR 51247). That change to the
Schedule went into effect on September
12, 2014. A final rule regarding those
fees was published on August 25, 2015
(80 FR 51464).
Some fees in the Schedule, including
Items 20(a) and (b), 31(a) and (b) and
35(c), are set by the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS). These DHS
fees were most recently updated by that
agency on November 23, 2010, and are
subject to change in the future. See 75
FR 58962. The Department lists these
DHS fees in the Department Schedule of
Fees for cashiering purposes only. The
Department has no authority to set DHS
fees, which are listed at 8 CFR
103.7(b)(1).
Why is the department adjusting
certain passport and citizenship
services fees at this time?
Consistent with OMB Circular A–25
guidelines, the Department recently
completed a fee review using its Cost of
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53705
Service Model. This review was
conducted from September 2013
through May 2014 and provides the
basis for updating the Schedule. The
results of that review are outlined in
this rule.1 While fees are set in
accordance with full cost recovery, there
are limited circumstances, such as the
passport book and card application fees
for minors, in which costs are allocated
to related fees or the Department
charges a fee that is lower than the cost
of providing the service. This may be
done in order to account for statutory
requirements or the potential impact on
the public of setting those fees at a
higher level. See 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)
(user charges based on costs to the
government, the value of the service to
the recipient, the public policy or
interest served, and other relevant facts).
Similar to the 2012 fee review, upon
which the current Schedule is based,
costs are generated by an activity-based
costing model that takes into account all
costs to the U.S. government. Unlike a
typical accounting system, which
accounts for only traditional generalledger-type costs such as salaries,
supplies, travel and other business
expenses, activity-based costing (ABC)
models measure the costs of activities,
or processes, and then provide an
additional view of costs by the products
and services produced by an
organization through the identification
of the key cost drivers of the activities.
Below is a description of activity-based
costing excerpted from the
Supplemental Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking published on March 24,
2010 (75 FR 14111).
Activity-Based Costing Generally
OMB Circular A–25 states that it is
the objective of the United States
Government to ‘‘(a) ensure that each
service, sale, or use of Government
goods or resources provided by an
agency to specific recipients be selfsustaining; [and] (b) promote efficient
allocation of the Nation’s resources by
establishing charges for special benefits
provided to the recipient that are at least
as great as costs to the Government of
providing the special benefits . . .’’
OMB Circular A–25, 5(a)–(b); see also 31
U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (agency ‘‘may
prescribe regulations establishing the
charge for a service or thing of value
provided by the agency . . . based on
. . . the costs to the Government . . .’’).
To set prices that are ‘‘self-sustaining,’’
the Department must determine the full
cost of providing consular services.
1 To request more information about the Cost of
Service model, please send your request using one
of the methods in the Addresses section above.
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 173 / Tuesday, September 8, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
Following guidance provided in
Statement 4 of OMB’s Statement of
Federal Financial Accounting Standards
(SFFAS), available at https://
www.fasab.gov/pdffiles/sffas-4.pdf, the
Department chose to develop and use an
activity-based costing (ABC) model to
determine the full cost of the services
listed in its Schedule of Fees, both those
whose fee the Department proposes to
change, and those whose fee will remain
unchanged from prior years. The
Department refers to the specific ABC
model that underpins the proposed fees
as the ‘‘Cost of Service Model’’ or
‘‘CoSM.’’
The Government Accountability
Office (GAO) defines activity-based
costing as a ‘‘set of accounting methods
used to identify and describe costs and
required resources for activities within
processes.’’ Because an organization can
use the same staff and resources
(computer equipment, production
facilities, etc.) to produce multiple
products or services, ABC models seek
to precisely identify and assign costs to
processes and activities and then to
individual products and services
through the identification of key cost
drivers referred to as ‘‘resource drivers’’
and ‘‘activity drivers.’’
Example: Imagine a government
agency that has a single facility it uses
to prepare and issue a single product—
a driver’s license. In this simple
scenario, every cost associated with that
facility (the salaries of employees, the
electricity to power the computer
terminals, the cost of a blank driver’s
license, etc.) can be attributed directly
to the cost of producing that single item.
If that agency wants to ensure that it is
charging a ‘‘self-sustaining’’ price for
driver’s licenses, it only has to divide its
total costs for a given time period by an
estimate of the number of driver’s
licenses to be produced during that
same time period.
However, if that agency issues
multiple products (driver’s licenses,
non-driver ID cards, etc.), has
employees that work on other activities
besides licenses (for example, accepting
payment for traffic tickets), and operates
out of multiple facilities it shares with
other agencies, it becomes much more
complex for the agency to determine
exactly how much it costs to produce
any single product. In those instances,
the agency would need to know what
percent of time its employees spend on
each service and how much of its
overhead (rent, utilities, facilities
maintenance, etc.) can be allocated to
the delivery of each service to determine
the cost of producing each of its various
products—the driver’s license, the nondriver ID card, etc. Using an ABC model
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allows the agency to identify separate
costs for those different services.
Components of Activity-Based Costing
As noted in SFFAS Statement 4,
‘‘activity-based costing has gained broad
acceptance by manufacturing and
service industries as an effective
managerial tool’’ (SFFAS Statement 4,
147). There are no ‘‘off-the-shelf’’ ABC
models that allow the Department (or
any other entity) to simply populate a
few data points and generate an answer.
ABC models require financial and
accounting analysis and modeling skills
combined with a detailed understanding
of all the organization’s business
processes, which, in an entity the size
of the Department’s Bureau of Consular
Affairs, are exceedingly complex. More
specifically, ABC models require an
organization to:
• Identify all of the activities that are
required to produce a particular product
or service (‘‘activities’’);
• Identify all of the resources
allocated to the production of (costs)
that product or service (‘‘resources’’);
• Measure the quantity of resources
consumed (‘‘resource driver’’); and
• Measure the frequency and
intensity of demand placed on activities
to produce services (‘‘activity driver’’).
