Waiver of Personal Appearance and In-Person Oath Requirement for Certain Immigrant Visa Applicants Due to COVID-19, 70735-70740 [2021-26657]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 236 / Monday, December 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
information in part 807, subpart E,
regarding premarket notification
submissions, have been approved under
OMB control number 0910–0120.
List of Subjects in 21 CFR Part 876
Medical devices.
Therefore, under the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act and under
authority delegated to the Commissioner
of Food and Drugs, 21 CFR part 876 is
amended as follows:
PART 876—GASTROENTEROLOGYUROLOGY DEVICES
1. The authority citation for part 876
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 351, 360, 360c, 360e,
360j, 360l, 371.
2. Add § 876.2100 to subpart C to read
as follows:
■
§ 876.2100
tool.
Pressure ulcer management
(a) Identification. A pressure ulcer
management tool is a prescription
device intended for patients at risk of
developing pressure ulcers. The device
provides output that supports a user’s
decision to increase intervention. The
device is an adjunct tool for pressure
ulcer management that is not intended
for detection or diagnostic purposes.
(b) Classification. Class I (general
controls). The device is exempt from the
premarket notification procedures in
subpart E of part 807 of this chapter,
subject to the limitations in § 876.9.
Dated: December 8, 2021.
Lauren K. Roth,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021–26924 Filed 12–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 42
[Public Notice: 11460]
RIN 1400–AF20
Waiver of Personal Appearance and InPerson Oath Requirement for Certain
Immigrant Visa Applicants Due to
COVID–19
Department of State.
Final rule and temporary final
AGENCY:
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ACTION:
rule.
This temporary final rule
(TFR) provides flexibility for consular
officers to waive the personal
appearance of certain repeat immigrant
visa applicants who were approved for
an immigrant visa in the same
SUMMARY:
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classification and on the same basis as
the current application on or after
August 4, 2019. It also gives consular
officers discretion to allow this subset of
immigrant visa applicants to affirm the
accuracy of the contents of their
application without appearing in person
before a consular officer. This TFR is
effective immediately and expires after
24 months. The final rule portion of this
document reinstates parts of the
regulations with certain updates after
the expiration of the TFR.
DATES: Amendments in instructions 2
and 3 in this temporary final rule are
effective from December 13, 2021,
through December 13, 2023. The
amendment in instruction 4 is effective
December 13, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andrea Lage, Acting Senior Regulatory
Coordinator, Visa Services Directorate,
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department
of State; telephone (202) 485–7586,
VisaRegs@state.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What changes to 22 CFR 42.62 and
42.67 does this TFR make?
The Department is temporarily
authorizing consular officers, for 24
months, to waive, on a discretionary
basis, the requirements in 22 CFR 42.62
and 42.67 that an immigrant visa
applicant appear in person before and
be interviewed by a consular officer for
certain repeat immigrant visa
applicants. This TFR applies to
immigrant visa applicants who were
issued a U.S. immigrant visa on or after
August 4, 2019, who meet the following
additional criteria: Individuals who
would be eligible for a discretionary
waiver of personal appearance and
interview pursuant to this TFR must be
seeking an immigrant visa in the same
classification (or another classification
as the result of automatic conversion
due to the death or naturalization of the
petitioner of the previously issued
immigrant visa) and pursuant to the
same approved petition as their
previously approved application, and
they must continue to qualify for the
immigrant visa sought.
Under this TFR, the personal
appearance and interview of certain
applicants for an immigrant visa may be
waived in the discretion of the consular
officer, provided that the applicant is
willing to affirm under penalty of
perjury to the information provided on
the Online Immigrant Visa and Alien
Registration Application, Form DS–260
(or Form DS–230, Application for
Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration if
the consular officer authorizes the use of
that form). The consular officer may
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communicate with the applicant by
telephone or email, may request that the
applicant provide additional
information that the consular officer
deems necessary, and may request the
applicant to appear in person. If the
applicant identifies the need to change
responses to Form DS–260, the consular
officer or other authorized consular staff
can reopen the DS–260 for the applicant
to make changes to that form and re-sign
it under penalty of perjury.
This TFR will automatically expire 24
months after it takes effect. As the TFR
is designed to help address the problem
of applicants who are unable to travel
due to the COVID–19 pandemic and
who must meet specific time-limited
criteria, this TFR will no longer be
necessary as the pandemic becomes less
acute and ordinary travel resumes. The
Department believes that 24 months is
sufficient to process the cases described.
Pursuant to section 222(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),
8 U.S.C. 1202(a), every immigrant visa
applicant must make an application in
the form, manner, and place prescribed
by regulation. Except as may otherwise
be prescribed by regulations, every
immigrant visa application must ‘‘be
signed by the applicant in the presence
of the consular officer and verified by
the oath of the applicant administered
by the consular officer.’’ INA 222(e), 8
U.S.C. 1202(e). Regulations further
require immigrant visa applicants to be
interviewed by a consular officer. 22
CFR 42.62(b). This TFR provides an
exception to these personal appearance
and interview requirements pursuant to
INA 222(a) and (e), 8 U.S.C. 1202(a) and
(e).
II. Why is the Department promulgating
this TFR?
A. The COVID–19 Pandemic
On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services declared a
public health emergency under section
319 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 247d) in response to COVID–19.1
On March 13, 2020, then-President
Trump declared a National Emergency
concerning the COVID–19 outbreak to
control the spread of the virus that
causes COVID–19 in the United States.2
That proclamation declared that the
emergency began in the United States
on March 1, 2020. In addition to the
National Emergency, a variety of
Presidential Proclamations have
1 HHS, Determination of Public Health
Emergency, 85 FR 7316 (Feb. 7, 2020).
2 Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, Declaring
a National Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus
Disease (COVID–19) Outbreak, 85 FR 15337 (Mar.
18, 2020).
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suspended entry of certain noncitizens
into the United States since the public
health emergency began. On January 31,
2020, then-President Trump issued
Presidential Proclamation 9984, which,
subject to limitations, suspended and
limited the entry of certain noncitizens
who had been physically present in the
People’s Republic of China (excluding
the Special Administrative Regions of
Hong Kong and Macau) for the 14-day
period prior to their entry into the
United States.3 Similar suspensions of
entry were issued under Presidential
Proclamation 9992, dated February 29,
2020 (the Islamic Republic of Iran); 4
Presidential Proclamation 9993, dated
March 11, 2020 (the Schengen Area); 5
Presidential Proclamation 9996, dated
March 14, 2020 (the United Kingdom
(excluding overseas territories outside of
Europe) and the Republic of Ireland); 6
Presidential Proclamation 10014, dated
April 22, 2020 (immigrants who present
a risk to the U.S. labor market) 7
(subsequently revoked by Presidential
Proclamation 10149, dated February 24,
2021); 8 Presidential Proclamation
10041, dated May 24, 2020 (the
Federative Republic of Brazil); 9
Presidential Proclamation 10143, dated
January 25, 2021 (the Schengen Area,
the United Kingdom (excluding
overseas territories outside of Europe),
the Republic of Ireland, the Federative
Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of
South Africa); 10 and Presidential
3 Proclamation 9984 of January 31, 2020,
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Persons Who Pose a Risk of
Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Other
Appropriate Measures To Address This Risk, 85 FR
6709 (Feb. 5, 2020).
4 Proclamation 9992 of February 29, 2020,
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel
Coronavirus, 85 FR 12855 (Mar. 4, 2020).
5 Proclamation 9993 of March 14, 2020,
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel
Coronavirus, 85 FR 15045 (Mar. 16, 2020).
6 Proclamation 9996 of March 11, 2020,
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel
Coronavirus, 85 FR 15341 (Mar. 18, 2020).
7 Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020,
Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a
Risk to the United States Labor Market During the
Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel
Coronavirus Outbreak, 85 FR 23441 (Apr. 27, 2020).
8 Proclamation 10149 of February 24, 2021, A
Proclamation on Revoking Proclamation 10014, 86
FR 11847 (Mar. 1, 2021).
9 Proclamation 10041 of May 24, 2020,
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel
Coronavirus, 85 FR 31933 (May 28, 2020).
10 Proclamation 10143 of January 25, 2021,
Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
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Proclamation 10199, dated April 30,
2021 (the Republic of India).11
COVID–19 is a communicable disease
caused by a coronavirus, SARS–CoV–2.
It appears to spread easily and
sustainably within communities.12 The
SARS–CoV–2 virus is thought to
transfer primarily by person-to-person
contact through respiratory droplets
produced when an infected person
coughs or sneezes; it may also transfer
through contact with surfaces or objects
contaminated with these droplets or by
airborne transmission through exposure
to virus in small droplets and particles
that can linger in the air for minutes to
hours.13 People who are infected but do
not show symptoms can also spread the
virus to others.14 The ease of
transmission presents a risk of a surge
in hospitalizations for COVID–19,
which would reduce available hospital
capacity.
Symptoms include fever and chills,
cough, shortness of breath, fatigue,
muscle and body aches, headache, loss
of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion
or runny nose, nausea, or diarrhea,
which typically appear two to 14 days
after exposure.15 Manifestations of
severe disease have included
pneumonia, hypoxemic respiratory
failure/ARDS, sepsis and septic shock,
cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia, acute
kidney injury, and complications from
prolonged hospitalization, including
secondary bacterial and fungal
infections, thromboembolism,
gastrointestinal bleeding, and critical
illness polyneuropathy/myopathy.16
Older adults and people who have
severe chronic medical conditions are
also at higher risk for more serious
COVID–19 illness.17
As of November 16, 2021, there were
approximately 254,174,536 identified
Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease
2019, 86 FR 7467 (Jan. 28, 2021).
11 Proclamation 10199 of April 30, 2021,
Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain
Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of
Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019, 86 FR
24297 (May 6, 2021).
12 CDC, How COVID–19 Spreads (May 13, 2021),
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html.
13 Id.
14 Id.
15 CDC, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19)
(Feb. 22, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/
2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.
16 CDC, Interim Clinical Guidance for
Management of Patients with Confirmed
Coronavirus Disease (COVID–19) (Feb. 16, 2021),
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/
clinical-guidance-management-patients.html.
17 CDC, People with Certain Medical Conditions
(Aug. 20, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/
2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-withmedical-conditions.html?CDC_AA_
refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2F
coronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fneed-extraprecautions%2Fgroups-at-higher-risk.html.
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cases of COVID–19 globally, resulting in
approximately 5,112,325 deaths; and
approximately 46,993,724 identified
cases in the United States, and
approximately 760,266 18 deaths, with
new cases being reported daily.
On March 20, 2020, in response to
significant worldwide challenges related
to the COVID–19 pandemic, the
Department temporarily suspended
routine visa services at all U.S.
Embassies and Consulates.19 The
Department authorized posts to begin a
phased resumption of visa services, on
a post-by-post basis, beginning on July
15, 2020, consistent with the
Department’s guidance for safely
returning the Department’s workforce to
its facilities.20 The Department noted
that local conditions such as medical
infrastructure, COVID–19 cases,
emergency response capabilities, and
restrictions on leaving home may affect
when Department facilities can begin to
provide routine services.21 The
Department’s embassies and consulates
are implementing safeguards to keep
staff and customers safe, including
implementing physical distancing in
waiting rooms, scheduling fewer
interviews at a time, frequent
disinfection of high touch areas, and
following local health and safety
regulations.22
B. Allocation of Limited Consular
Resources
Individuals who have been issued an
immigrant visa may need to seek a
subsequent immigrant visa for a variety
of reasons. Immigrant visas have a
maximum validity of six months. That
means recipients of immigrant visas
typically have up to a maximum of six
months to travel to the United States
and apply for admission with a DHS
immigration officer after visa issuance.