For additional details on an activitybased costing model, see the
Supplemental Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking published on March 24,
2010 (75 FR 14111).
Although much of the modeling
methodology has remained the same
between fee reviews, the methodology
for capturing the Department’s historical
support costs and projected costs has
been revised to reflect the change in the
Department’s workload. In order to
accurately account for the costs
associated with growing demand for
consular services, the current fee review
also incorporates two years of projected
costs in addition to two years of
historical costs and one year of current
costs. The new fees represent a
weighted average of the annual costs by
service for fiscal years 2011 through
2015. Costs for individual fiscal years
were weighted by the projected
workload volume for that year. These
weighted costs by fiscal year were then
added together to generate a single cost
per service upon which the fees are
determined.
Passport Book Application Services
The Department is decreasing the
application fee for an adult (age 16 and
older) passport book from $70 to $50,
and the application fee for a minor
(under age 16) passport book from $40
to $20. These changes apply to all
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applicants except those persons who are
statutorily exempted from paying fees.
The reduction in the passport
application fee (and corresponding
increase in the passport security
surcharge noted below) will result in a
reduction of funds deposited in the
general fund at the Treasury and an
increase in the revenue retained by the
Department of State. The passport fee
changes will not alter the total fee paid
by passport customers.
Since the passport book application
services fee was last changed in 2010,
the Department has enhanced its Cost of
Service Model to more accurately
identify which costs should be
attributed to the application fee and
which should be attributed to the
passport security surcharge. The
application fee includes all costs of
passport issuance and use that are not
included in the passport security
surcharge, such as the cost of providing
emergency services for American
citizens overseas and the cost of
collecting passport fees and initial data
entry through a lockbox service. The
2013 Cost of Service Model reflected
that these costs were lower than the
previous fee of $70 (including the
‘‘WHTI surcharge’’ described below)
and thus the Department is lowering the
fee to more precisely reflect these costs.
Because a minor passport book has a
validity of just five years, in contrast
with the ten-year validity period of an
adult passport book, the Department
charges a lower, below-cost fee for
minor passport books and allocates the
remainder of the cost of processing
minor passport book applications to the
adult passport application fee. The
Department is also decreasing the minor
passport book application fee by $20.
As described in 22 CFR 51.51(d), the
passport application services fee
incorporates a surcharge (the ‘‘Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative surcharge’’
or ‘‘WHTI surcharge’’) to recover the
costs of meeting the increased demand
for passports as a result of actions taken
to comply with section 7209(b) of Pub.
L. 108–458 (reproduced at 8 U.S.C. 1185
note) (‘‘WHTI’’). The 2013 Cost of
Service Model revealed that there has
been no change in the costs attributable
to WHTI and thus the surcharge remains
$22 for adults. This surcharge is
embedded within the passport book
application services fee and not charged
separately or separately itemized in the
Schedule of Fees, see 22 CFR 51.51(d)
(noting absence of separate itemization).
This portion of the application fee has
decreased from $22 to $20 for minors to
allow the Department to keep the
overall passport application fee for
minors (including the security
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surcharge, below) at $80, a reduced fee.
The Department may charge reduced
fees in order to account for statutory
requirements or the potential impact on
the public of setting those fees at a
higher level. See 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)
(user charges based on costs to the
government, the value of the service to
the recipient, the public policy or
interest served, and other relevant facts).
rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Passport Security Surcharge
The Department is increasing the
passport security surcharge, which is
applicable to all applicants except those
persons who are statutorily exempted
from paying fees, from $40 to $60. The
passport security surcharge includes
costs associated with the passport
application processing fee that support
enhanced border security, such as the
secure book and card materials, passport
printers, and compensation associated
with passport adjudication, including
fraud prevention. The 2013 Cost of
Service Model results indicated that
these costs amount to approximately
$60 per passport. This change will
result in a reduction of revenue
deposited in the general fund of the
Treasury and increase the revenue
retained by the Department of State.
This fee increase is due in part to new
technology and more secure passport
materials since 2010. See 8 U.S.C. 1714
and Public Law 109–472, 120 Stat. 3554,
reproduced at 8 U.S.C. 1714 note.
Documentation for Loss of Nationality
The Department is expanding the
application of and renaming item 8 in
the Schedule of Fees to ‘‘Administrative
Processing of Request for Certificate of
Loss of Nationality.’’ The fee will be
applied to cover not only services to
U.S. nationals (i.e., U.S. citizens and
non-citizen nationals) who relinquish
nationality by taking the oath of
renunciation under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5),
but also to cover services to U.S.
nationals who relinquish nationality
under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1) to 1481(a)(4)
or any earlier-in-time relinquishment
statutes administered by the Department
of State and request a Certificate of Loss
of Nationality. Currently, the fee is paid
by those taking the oath of renunciation
under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5) at the time the
oath is sworn. The fee would be
collected from an individual claiming to
have relinquished nationality at the
time that person requests the Certificate
of Loss of Nationality (that is, after
completing Form DS–4079 and signing
before a consular officer Part II of Form
DS–4079 entitled ‘‘Statement of
Voluntary Relinquishment of U.S.
Citizenship’’). The Fiscal Year 2012 Cost
of Service Model update demonstrated
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15:42 Sep 04, 2015
Jkt 235001
that documenting a U.S. national’s
relinquishment of nationality is
extremely costly whether the service is
for a relinquishment under 8 U.S.C.
1481(a)(1) to 1481(a)(4) or a
relinquishment by renunciation under 8
U.S.C. 1481(a)(5). Both require
American consular officers overseas to
spend substantial amounts of time to
accept, process, and adjudicate cases.