If admitted, the individual becomes a
lawful permanent resident. Individuals
who were issued an immigrant visa may
have been unable or unwilling to seek
admission during the period of validity;
they may know that they will be unable
to use the visa during the period of
18 Johns Hopkins, COVID–19 Map, (Oct. 5, 2021),
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html;
CDC, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19):
Cases in U.S. (Oct. 5, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/
coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-inus.html.
19 Department of State, Suspension of Routine
Visa Services (Mar. 20, 2020), https://
travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/
suspension-of-routine-visa-services.html.
20 Department of State, Phased Resumption of
Visa Services, (Apr. 6, 2021), https://
travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/
visa-services-operating-status-update.html.
21 Id.
22 Id.
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validity; or their visa may have been lost
or mutilated. Depending on the
circumstances, a repeat immigrant visa
applicant may be required to submit a
new Form DS–260/DS–230, in which
case the applicant must submit any
required supporting documents and
must pay a new fee.23 This TFR makes
no changes to form or fee requirements.
As set forth in 22 CFR 42.62 and
42.67, immigrant visa applicants
ordinarily must appear in person before
a consular officer to execute their
application and subscribe to the
contents of their application under oath,
and they must be interviewed by a
consular officer.
The requirement for immigrant visa
applicants to be interviewed by a
consular officer and to execute and
affirm the information presented on the
Form DS–260/DS–230 application
before a consular officer provides
benefits to the Department and
applicants alike. Consular officers have
an opportunity to assess the credibility
of immigrant visa applicants when they
appear in person, while visa applicants
are provided an opportunity, if
necessary, to correct, any information
on their application, which the
applicants sign under penalty of
perjury. Applicants could face civil and
criminal consequences for material
misrepresentations. However, there is
reduced benefit from requiring the
recipient of a previously approved
immigrant visa to return to the consular
post to execute their application in
person, take an in-person oath, and be
interviewed for an identical or
substantially similar application, and
those actions would significantly strain
consular resources. Accordingly, in light
of current resource considerations due
to the COVID–19 pandemic, the
Department is temporarily permitting
consular officers to waive a second
personal appearance and interview at
the consular officer’s discretion.
Local conditions such as medical
infrastructure, COVID–19 cases,
emergency response capabilities, and
restrictions on leaving home may affect
when and the extent to which
Department facilities can provide
routine services, including scheduling
appointments and the ability of
applicants to obtain documentation and
medical screening appointments. The
Department’s embassies and consulates
23 22 CFR part 42 governs immigrant visas. 22
CFR 42.71 governs immigrant visa fees. 22 CFR
42.72 sets the maximum immigrant visa validity
period at six months, and 22 CFR 42.74 addresses
certain new, replacement, and duplicate visas.
Individuals seeking another visa pursuant to 22
CFR 42.74 are not required to submit a new
application and are not impacted by this TFR.
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are implementing safeguards to keep
staff and customers safe, including
implementing physical distancing in
waiting rooms, scheduling fewer
interviews at a time, frequently
disinfecting high touch areas, and
following local health and safety
regulations. The Department is facing a
high demand for visa services, and the
policy announced in this TFR will help
allocate scarce resources to areas where
personal appearances by and interviews
of visa applicants are relatively more
beneficial.
The Department conducted a database
query to determine how many
individuals may benefit from this rule
and determined that nearly 49,000
individuals were issued immigrant visas
between August 4, 2019 (180 days
before the first Presidential
Proclamation suspending entry into the
United States of certain immigrants in
relation to the COVID–19 pandemic)
and September 30, 2021, and have not
yet sought admission. Of the individuals
issued immigrant visas between August
4, 2019, and May 31, 2021, over 11,000
did not seek admission before their
immigrant visas expired. Additionally,
according to the Department’s database
query, at least 244 individuals were
refused admission into the United States
at a port of entry between August 4,
2019, and September 30, 2021, though
it is not certain how many of those
refusals of admission were due to
suspensions of entry relating to the
COVID–19 pandemic. Some individuals
in this population may be eligible to
benefit from this rule.
This TFR applies to a narrow category
of immigrant visa applicants. To qualify
for the discretionary in-person waiver,
an applicant must:
(1) Have been issued a U.S. immigrant
visa on or after August 4, 2019;
(2) Seek an immigrant visa in the
same classification and pursuant to the
same approved petition as the
previously issued immigrant visa, or an
immigrant visa pursuant to the same
approved petition as the previously
issued visa but in a different
classification because it was
automatically converted due to the
death or naturalization of the petitioner
of the previously issued immigrant visa;
(3) Qualify for an immigrant visa in
the same classification, or another
classification as the result of automatic
conversion due to the death or
naturalization of the petitioner of the
previously issued immigrant visa, and
pursuant to the same approved petition
as the previously issued immigrant visa;
and
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(4) Have no changed circumstances
that could affect the applicant’s
eligibility for the visa.
This TFR furthers the Department’s
commitment to the health and safety of
consular officers and customers by
reducing personal appearances, as
appropriate, which could potentially
expose consular officers, locally
employed staff, applicants, and
customers to COVID–19. This will also
save time and travel expenses for
applicants who wish to apply for
another immigrant visa after having
been unable or unwilling to use their
original visa. This TFR is effective until
24 months following its publication in
the Federal Register.
III. Regulatory Findings
A. Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
This TFR is being issued without
prior notice and opportunity to
comment and with an immediate
effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(a)(1), (b)(A), (b)(B), and (d)(3), the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5
U.S.C. 551, et seq.
1. Foreign Affairs
This TFR involves a foreign affairs
function of the United States. In Raoof
v. Sullivan, the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia found that the
Department properly exercised the
foreign affairs exception under the APA
when it ‘‘did not engage in formal rulemaking’’ for the J–1 nonimmigrant visa
two-year foreign residence requirement
because ‘‘the exchange visitor
program—with its statutory mandate for
international interaction through
nonimmigrants—certainly relates to
foreign affairs and diplomatic duties
conferred upon the Secretary of State
and the State Department.’’ 315
F.Supp.3d 34, 44 (D.D.C. 2018). The
COVID–19 pandemic has caused
considerable disruption to routine visa
services. This TFR will help visa-issuing
consular posts around the world
allocate scarce resources to areas where
personal appearances and interviews are
more beneficial relative to other areas,
including for the protection of U.S.
national security. The TFR will also
protect embassy and consulate staff, visa
applicants, and U.S. citizens seeking
consular services from potential
exposure to COVID–19 and the serious
illness or death that may result from
such exposure.