The cost of the service is not limited to
the time consular officers spend with
individuals prior to and at
appointments. The application is
reviewed both overseas and
domestically to ensure full compliance
with the law. The consular officer must
determine that the individual is indeed
a U.S. national, advise the individual on
the consequences of loss of nationality,
and ensure that the individual fully
understands the consequences of loss,
including the inability to reside in the
United States unless properly
documented as an alien. Through
documentary review, consideration of
the individual’s circumstances, and
careful interviewing, the consular
officer also must determine whether the
individual is seeking loss of nationality
voluntarily and with the requisite
intent, as required by U.S. Supreme
Court case law and by statute (8 U.S.C.
1481). This determination can be
especially demanding in the case of
minors or individuals with a
developmental disability or mental
illness.
The consular officer must also ensure
that the commission of an expatriating
act was as prescribed by statute, which
is often an issue in non-renunciation
relinquishment cases. The loss of
nationality service must be documented
on several forms and in consular
systems as well as in a memorandum
from the consular officer to the
Department’s Directorate of Overseas
Citizens Services in Washington, DC
(‘‘OCS’’), in the Bureau of Consular
Affairs. All forms and memoranda are
closely reviewed in OCS by a country
officer and a senior approving officer,
and may include consultation with legal
advisers. This review entails close
examination of whether the
requirements of voluntariness and
intent are satisfied in the individual
case. Some applications require
multiple rounds of correspondence
between post and the Department. The
final approval of the loss of nationality
must be done by law within the
Department (8 U.S.C. 1501), by OCS,
after which the case is returned to the
consular officer overseas for final
delivery of the Certificate of Loss of
Nationality to the individual. In
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53707
addition, every individual issued a
Certificate of Loss of Nationality is
advised of the possibility of seeking a
future Administrative Review of the loss
of nationality, a time-consuming process
that is conducted by OCS’s Office of
Legal Affairs.
Currently, nationals who renounce
nationality pay a fee of $2,350, while
nationals who apply for documentation
of relinquishment of nationality by the
voluntary commission of an expatriating
act with the intention to lose
nationality, do not pay a fee. However
the services performed in both
situations are similar, requiring close
and detailed case-by-case review of the
factors involved in a request for a
Certificate of Loss of Nationality, and
both result in similar costs to the
Department.
In the past, individuals seldom
requested Certificates of Loss of
Nationality from the Department to
document relinquishment. Although the
Department was aware that an
individual relinquishment service was
among the most time consuming of
consular services, it was rarely
performed so the overall cost to the
Department was low and the
Department did not establish a fee.
Requests for a Certificate of Loss of
Nationality on the basis of a nonrenunciatory relinquishment have
increased significantly in recent years,
and the Department expects the number
to grow in the future, causing the total
cost of this service to increase. At the
same time, the Department funds
consular services completely from user
fees. The Cost of Service Model
continues to demonstrate that such costs
are incurred by the Department when
accepting, processing, and adjudicating
relinquishment of nationality cases;
therefore, the Department will collect a
fee from all individuals seeking a
Certificate of Loss of Nationality. Taking
into account the costs of both
renunciation and non-renunciation
relinquishment processes, the fee will
be $2,350.
Regulatory Findings
Administrative Procedure Act
The Department is publishing this
rule as an interim final rule with request
for comment, with a 60-day provision
for post-promulgation comments and
with an effective date for § 22.1, Items
2.(a), 2.(b), and 2.(g) of less than 30 days
from the date of publication, based on
the ‘‘good cause’’ exception set forth at
5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and 553(d)(3).
Delaying implementation of this rule
would be contrary to the public interest
because consular services are directly
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funded by user fees, not by appropriated
funds. Each day that the Department is
not collecting adequate user fees,
services provided by the Department to
citizens, nationals, and other customers
worldwide suffer an immediate
degradation. For example, the passport
security surcharge change will provide
approximately $1,000,000 per day to
continue timely and secure passport
services in a sustainable manner. There
is no backup source of funds for
consular services. Therefore, the
Department finds that the delay
involved in publishing this rule for
notice and comment would cause
immediate harm to the ability of the
Department to provide these services.
impact on a substantial number of small
entities as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
The Department has reviewed this
rule to ensure its consistency with the
regulatory philosophy and principles set
The Department has reviewed this
rule and, by approving it, certifies that
it will not have a significant economic
Item No.
Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
This rule will not result in the
expenditure by state, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more
in any year, and it will not significantly
or uniquely affect small governments.
Therefore, no actions were deemed
necessary under the provisions of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501–1504.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996
This rule is not a major rule as
defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
New fee
Current fee
Change in fee
forth in the Executive Orders. This rule
has been submitted to OMB for review.
This rule is necessary in light of the
Department of State’s Fiscal Year 2013
update to the Cost of Service Model
finding that the cost of processing
passports has changed since those fees
were last amended in 2010. The
Department is setting the new fees in
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 9701 and
other applicable legal authorities, as
described in detail above. See, e.g., 31
U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (‘‘The head of each
agency . . . may prescribe regulations
establishing the charge for a service or
thing of value provided by the agency
. . . based on . . . the costs to the
government.’’). This regulation sets the
fees for consular services at the amount
required to recover the costs associated
with providing that service.
Details of the fee changes are as
follows:
Estimated annual
number of
applications 1
Percentage
increase
Estimated
change in annual
fees collected 2
SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
PASSPORT AND CITIZENSHIP SERVICES
2. Passport Book Application Services for: 3
(a) Applicants age 16
or over (including
renewals) ................
(b) Applicants under
age 16 ....................
(g) Passport book security surcharge
(enhanced border
security fee) ...........
8. Administrative Processing of Request for
Certificate of Loss of
Nationality 4
(a.) Oath of renunciation .......................
(b.) Relinquishment ...
Total ....................
*
$50
$70
¥$20
¥29
10,840,438
¥$216,808,760
20
40
¥20
¥50
2,276,122
¥$45,522,440
60
40
20
50
13,116,560
$262,331,200
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
2,350
2,350
2,350
0
0
2,350
0
N/A
5,986
559
0
$1,313,650
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
$1,313,650
*
*
*
*
*
*
1 Based
on projected FY 2015 workload.
on projected FY 2015 workload.
shift of $20 between the passport application fee and the passport security surcharge will result in a reduction in funds deposited in the
general fund of the Treasury and an increase in the funds retained by State.