In many countries, the consular
section of the U.S. Embassy is the
United States’ most public-facing direct
engagement with a host country’s
populace. An outbreak of COVID–19
that could be sourced to a U.S. Embassy
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consular section waiting room could
have an impact on U.S. relations with
the host country, particularly if there
were mitigating measures that could
have been taken that were not.
Recognizing that the Department’s
continued ability to facilitate visa
processing for applicants from any given
country has a significant impact on that
country’s bilateral relationship with the
United States, this TFR clearly and
directly impacts foreign affairs functions
of the United States and ‘‘implicat[es]
matters of diplomacy directly.’’ City of
N.Y. v. Permanent Mission of India to
the U.N., 618 F.3d 172, 202 (2d Cir.
2010). This TFR reflects changes to U.S.
foreign policy, specifically in the
context of U.S. visas. In acknowledging
its limited consular resources and local
conditions, the Department noted that
medical infrastructure, COVID–19 cases,
emergency response capabilities, and
restrictions on leaving home may affect
when, and the extent to which,
Department facilities can begin to
provide routine services. This TFR, by
granting greater flexibility to
accommodate the immigrant visa
process in light of the dynamic
conditions posed by the COVID–19
pandemic, will allow the Department to
better facilitate immigration of foreign
nationals to the United States, a key
foreign affairs function of the United
States. This TFR, which temporarily
provides flexibility to consular officers
to issue immigrant visas under limited
circumstances, directly relates to the
Department’s authority to carry out
diplomatic duties and inherently
involves the Secretary of State’s foreign
affairs functions.
2. Statement of Department Procedure
and Practice
This TFR provides for a temporary
change in the Department’s procedures
and practice regarding the adjudication
of certain immigrant visa applications.
The APA provides that notice and
comment is not required for
‘‘interpretive rules, general statements
of policy, or rules of agency
organization, procedure, or practice.’’ 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(A). Some individuals who
have been issued immigrant visas did
not use them for reasons related to the
impact of the COVID–19 pandemic,
including personal choice, a lack of
travel options, or official travel
restrictions. Whether such individuals
must appear in person to apply for a
new immigrant visa or may proceed
with the application steps without such
an appearance is a matter of Department
procedure and practice.
Courts have said that substantive
rules ‘‘create new law, rights, or duties’’
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or ‘‘change existing rights and
obligations,’’ whereas procedural rules
do not ‘‘alter the rights or interests of
parties’’ but instead only ‘‘the manner in
which the parties present themselves or
their viewpoints to the agency.’’ Time
Warner Cable Inc. v. FCC, 729 F.3d 137
(2d Cir. 2013) (emphasis added); see
also Kaspar Wire Works, Inc. v. Sec’y of
Labor, 268 F.3d 1123, 1131–1132 (D.C.
Cir. 2001) (finding even an agency’s
approach of imposing per-instance
penalties to be a procedural ‘‘agency
housekeeping rule’’). Whether an
applicant for an immigrant visa who
had previously been issued a visa in the
same classification, pursuant to the
same approved petition (or that was
automatically converted to another
classification due to the death or
naturalization of the petitioner of the
previously-granted immigrant visa)
must appear before a consular officer
when re-applying does not alter a visa
applicant’s rights or the duties of the
Department, but merely the manner in
which such applicants present
themselves to the Department.
3. Good Cause To Forgo Notice and
Comment Rulemaking
The APA authorizes an agency to
issue a rule without prior notice and
opportunity to comment when the
agency for good cause finds that those
procedures are ‘‘impracticable,
unnecessary, or contrary to the public
interest.’’ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). The good
cause exception for forgoing notice and
comment rulemaking ‘‘excuses notice
and comment in emergency situations,
or where delay could result in serious
harm.’’ Jifry v. FAA, 370 F.3d 1174,
1179 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Although the good
cause exception is ‘‘narrowly construed
and only reluctantly countenanced,’’
Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co. v. FERC, 969
F.2d 1141, 1144 (D.C. Cir. 1992), the
Department invokes that exception for
this TFR, for the reasons set forth below.
As discussed earlier in this preamble,
as many as 49,000 individuals who were
issued an immigrant visa on or after
August 4, 2019, may have been unable
or unwilling to travel to the United
States to seek admission as a lawful
permanent resident due to extended
travel restrictions and health conditions
or concerns related to the COVID–19
pandemic. Those restrictions derived
from a series of Presidential
Proclamations beginning in January
2020, the National Emergency declared
in March 2020, and the Department’s
suspension of routine immigrant and
nonimmigrant visa services at all U.S.
Embassies and Consulates in March
2020. To partially address the concerns
of the risks of spreading the virus that
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causes COVID–19 while simultaneously
resuming consular operations to the
greatest extent possible, the Department
is acting expeditiously to put in place
temporary flexibility to provide
consular officers with discretion to
waive the personal appearance and
interview requirements for certain
individuals who are submitting another
application for an immigrant visa and to
allow them to affirm the accuracy of the
contents of the application under
penalty of perjury rather than in person.
Consistent with the above analysis,
notice and comment on this rulemaking
would be impracticable and
unnecessary. The TFR is narrowly
construed to allow for the personal
appearance and interview waiver of
certain applicants who previously
appeared and were issued a visa and
who now seek to obtain a new visa to
travel to the United States.
This TFR expires 24 months after its
publication in the Federal Register.
This action is temporary in nature and
includes appropriate conditions to
ensure that it is narrowly tailored to the
disruption in travel to the United States
related to the COVID–19 pandemic.