4 The existing fee definition covers a projected 5,986 applicants renouncing their U.S. nationality in FY 2015. This rule expands the definition of
the fee to cover an additional projected 559 applicants who will relinquish their nationality in FY 2015. The total volume of applicants paying this
fee is projected to be 6,545, if in effect for all of FY 2015.
2 Based
rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with RULES
3 The
Executive Orders 12372 and 13132
This regulation will not have
substantial direct effects on the states,
on the relationship between the national
government and the states, or on the
distribution of power and
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:42 Sep 04, 2015
Jkt 235001
responsibilities among the various
levels of government. Therefore, in
accordance with section 6 of Executive
Order 13132, it is determined that this
rule does not have sufficient federalism
implications to require consultations or
PO 00000
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Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
warrant the preparation of a federalism
summary impact statement. The
regulations implementing Executive
Order 12372 regarding
intergovernmental consultation on
E:\FR\FM\08SER1.SGM
08SER1
53709
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 173 / Tuesday, September 8, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
federal programs and activities do not
apply to this regulation.
requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
Executive Order 13175
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 22
The Department has determined that
this rulemaking will not have tribal
implications, will not impose
substantial direct compliance costs on
Indian tribal governments, and will not
preempt tribal law. Accordingly, the
requirements of Executive Order 13175
do not apply to this rulemaking.
Consular services, Fees, Passports.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in
the preamble, 22 CFR part 22 is
amended as follows:
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not impose any new
reporting or record-keeping
PART 22—SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR
CONSULAR SERVICES—
DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND
FOREIGN SERVICE
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101 note, 1153 note,
1183a note, 1351, 1351 note, 1714, 1714 note;
10 U.S.C. 2602(c); 11 U.S.C. 1157 note; 22
U.S.C. 214, 214 note, 1475e, 2504(a), 4201,
4206, 4215, 4219, 6551; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Exec.
Order 10,718, 22 FR 4632 (1957); Exec. Order
11,295, 31 FR 10603 (1966).
2. Section 22.1 is amended by:
a. Revising Items 2.(a), (b), and (g),
effective September 23, 2015; and
■ b. Revising Item 8, effective November
9, 2015.
The revisions read as follows:
■
■
§ 22.1
1. The authority citation for part 22
continues to read as follows:
■
*
Schedule of fees.
*
*
*
*
SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES
Item No.
Fee
PASSPORT AND CITIZENSHIP SERVICES
*
*
*
*
*
*
2. Passport Book Application Services for: .........................................................................................................................................
(a) Applicants age 16 or over (including renewals) .....................................................................................................................
(b) Applicants under age 16 .........................................................................................................................................................
*
........................
50
20
*
*
*
*
*
*
(g) Passport book security surcharge (enhanced border security fee) ........................................................................................
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
8. Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality ...................................................................................
*
*
*
*
*
*
rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Dated: August 28, 2015.
Patrick F. Kennedy,
Under Secretary of State for Management,
U.S. Department of State.
requirements were previously amended
by Department of Housing and Urban
Development Appropriations Act, 2014
(2014 Appropriations Act). This interim
rule amends HUD regulations
[FR Doc. 2015–22054 Filed 9–4–15; 8:45 am]
implementing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014
BILLING CODE 4710–06–P
statutory language regarding public
housing flat rents to allow PHAs to take
advantage of the FY 2015 authority that
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
provides PHAs with more flexibility in
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
setting flat rents. This interim rule
supersedes the portion of a proposed
24 CFR Part 960
rule issued by HUD earlier this year that
[Docket No. FR 5743–I–02]
addressed the issue of setting flat rents
in public housing, and HUD continues
RIN 2577–AC94
to seek comment on this issue.
Streamlining Administrative
DATES: Effective Date: October 8, 2015.
Regulations for Public Housing:
Comment Due Date: November 9,
Revisions to Public Housing Flat Rents 2015.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant
invited to submit comments regarding
Secretary for Public and Indian
this interim rule. All communications
Housing, HUD.
must refer to the above docket number
ACTION: Interim rule.
and title. There are two methods for
SUMMARY: Section 238 of the Department submitting public comments.
1. Submission of Comments by Mail.
of Housing and Urban Development
Comments may be submitted by mail to
Appropriations Act, 2015 (2015
the Regulations Division, Office of
Appropriations Act) amended the
General Counsel, Department of
requirements in the United States
Housing and Urban Development, 451
Housing Act of 1937 (1937 Act) for
7th Street SW., Room 10276,
public housing agencies (PHAs) to set
Washington, DC 20410–0500.
flat rents in public housing. These
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:42 Sep 04, 2015
Jkt 235001
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
*
60
2,350
*
2. Electronic Submission of
Comments. Interested persons may
submit comments electronically through
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly
encourages commenters to submit
comments electronically. Electronic
submission of comments allows the
commenter maximum time to prepare
and submit a comment, ensures timely
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to
make comments immediately available
to the public. Comments submitted
electronically through the
www.regulations.gov Web site can be
viewed by other commenters and
interested members of the public.
Commenters should follow the
instructions provided on that site to
submit comments electronically.
Note: To receive consideration as public
comments, comments must be submitted
through one of the two methods specified
above. Again, all submissions must refer to
the docket number and title of the rule.
No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile
(fax) comments are not acceptable.