Considering the public health
emergency caused by the spread of the
virus associated with COVID–19,
delaying implementation of this rule
until the conclusion of notice-andcomment procedures would be
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest due to the need to resume
consular operations, and due to the
associated COVID–19 transmission risk
to consular office staff as well as the
public.
4. Good Cause To Proceed With an
Immediate Effective Date
The APA also authorizes agencies to
make a rule effective immediately, upon
a showing of good cause, instead of
imposing a 30-day delay. 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3). There is a less restrictive
standard for the good-cause exception to
requirement for a 30-day delayed
effective, than for forgoing notice and
comment rulemaking due to good cause.
Riverbend Farms, Inc. v. Madigan, 958
F.2d 1479, 1485 (9th Cir. 1992); Am.
Fed’n of Gov’t Emps., AFL–CIO v. Block,
655 F.2d 1153, 1156 (D.C. Cir. 1981);
U.S. Steel Corp. v. EPA, 605 F.2d 283,
289–90 (7th Cir. 1979). An agency
shows good cause for eliminating the
30-day delayed effective date when it
demonstrates urgent conditions that the
rule seeks to correct or unavoidable time
limitations. U.S. Steel Corp., 605 F.2d at
290; United States v. Gavrilovic, 511
F.2d 1099, 1104 (8th Cir. 1977). For the
same reasons as set forth above, the
Department also concludes that it has
E:\FR\FM\13DER1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 236 / Monday, December 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
good cause to dispense with the 30-day
effective date requirement, given that
this TFR is necessary to prevent serious
risk to the health of consular officers,
other embassy and consulate staff,
immigrant visa applicants, and other
customers due to COVID–19.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act/Executive
Order 13272: Small Business
The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires agencies to
perform an analysis of the potential
impact of regulations on small business
entities when regulations are subject to
the notice and comment procedures of
the APA. Because this TFR is exempt
from notice and comment rulemaking
requirements under 5 U.S.C. 553, it is
exempt from the regulatory flexibility
analysis requirements set forth by the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 603
and 604). Therefore, a regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required.
Furthermore, this TFR will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small business
entities.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
C. Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., generally
requires agencies to prepare a statement
before proposing any rule that may
result in an annual expenditure of $100
million or more by State, local, or Tribal
governments, or by the private sector. 2
U.S.C. 1532. This TFR does not require
the Department to prepare a statement
because it will not result in any such
expenditure, nor will it significantly or
directly affect small governments,
including State, local, or Tribal
governments, or the private sector. This
TFR involves visas for noncitizens,
which are administered by federal
agencies under federal law, and it does
not directly or substantially affect State,
local, or Tribal governments, or
businesses.
D. Congressional Review Act of 1996
This TFR is not a major rule as
defined in 5 U.S.C. 804. This TFR will
not result in an annual effect on the
economy of $100 million or more; a
major increase in costs or prices; or
significant adverse effects on
competition, employment, investment,
productivity, innovation, or on the
ability of United States-based
companies to compete with foreign
based companies in domestic and
import markets.
E. Executive Order 12866
The Department has reviewed this
TFR to ensure its consistency with the
regulatory philosophy and principles set
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:56 Dec 10, 2021
Jkt 256001
forth in Executive Order 12866. The
policy announced in this TFR will
further national security by allowing
consular officers to allocate scarce
resources to cases that had not been
previously adjudicated and issued,
where personal appearances and
interviews are relatively more
beneficial. It will help protect from the
spread of COVID–19 embassy and
consulate staff worldwide, visa
applicants, and U.S. citizens or others
seeking consular services who might
otherwise come into proximity with
immigrant visa applicants. It will also
provide time and cost savings to those
visa applicants who will not need to
travel to a consular post to provide an
in-person oath. It will not result in new
costs. The Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) has determined that this
is a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866. As such, OMB
has reviewed this regulation
accordingly.
F. Executive Order 13563
G. Executive Orders 12372 and 13132—
Federalism
This TFR 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. Nor will the TFR
have federalism implications relevant
under Executive Orders 12372 and
13132.
H. Executive Order 13175—
Consultation and Coordination With
Indian Tribal Governments
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
pre-empt Tribal law. Accordingly, the
requirements of Section 5 of Executive
Order 13175 do not apply to this
rulemaking.
Frm 00051
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
I. Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice
Reform
The Department has reviewed the
TFR in light of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2)
of Executive Order 12988 to eliminate
ambiguity, minimize litigation, establish
clear legal standards, and reduce
burden.
J. Paperwork Reduction Act
This TFR does not impose any new
reporting or recordkeeping requirements
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act,
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 42
Administrative practice and
procedure, Aliens, Passports and visas.
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, the Department amends 22
CFR part 42 as follows:
PART 42—VISAS: DOCUMENTATION
OF IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE
IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY
ACT, AS AMENDED
1. The authority citation for part 42
continues to read as follows:
■
Along with Executive Order 12866,
Executive Order 13563 directs agencies
to assess costs and benefits of available
regulatory alternatives and, if regulation
is necessary, to select regulatory
approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic,
environmental, public health and safety,
distributed impacts, and equity effects).
The Department has reviewed the TFR
under Executive Order 13563 and has
determined that this rulemaking is
consistent with the guidance therein.
PO 00000
70739
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104 and 1182; Pub. L.
105–277, 112 Stat. 2681; Pub. L. 108–449,
118 Stat. 3469; The Convention on Protection
of Children and Co-operation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption (done at the Hague,
May 29, 1993), S. Treaty Doc. 105–51 (1998),
1870 U.N.T.S. 167 (Reg. No. 31922 (1993));
42 U.S.C. 14901–14954 (Pub. L. 106–279, 114
Stat. 825); 8 U.S.C. 1101 (Pub. L. 111–287,
124 Stat. 3058); 8 U.S.C. 1154 (Pub. L. 109–
162, 119 Stat. 2960); 8 U.S.C. 1201 (Pub. L.