Public Inspection of Public
Comments. All properly submitted
comments and communications
submitted to HUD will be available for
public inspection and copying between
E:\FR\FM\08SER1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 173 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53704-53709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22054]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 22
[Public Notice: 9257]
RIN 1400-AD71
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and
Overseas Embassies and Consulates--Passport and Citizenship Services
Fee Changes
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of State amends the Schedule of Fees for
Consular Services (Schedule) for certain passport fees and citizenship
services fees. More specifically, the rule amends the passport book
application services fee and passport book security surcharge. The
Department is adjusting these fees in light of the findings of the most
recent annual update to the Cost of Service Model to ensure that the
fees for consular services better align with the costs of providing
those services. The passport fee changes will not alter the total fee
paid by passport customers. The rule also renames the ``Administrative
Processing of Formal Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship'' fee, as the
``Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of
Nationality'' fee, applying the fee to any request for a Certificate of
Loss of Nationality whether the individual has relinquished nationality
by taking an oath of renunciation or by voluntarily and intentionally
performing another potentially expatriating act specified by statute.
DATES: Section 22.1, Items 2.(a), 2.(b), and 2.(g) of this rule become
effective September 23, 2015. Section 22.1, Item 8 becomes effective
November 9, 2015. Written comments must be received on or before
November 9, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments to the Department by
any of the following methods:
Visit the Regulations.gov Web site at: https://www.regulations.gov and search for the Regulatory Information Number
(RIN) 1400-AD71 or docket number DOS-2014-0016.
Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM): U.S. Department of State,
Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA/C), SA-17 8th
Floor, Washington, DC 20522-1707.
Email: fees@state.gov. You must include the RIN (1400-
AD71) in the subject line of your message.
All comments should include the commenter's name, the
organization the commenter represents, if applicable, and the
commenter's address. If the Department is unable to read your comment
for any reason, and cannot contact you for clarification, the
Department may not be able to consider
[[Page 53705]]
your comment. After the conclusion of the comment period, the
Department will publish a Final Rule (in which it will address relevant
comments) as expeditiously as possible.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Warning, Special Assistant,
Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of
State; phone: 202-485-6681, telefax: 202-485-6826; email:
fees@state.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The rule makes changes to the Schedule of Fees for Consular
Services of the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs. The
Department sets and collects its fees based on the concept of full cost
recovery. The Department completed its most recent review of current
consular fees and will implement several changes to the Schedule of
Fees based on the costs of services calculated by the Fiscal Year 2013
update to the Cost of Service Model.
What is the authority for this action?
The Department of State derives the general authority to set fees
based on the cost of the consular services it provides, and to charge
those fees, from the general user charges statute, 31 U.S.C. 9701. See,
e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (``The head of each agency . . . may
prescribe regulations establishing the charge for a service or thing of
value provided by the agency . . . based on . . . the costs to the
government.''). As implemented through Executive Order 10718 of June
27, 1957, 22 U.S.C. 4219 further authorizes the Department to establish
fees to be charged for official services provided by U.S. embassies and
consulates. Other authorities allow the Department to charge fees for
consular services, but not to determine the amount of such fees because
the amount is statutorily determined.
Several statutes address specific fees relating to passports. For
instance, 22 U.S.C. 214 authorizes the Secretary of State to set the
passport application fee by regulation. In addition, another statute
authorizes the Department to collect and retain a surcharge on
passports to help pay for efforts to enhance border security. See 8
U.S.C. 1714. Although this passport surcharge was originally frozen
statutorily at $12, subsequent legislation authorized the Department to
amend this surcharge administratively, provided, among other things,
that the resulting surcharge is ``reasonably related to the costs of
providing services in connection with the activity or item for which
the surcharges are charged.'' Public Law 109-472, 6, 120 Stat. 3554,
reproduced at 8 U.S.C. 1714 (note).
Certain people are exempted by law or regulation from paying
specific fees. These are noted in the Schedule of Fees. They include,
for instance, exemptions from the passport execution and application
fees for officers or employees of the United States government
proceeding abroad in the discharge of official duties. See 22 U.S.C.
214; 22 CFR 51.52(b).
Although the funds collected for many consular fees must be
deposited into the general fund of the Treasury pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
3302(b), various statutes permit the Department to retain some or all
of the fee revenue it collects. For example, the Department retains the
immigrant visa and passport security surcharges, see 8 U.S.C. 1714, but
the portion of the passport application fee not related to the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative is deposited into the general fund of the
Treasury.
The Department last changed fees for passport services in an
interim final rule dated June 28, 2010. See Department of State
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and
Overseas Embassies and Consulates, 22 CFR part 22 (75 FR 36522). Those
changes to the Schedule went into effect July 13, 2010. A final rule
regarding those fees was published on February 2, 2012 (77 FR 5177).
The Department last changed fees for visa and citizenship services in
an interim final rule dated August 28, 2014. See Schedule of Fees for
Consular Services, Department of State and Overseas Embassies and
Consulates--Visa and Citizenship Services Fee Changes, 22 CFR part 22
(79 FR 51247). That change to the Schedule went into effect on
September 12, 2014. A final rule regarding those fees was published on
August 25, 2015 (80 FR 51464).
Some fees in the Schedule, including Items 20(a) and (b), 31(a) and
(b) and 35(c), are set by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
These DHS fees were most recently updated by that agency on November
23, 2010, and are subject to change in the future. See 75 FR 58962. The
Department lists these DHS fees in the Department Schedule of Fees for
cashiering purposes only. The Department has no authority to set DHS
fees, which are listed at 8 CFR 103.7(b)(1).
Why is the department adjusting certain passport and citizenship
services fees at this time?
Consistent with OMB Circular A-25 guidelines, the Department
recently completed a fee review using its Cost of Service Model. This
review was conducted from September 2013 through May 2014 and provides
the basis for updating the Schedule. The results of that review are
outlined in this rule.\1\ While fees are set in accordance with full
cost recovery, there are limited circumstances, such as the passport
book and card application fees for minors, in which costs are allocated
to related fees or the Department charges a fee that is lower than the
cost of providing the service. This may be done in order to account for
statutory requirements or the potential impact on the public of setting
those fees at a higher level. See 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2) (user charges
based on costs to the government, the value of the service to the
recipient, the public policy or interest served, and other relevant
facts).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To request more information about the Cost of Service model,
please send your request using one of the methods in the Addresses
section above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similar to the 2012 fee review, upon which the current Schedule is
based, costs are generated by an activity-based costing model that
takes into account all costs to the U.S. government. Unlike a typical
accounting system, which accounts for only traditional general-ledger-
type costs such as salaries, supplies, travel and other business
expenses, activity-based costing (ABC) models measure the costs of
activities, or processes, and then provide an additional view of costs
by the products and services produced by an organization through the
identification of the key cost drivers of the activities. Below is a
description of activity-based costing excerpted from the Supplemental
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published on March 24, 2010 (75 FR
14111).
Activity-Based Costing Generally
OMB Circular A-25 states that it is the objective of the United
States Government to ``(a) ensure that each service, sale, or use of
Government goods or resources provided by an agency to specific
recipients be self-sustaining; [and] (b) promote efficient allocation
of the Nation's resources by establishing charges for special benefits
provided to the recipient that are at least as great as costs to the
Government of providing the special benefits . . .'' OMB Circular A-25,
5(a)-(b); see also 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (agency ``may prescribe
regulations establishing the charge for a service or thing of value
provided by the agency . . . based on . . . the costs to the Government
. . .''). To set prices that are ``self-sustaining,'' the Department
must determine the full cost of providing consular services.
[[Page 53706]]
Following guidance provided in Statement 4 of OMB's Statement of
Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS), available at https://www.fasab.gov/pdffiles/sffas-4.pdf, the Department chose to develop and
use an activity-based costing (ABC) model to determine the full cost of
the services listed in its Schedule of Fees, both those whose fee the
Department proposes to change, and those whose fee will remain
unchanged from prior years. The Department refers to the specific ABC
model that underpins the proposed fees as the ``Cost of Service Model''
or ``CoSM.''
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) defines activity-based
costing as a ``set of accounting methods used to identify and describe
costs and required resources for activities within processes.'' Because
an organization can use the same staff and resources (computer
equipment, production facilities, etc.) to produce multiple products or
services, ABC models seek to precisely identify and assign costs to
processes and activities and then to individual products and services
through the identification of key cost drivers referred to as
``resource drivers'' and ``activity drivers.''
Example: Imagine a government agency that has a single facility it
uses to prepare and issue a single product--a driver's license. In this
simple scenario, every cost associated with that facility (the salaries
of employees, the electricity to power the computer terminals, the cost
of a blank driver's license, etc.) can be attributed directly to the
cost of producing that single item. If that agency wants to ensure that
it is charging a ``self-sustaining'' price for driver's licenses, it
only has to divide its total costs for a given time period by an
estimate of the number of driver's licenses to be produced during that
same time period.
However, if that agency issues multiple products (driver's
licenses, non-driver ID cards, etc.), has employees that work on other
activities besides licenses (for example, accepting payment for traffic
tickets), and operates out of multiple facilities it shares with other
agencies, it becomes much more complex for the agency to determine
exactly how much it costs to produce any single product. In those
instances, the agency would need to know what percent of time its
employees spend on each service and how much of its overhead (rent,
utilities, facilities maintenance, etc.) can be allocated to the
delivery of each service to determine the cost of producing each of its
various products--the driver's license, the non-driver ID card, etc.
Using an ABC model allows the agency to identify separate costs for
those different services.
Components of Activity-Based Costing
As noted in SFFAS Statement 4, ``activity-based costing has gained
broad acceptance by manufacturing and service industries as an
effective managerial tool'' (SFFAS Statement 4, 147). There are no
``off-the-shelf'' ABC models that allow the Department (or any other
entity) to simply populate a few data points and generate an answer.
ABC models require financial and accounting analysis and modeling
skills combined with a detailed understanding of all the organization's
business processes, which, in an entity the size of the Department's
Bureau of Consular Affairs, are exceedingly complex. More specifically,
ABC models require an organization to:
Identify all of the activities that are required to
produce a particular product or service (``activities'');
Identify all of the resources allocated to the production
of (costs) that product or service (``resources'');
Measure the quantity of resources consumed (``resource
driver''); and
Measure the frequency and intensity of demand placed on
activities to produce services (``activity driver'').
For additional details on an activity-based costing model, see the
Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published on March 24, 2010
(75 FR 14111).
Although much of the modeling methodology has remained the same
between fee reviews, the methodology for capturing the Department's
historical support costs and projected costs has been revised to
reflect the change in the Department's workload. In order to accurately
account for the costs associated with growing demand for consular
services, the current fee review also incorporates two years of
projected costs in addition to two years of historical costs and one
year of current costs. The new fees represent a weighted average of the
annual costs by service for fiscal years 2011 through 2015. Costs for
individual fiscal years were weighted by the projected workload volume
for that year. These weighted costs by fiscal year were then added
together to generate a single cost per service upon which the fees are
determined.
Passport Book Application Services
The Department is decreasing the application fee for an adult (age
16 and older) passport book from $70 to $50, and the application fee
for a minor (under age 16) passport book from $40 to $20. These changes
apply to all applicants except those persons who are statutorily
exempted from paying fees. The reduction in the passport application
fee (and corresponding increase in the passport security surcharge
noted below) will result in a reduction of funds deposited in the
general fund at the Treasury and an increase in the revenue retained by
the Department of State. The passport fee changes will not alter the
total fee paid by passport customers.
Since the passport book application services fee was last changed
in 2010, the Department has enhanced its Cost of Service Model to more
accurately identify which costs should be attributed to the application
fee and which should be attributed to the passport security surcharge.
The application fee includes all costs of passport issuance and use
that are not included in the passport security surcharge, such as the
cost of providing emergency services for American citizens overseas and
the cost of collecting passport fees and initial data entry through a
lockbox service. The 2013 Cost of Service Model reflected that these
costs were lower than the previous fee of $70 (including the ``WHTI
surcharge'' described below) and thus the Department is lowering the
fee to more precisely reflect these costs.