114–70, 129 Stat. 561).
2. Effective December 13, 2021,
through December 13, 2023, revise
§ 42.62 to read as follows:
■
§ 42.62 Personal appearance and interview
of applicant.
(a) Personal appearance of applicant
before consular officer. Every applicant
applying for an immigrant visa other
than an applicant described in
paragraph (c) of this section, including
an applicant whose application is
executed by another person pursuant to
§ 42.63(a)(2), shall be required to appear
personally before a consular officer for
the execution of the application or, if in
Taiwan, before a designated officer of
the American Institute in Taiwan,
except that the personal appearance of
any child under the age of 14 may be
waived at the officer’s discretion.
(b) Interview by consular officer. (1)
Every applicant executing an immigrant
visa application other than an applicant
described in paragraph (c) of this
section must be interviewed by a
consular officer who shall determine on
the basis of the applicant’s
E:\FR\FM\13DER1.SGM
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70740
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 236 / Monday, December 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
representations and the visa application
and other relevant documentation—
(i) The proper immigrant
classification, if any, of the visa
applicant, and
(ii) The applicant’s eligibility to
receive a visa.
(2) The officer has the authority to
require that the alien answer any
question deemed material to these
determinations.
(c) Certain repeat applications due to
COVID–19. The personal appearance
and interview of any applicant for an
immigrant visa may be waived in the
discretion of the consular officer until
December 13, 2023, provided that—
(1) The applicant was issued a U.S.
immigrant visa on or after August 4,
2019, and is:
(i) Seeking an immigrant visa in the
same classification and pursuant to the
same approved petition as the
previously issued immigrant visa; or
(ii) Seeking an immigrant visa
pursuant to the same approved petition
as the previously issued immigrant visa
but in a classification that automatically
converted from the classification of the
previously issued immigrant visa due to
the death or naturalization of the
petitioner;
(2) The applicant qualifies for an
immigrant visa in the same
classification as the previously issued
immigrant visa, or in another
classification as a result of automatic
conversion from the classification of the
previously issued immigrant visa due to
the death or naturalization of the
petitioner, and pursuant to the same
approved petition as the previously
issued immigrant visa; and
(3) The applicant has not undergone
a change in circumstances that could
affect the applicant’s eligibility for the
visa.
■ 3. Effective December 13, 2021,
through December 13, 2023, in § 42.67,
add paragraph (a)(4) to read as follows:
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§ 42.67 Execution of application,
registration, and fingerprinting.
(a) * * *
(4) Form of attestation for certain
repeat applications due to COVID–19.
The swearing to or signature of an
application before a consular officer by
an immigrant visa applicant may be
waived in the discretion of the consular
officer until December 13, 2023,
provided the applicant is willing to
affirm under penalty of perjury to the
information provided on Form DS–260
or Form DS–230.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 4. Effective December 13, 2023, revise
§ 42.62 to read as follows:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:56 Dec 10, 2021
Jkt 256001
§ 42.62 Personal appearance and interview
of applicant.
(a) Personal appearance of applicant
before consular officer. Every alien
applying for an immigrant visa,
including an alien whose application is
executed by another person pursuant to
§ 42.63(a)(2), shall be required to appear
personally before a consular officer for
the execution of the application or, if in
Taiwan, before a designated officer of
the American Institute in Taiwan,
except that the personal appearance of
any child under the age of 14 may be
waived at the officer’s discretion.
(b) Interview by consular officer. (1)
Every alien executing an immigrant visa
application must be interviewed by a
consular officer who shall determine on
the basis of the applicant’s
representations and the visa application
and other relevant documentation—
(i) The proper immigrant
classification, if any, of the visa
applicant, and
(ii) The applicant’s eligibility to
receive a visa.
(2) The officer has the authority to
require that the alien answer any
question deemed material to these
determinations.
Kevin E. Bryant,
Deputy Director, Office of Directives
Management, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2021–26657 Filed 12–10–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
28 CFR Part 85
[Docket No. OAG 173; AG Order No. 5236–
2021]
Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation
Adjustment for 2021
Department of Justice.
Final rule.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Department of Justice is
adjusting for inflation the civil monetary
penalties assessed or enforced by
components of the Department, in
accordance with the provisions of the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for
penalties assessed after December 13,
2021 with respect to violations
occurring after November 2, 2015.
DATES: This rule is effective December
13, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Hinchman, Senior Counsel,
Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department
of Justice, Room 4252, RFK Building,
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20530, telephone (202)
514–8059 (not a toll-free number).
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00052
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory Process for Implementing
Annual Inflation Adjustments
Section 701 of the Bipartisan Budget
Act of 2015, Public Law 114–74 (Nov.
2, 2015) (‘‘BBA’’), 28 U.S.C. 2461 note,
substantially revised the prior
provisions of the Federal Civil Monetary
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of
1990, Public Law 101–410 (the
‘‘Inflation Adjustment Act’’), and
substituted a different statutory formula
for calculating inflation adjustments on
an annual basis.
In accordance with the provisions of
the BBA, on June 30, 2016 (81 FR
42491), the Department of Justice
published an interim rule (‘‘June 2016
interim rule’’) to adjust for inflation the
civil monetary penalties assessed or
enforced by components of the
Department after August 1, 2016, with
respect to violations occurring after
November 2, 2015, the date of
enactment of the BBA. Readers may
refer to the Supplementary Information
(also known as the preamble) of the
Department’s June 2016 interim rule for
additional background information
regarding the statutory authority for
adjustments of civil monetary penalty
amounts to take account of inflation and
the Department’s past implementation
of inflation adjustments. The June 2016
interim rule was finalized without
change by the publication of a final rule
on April 5, 2019 (84 FR 13525).
After the initial adjustments in 2016,
the BBA also provides for agencies to
adjust their civil penalties on January 15
of each year to account for inflation
during the preceding year, rounded to
the nearest dollar. Accordingly, on
February 3, 2017 (82 FR 9131), and on
January 29, 2018 (83 FR 3944), the
Department published final rules
pursuant to the BBA to make annual
inflation adjustments in the civil
monetary penalties assessed or enforced
by components of the Department after
those dates, with respect to violations
occurring after November 2, 2015.