Because a minor passport book has a validity of just five years, in
contrast with the ten-year validity period of an adult passport book,
the Department charges a lower, below-cost fee for minor passport books
and allocates the remainder of the cost of processing minor passport
book applications to the adult passport application fee. The Department
is also decreasing the minor passport book application fee by $20.
As described in 22 CFR 51.51(d), the passport application services
fee incorporates a surcharge (the ``Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative surcharge'' or ``WHTI surcharge'') to recover the costs of
meeting the increased demand for passports as a result of actions taken
to comply with section 7209(b) of Pub. L. 108-458 (reproduced at 8
U.S.C. 1185 note) (``WHTI''). The 2013 Cost of Service Model revealed
that there has been no change in the costs attributable to WHTI and
thus the surcharge remains $22 for adults. This surcharge is embedded
within the passport book application services fee and not charged
separately or separately itemized in the Schedule of Fees, see 22 CFR
51.51(d) (noting absence of separate itemization). This portion of the
application fee has decreased from $22 to $20 for minors to allow the
Department to keep the overall passport application fee for minors
(including the security
[[Page 53707]]
surcharge, below) at $80, a reduced fee. The Department may charge
reduced fees in order to account for statutory requirements or the
potential impact on the public of setting those fees at a higher level.
See 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2) (user charges based on costs to the
government, the value of the service to the recipient, the public
policy or interest served, and other relevant facts).
Passport Security Surcharge
The Department is increasing the passport security surcharge, which
is applicable to all applicants except those persons who are
statutorily exempted from paying fees, from $40 to $60. The passport
security surcharge includes costs associated with the passport
application processing fee that support enhanced border security, such
as the secure book and card materials, passport printers, and
compensation associated with passport adjudication, including fraud
prevention. The 2013 Cost of Service Model results indicated that these
costs amount to approximately $60 per passport. This change will result
in a reduction of revenue deposited in the general fund of the Treasury
and increase the revenue retained by the Department of State. This fee
increase is due in part to new technology and more secure passport
materials since 2010. See 8 U.S.C. 1714 and Public Law 109-472, 120
Stat. 3554, reproduced at 8 U.S.C. 1714 note.
Documentation for Loss of Nationality
The Department is expanding the application of and renaming item 8
in the Schedule of Fees to ``Administrative Processing of Request for
Certificate of Loss of Nationality.'' The fee will be applied to cover
not only services to U.S. nationals (i.e., U.S. citizens and non-
citizen nationals) who relinquish nationality by taking the oath of
renunciation under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5), but also to cover services to
U.S. nationals who relinquish nationality under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1) to
1481(a)(4) or any earlier-in-time relinquishment statutes administered
by the Department of State and request a Certificate of Loss of
Nationality. Currently, the fee is paid by those taking the oath of
renunciation under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5) at the time the oath is sworn.
The fee would be collected from an individual claiming to have
relinquished nationality at the time that person requests the
Certificate of Loss of Nationality (that is, after completing Form DS-
4079 and signing before a consular officer Part II of Form DS-4079
entitled ``Statement of Voluntary Relinquishment of U.S.
Citizenship''). The Fiscal Year 2012 Cost of Service Model update
demonstrated that documenting a U.S. national's relinquishment of
nationality is extremely costly whether the service is for a
relinquishment under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(1) to 1481(a)(4) or a
relinquishment by renunciation under 8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5). Both require
American consular officers overseas to spend substantial amounts of
time to accept, process, and adjudicate cases. The cost of the service
is not limited to the time consular officers spend with individuals
prior to and at appointments. The application is reviewed both overseas
and domestically to ensure full compliance with the law. The consular
officer must determine that the individual is indeed a U.S. national,
advise the individual on the consequences of loss of nationality, and
ensure that the individual fully understands the consequences of loss,
including the inability to reside in the United States unless properly
documented as an alien. Through documentary review, consideration of
the individual's circumstances, and careful interviewing, the consular
officer also must determine whether the individual is seeking loss of
nationality voluntarily and with the requisite intent, as required by
U.S. Supreme Court case law and by statute (8 U.S.C. 1481). This
determination can be especially demanding in the case of minors or
individuals with a developmental disability or mental illness.
The consular officer must also ensure that the commission of an
expatriating act was as prescribed by statute, which is often an issue
in non-renunciation relinquishment cases. The loss of nationality
service must be documented on several forms and in consular systems as
well as in a memorandum from the consular officer to the Department's
Directorate of Overseas Citizens Services in Washington, DC (``OCS''),
in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. All forms and memoranda are closely
reviewed in OCS by a country officer and a senior approving officer,
and may include consultation with legal advisers. This review entails
close examination of whether the requirements of voluntariness and
intent are satisfied in the individual case. Some applications require
multiple rounds of correspondence between post and the Department. The
final approval of the loss of nationality must be done by law within
the Department (8 U.S.C. 1501), by OCS, after which the case is
returned to the consular officer overseas for final delivery of the
Certificate of Loss of Nationality to the individual. In addition,
every individual issued a Certificate of Loss of Nationality is advised
of the possibility of seeking a future Administrative Review of the
loss of nationality, a time-consuming process that is conducted by
OCS's Office of Legal Affairs.
Currently, nationals who renounce nationality pay a fee of $2,350,
while nationals who apply for documentation of relinquishment of
nationality by the voluntary commission of an expatriating act with the
intention to lose nationality, do not pay a fee. However the services
performed in both situations are similar, requiring close and detailed
case-by-case review of the factors involved in a request for a
Certificate of Loss of Nationality, and both result in similar costs to
the Department.