Most recently, the Department
published a final rule on June 19, 2020
(85 FR 37004), to adjust the
Department’s civil money penalties. The
Department did not publish an inflation
adjustment rule in 2019, but the 2020
adjustments incorporated the civil
penalty adjustments for both 2019 and
2020, so that the current penalty
amounts are the same as if two separate
rules had been published.
II. Inflation Adjustments Made by This
Rule
As required, the Department is
publishing this final rule to adjust for
E:\FR\FM\13DER1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 236 (Monday, December 13, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70735-70740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26657]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 42
[Public Notice: 11460]
RIN 1400-AF20
Waiver of Personal Appearance and In-Person Oath Requirement for
Certain Immigrant Visa Applicants Due to COVID-19
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Final rule and temporary final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This temporary final rule (TFR) provides flexibility for
consular officers to waive the personal appearance of certain repeat
immigrant visa applicants who were approved for an immigrant visa in
the same classification and on the same basis as the current
application on or after August 4, 2019. It also gives consular officers
discretion to allow this subset of immigrant visa applicants to affirm
the accuracy of the contents of their application without appearing in
person before a consular officer. This TFR is effective immediately and
expires after 24 months. The final rule portion of this document
reinstates parts of the regulations with certain updates after the
expiration of the TFR.
DATES: Amendments in instructions 2 and 3 in this temporary final rule
are effective from December 13, 2021, through December 13, 2023. The
amendment in instruction 4 is effective December 13, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Lage, Acting Senior Regulatory
Coordinator, Visa Services Directorate, Bureau of Consular Affairs,
Department of State; telephone (202) 485-7586, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. What changes to 22 CFR 42.62 and 42.67 does this TFR make?
The Department is temporarily authorizing consular officers, for 24
months, to waive, on a discretionary basis, the requirements in 22 CFR
42.62 and 42.67 that an immigrant visa applicant appear in person
before and be interviewed by a consular officer for certain repeat
immigrant visa applicants. This TFR applies to immigrant visa
applicants who were issued a U.S. immigrant visa on or after August 4,
2019, who meet the following additional criteria: Individuals who would
be eligible for a discretionary waiver of personal appearance and
interview pursuant to this TFR must be seeking an immigrant visa in the
same classification (or another classification as the result of
automatic conversion due to the death or naturalization of the
petitioner of the previously issued immigrant visa) and pursuant to the
same approved petition as their previously approved application, and
they must continue to qualify for the immigrant visa sought.
Under this TFR, the personal appearance and interview of certain
applicants for an immigrant visa may be waived in the discretion of the
consular officer, provided that the applicant is willing to affirm
under penalty of perjury to the information provided on the Online
Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, Form DS-260 (or Form
DS-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration if the
consular officer authorizes the use of that form). The consular officer
may communicate with the applicant by telephone or email, may request
that the applicant provide additional information that the consular
officer deems necessary, and may request the applicant to appear in
person. If the applicant identifies the need to change responses to
Form DS-260, the consular officer or other authorized consular staff
can reopen the DS-260 for the applicant to make changes to that form
and re-sign it under penalty of perjury.
This TFR will automatically expire 24 months after it takes effect.
As the TFR is designed to help address the problem of applicants who
are unable to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic and who must meet
specific time-limited criteria, this TFR will no longer be necessary as
the pandemic becomes less acute and ordinary travel resumes. The
Department believes that 24 months is sufficient to process the cases
described.
Pursuant to section 222(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA), 8 U.S.C. 1202(a), every immigrant visa applicant must make an
application in the form, manner, and place prescribed by regulation.
Except as may otherwise be prescribed by regulations, every immigrant
visa application must ``be signed by the applicant in the presence of
the consular officer and verified by the oath of the applicant
administered by the consular officer.'' INA 222(e), 8 U.S.C. 1202(e).
Regulations further require immigrant visa applicants to be interviewed
by a consular officer. 22 CFR 42.62(b). This TFR provides an exception
to these personal appearance and interview requirements pursuant to INA
222(a) and (e), 8 U.S.C. 1202(a) and (e).
II. Why is the Department promulgating this TFR?
A. The COVID-19 Pandemic
On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
declared a public health emergency under section 319 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) in response to COVID-19.\1\ On
March 13, 2020, then-President Trump declared a National Emergency
concerning the COVID-19 outbreak to control the spread of the virus
that causes COVID-19 in the United States.\2\ That proclamation
declared that the emergency began in the United States on March 1,
2020. In addition to the National Emergency, a variety of Presidential
Proclamations have
[[Page 70736]]
suspended entry of certain noncitizens into the United States since the
public health emergency began. On January 31, 2020, then-President
Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 9984, which, subject to
limitations, suspended and limited the entry of certain noncitizens who
had been physically present in the People's Republic of China
(excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau)
for the 14-day period prior to their entry into the United States.\3\
Similar suspensions of entry were issued under Presidential
Proclamation 9992, dated February 29, 2020 (the Islamic Republic of
Iran); \4\ Presidential Proclamation 9993, dated March 11, 2020 (the
Schengen Area); \5\ Presidential Proclamation 9996, dated March 14,
2020 (the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of
Europe) and the Republic of Ireland); \6\ Presidential Proclamation
10014, dated April 22, 2020 (immigrants who present a risk to the U.S.
labor market) \7\ (subsequently revoked by Presidential Proclamation
10149, dated February 24, 2021); \8\ Presidential Proclamation 10041,
dated May 24, 2020 (the Federative Republic of Brazil); \9\
Presidential Proclamation 10143, dated January 25, 2021 (the Schengen
Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of
Europe), the Republic of Ireland, the Federative Republic of Brazil,
and the Republic of South Africa); \10\ and Presidential Proclamation
10199, dated April 30, 2021 (the Republic of India).\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ HHS, Determination of Public Health Emergency, 85 FR 7316
(Feb. 7, 2020).