In the past, individuals seldom requested Certificates of Loss of
Nationality from the Department to document relinquishment. Although
the Department was aware that an individual relinquishment service was
among the most time consuming of consular services, it was rarely
performed so the overall cost to the Department was low and the
Department did not establish a fee. Requests for a Certificate of Loss
of Nationality on the basis of a non-renunciatory relinquishment have
increased significantly in recent years, and the Department expects the
number to grow in the future, causing the total cost of this service to
increase. At the same time, the Department funds consular services
completely from user fees. The Cost of Service Model continues to
demonstrate that such costs are incurred by the Department when
accepting, processing, and adjudicating relinquishment of nationality
cases; therefore, the Department will collect a fee from all
individuals seeking a Certificate of Loss of Nationality. Taking into
account the costs of both renunciation and non-renunciation
relinquishment processes, the fee will be $2,350.
Regulatory Findings
Administrative Procedure Act
The Department is publishing this rule as an interim final rule
with request for comment, with a 60-day provision for post-promulgation
comments and with an effective date for Sec. 22.1, Items 2.(a), 2.(b),
and 2.(g) of less than 30 days from the date of publication, based on
the ``good cause'' exception set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and
553(d)(3). Delaying implementation of this rule would be contrary to
the public interest because consular services are directly
[[Page 53708]]
funded by user fees, not by appropriated funds. Each day that the
Department is not collecting adequate user fees, services provided by
the Department to citizens, nationals, and other customers worldwide
suffer an immediate degradation. For example, the passport security
surcharge change will provide approximately $1,000,000 per day to
continue timely and secure passport services in a sustainable manner.
There is no backup source of funds for consular services. Therefore,
the Department finds that the delay involved in publishing this rule
for notice and comment would cause immediate harm to the ability of the
Department to provide these services.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Department has reviewed this rule and, by approving it,
certifies that it will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6).
Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
This rule will not result in the expenditure by state, local, and
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
million or more in any year, and it will not significantly or uniquely
affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed necessary
under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2
U.S.C. 1501-1504.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
This rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
The Department has reviewed this rule to ensure its consistency
with the regulatory philosophy and principles set forth in the
Executive Orders. This rule has been submitted to OMB for review.
This rule is necessary in light of the Department of State's Fiscal
Year 2013 update to the Cost of Service Model finding that the cost of
processing passports has changed since those fees were last amended in
2010. The Department is setting the new fees in accordance with 31
U.S.C. 9701 and other applicable legal authorities, as described in
detail above. See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (``The head of each
agency . . . may prescribe regulations establishing the charge for a
service or thing of value provided by the agency . . . based on . . .
the costs to the government.''). This regulation sets the fees for
consular services at the amount required to recover the costs
associated with providing that service.
Details of the fee changes are as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated annual Estimated change
Item No. New fee Current fee Change in fee Percentage number of in annual fees
increase applications \1\ collected \2\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PASSPORT AND CITIZENSHIP SERVICES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Passport Book Application Services for: ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................
\3\
(a) Applicants age 16 or over (including $50 $70 -$20 -29 10,840,438 -$216,808,760
renewals)..............................
(b) Applicants under age 16............. 20 40 -20 -50 2,276,122 -$45,522,440
(g) Passport book security surcharge 60 40 20 50 13,116,560 $262,331,200
(enhanced border security fee).........
8. Administrative Processing of Request for ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................
Certificate of Loss of Nationality \4\
(a.) Oath of renunciation............... 2,350 2,350 0 0 5,986 0
(b.) Relinquishment..................... 2,350 0 2,350 N/A 559 $1,313,650
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total............................... ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ $1,313,650
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on projected FY 2015 workload.
\2\ Based on projected FY 2015 workload.
\3\ The shift of $20 between the passport application fee and the passport security surcharge will result in a reduction in funds deposited in the
general fund of the Treasury and an increase in the funds retained by State.
\4\ The existing fee definition covers a projected 5,986 applicants renouncing their U.S. nationality in FY 2015. This rule expands the definition of
the fee to cover an additional projected 559 applicants who will relinquish their nationality in FY 2015. The total volume of applicants paying this
fee is projected to be 6,545, if in effect for all of FY 2015.
Executive Orders 12372 and 13132
This regulation will not have substantial direct effects on the
states, on the relationship between the national government and the
states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with section 6
of Executive Order 13132, it is determined that this rule does not have
sufficient federalism implications to require consultations or warrant
the preparation of a federalism summary impact statement. The
regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding
intergovernmental consultation on
[[Page 53709]]
federal programs and activities do not apply to this regulation.
Executive Order 13175
The Department has determined that this rulemaking will not have
tribal implications, will not impose substantial direct compliance
costs on Indian tribal governments, and will not preempt tribal law.
Accordingly, the requirements of Executive Order 13175 do not apply to
this rulemaking.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule does not impose any new reporting or record-keeping
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 22
Consular services, Fees, Passports.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, 22 CFR part 22
is amended as follows:
PART 22--SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES--DEPARTMENT OF
STATE AND FOREIGN SERVICE
0
1. The authority citation for part 22 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101 note, 1153 note, 1183a note, 1351,
1351 note, 1714, 1714 note; 10 U.S.C. 2602(c); 11 U.S.C. 1157 note;
22 U.S.C. 214, 214 note, 1475e, 2504(a), 4201, 4206, 4215, 4219,
6551; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Exec. Order 10,718, 22 FR 4632 (1957); Exec.
Order 11,295, 31 FR 10603 (1966).
0
2. Section 22.1 is amended by:
0
a. Revising Items 2.(a), (b), and (g), effective September 23, 2015;
and
0
b. Revising Item 8, effective November 9, 2015.
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 22.1 Schedule of fees.
* * * * *
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item No. Fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PASSPORT AND CITIZENSHIP SERVICES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
2. Passport Book Application Services for:.............. ..............
(a) Applicants age 16 or over (including renewals).. 50
(b) Applicants under age 16......................... 20
* * * * * * *
(g) Passport book security surcharge (enhanced 60
border security fee)...............................
* * * * * * *
8. Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate 2,350
of Loss of Nationality.................................
* * * * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dated: August 28, 2015.
Patrick F. Kennedy,
Under Secretary of State for Management, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2015-22054 Filed 9-4-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P