\2\ Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, Declaring a National
Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak, 85
FR 15337 (Mar. 18, 2020).
\3\ Proclamation 9984 of January 31, 2020, Suspension of Entry
as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Who Pose a Risk of
Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Other Appropriate Measures
To Address This Risk, 85 FR 6709 (Feb. 5, 2020).
\4\ Proclamation 9992 of February 29, 2020, Suspension of Entry
as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus, 85 FR 12855
(Mar. 4, 2020).
\5\ Proclamation 9993 of March 14, 2020, Suspension of Entry as
Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose
a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus, 85 FR 15045 (Mar. 16,
2020).
\6\ Proclamation 9996 of March 11, 2020, Suspension of Entry as
Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose
a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus, 85 FR 15341 (Mar. 18,
2020).
\7\ Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020, Suspension of Entry of
Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market
During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
Outbreak, 85 FR 23441 (Apr. 27, 2020).
\8\ Proclamation 10149 of February 24, 2021, A Proclamation on
Revoking Proclamation 10014, 86 FR 11847 (Mar. 1, 2021).
\9\ Proclamation 10041 of May 24, 2020, Suspension of Entry as
Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose
a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus, 85 FR 31933 (May 28,
2020).
\10\ Proclamation 10143 of January 25, 2021, Suspension of Entry
as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who
Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019, 86 FR 7467
(Jan. 28, 2021).
\11\ Proclamation 10199 of April 30, 2021, Suspension of Entry
as Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of
Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019, 86 FR 24297 (May 6, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
COVID-19 is a communicable disease caused by a coronavirus, SARS-
CoV-2. It appears to spread easily and sustainably within
communities.\12\ The SARS-CoV-2 virus is thought to transfer primarily
by person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets produced when
an infected person coughs or sneezes; it may also transfer through
contact with surfaces or objects contaminated with these droplets or by
airborne transmission through exposure to virus in small droplets and
particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours.\13\ People
who are infected but do not show symptoms can also spread the virus to
others.\14\ The ease of transmission presents a risk of a surge in
hospitalizations for COVID-19, which would reduce available hospital
capacity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ CDC, How COVID-19 Spreads (May 13, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html.
\13\ Id.
\14\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Symptoms include fever and chills, cough, shortness of breath,
fatigue, muscle and body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore
throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, or diarrhea, which typically
appear two to 14 days after exposure.\15\ Manifestations of severe
disease have included pneumonia, hypoxemic respiratory failure/ARDS,
sepsis and septic shock, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia, acute kidney
injury, and complications from prolonged hospitalization, including
secondary bacterial and fungal infections, thromboembolism,
gastrointestinal bleeding, and critical illness polyneuropathy/
myopathy.\16\ Older adults and people who have severe chronic medical
conditions are also at higher risk for more serious COVID-19
illness.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ CDC, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Feb. 22, 2021),
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.
\16\ CDC, Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients
with Confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) (Feb. 16, 2021),
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-guidance-management-patients.html.
\17\ CDC, People with Certain Medical Conditions (Aug. 20,
2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fneed-extra-precautions%2Fgroups-at-higher-risk.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As of November 16, 2021, there were approximately 254,174,536
identified cases of COVID-19 globally, resulting in approximately
5,112,325 deaths; and approximately 46,993,724 identified cases in the
United States, and approximately 760,266 \18\ deaths, with new cases
being reported daily.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ Johns Hopkins, COVID-19 Map, (Oct. 5, 2021), https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html;
CDC, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Cases in U.S. (Oct.
5, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On March 20, 2020, in response to significant worldwide challenges
related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department temporarily suspended
routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates.\19\ The
Department authorized posts to begin a phased resumption of visa
services, on a post-by-post basis, beginning on July 15, 2020,
consistent with the Department's guidance for safely returning the
Department's workforce to its facilities.\20\ The Department noted that
local conditions such as medical infrastructure, COVID-19 cases,
emergency response capabilities, and restrictions on leaving home may
affect when Department facilities can begin to provide routine
services.\21\ The Department's embassies and consulates are
implementing safeguards to keep staff and customers safe, including
implementing physical distancing in waiting rooms, scheduling fewer
interviews at a time, frequent disinfection of high touch areas, and
following local health and safety regulations.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ Department of State, Suspension of Routine Visa Services
(Mar. 20, 2020), https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-routine-visa-services.html.
\20\ Department of State, Phased Resumption of Visa Services,
(Apr. 6, 2021), https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/visa-services-operating-status-update.html.
\21\ Id.
\22\ Id.
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B. Allocation of Limited Consular Resources
Individuals who have been issued an immigrant visa may need to seek
a subsequent immigrant visa for a variety of reasons. Immigrant visas
have a maximum validity of six months. That means recipients of
immigrant visas typically have up to a maximum of six months to travel
to the United States and apply for admission with a DHS immigration
officer after visa issuance. If admitted, the individual becomes a
lawful permanent resident. Individuals who were issued an immigrant
visa may have been unable or unwilling to seek admission during the
period of validity; they may know that they will be unable to use the
visa during the period of
[[Page 70737]]
validity; or their visa may have been lost or mutilated. Depending on
the circumstances, a repeat immigrant visa applicant may be required to
submit a new Form DS-260/DS-230, in which case the applicant must
submit any required supporting documents and must pay a new fee.\23\
This TFR makes no changes to form or fee requirements.
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\23\ 22 CFR part 42 governs immigrant visas. 22 CFR 42.71
governs immigrant visa fees. 22 CFR 42.72 sets the maximum immigrant
visa validity period at six months, and 22 CFR 42.74 addresses
certain new, replacement, and duplicate visas. Individuals seeking
another visa pursuant to 22 CFR 42.74 are not required to submit a
new application and are not impacted by this TFR.
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As set forth in 22 CFR 42.62 and 42.67, immigrant visa applicants
ordinarily must appear in person before a consular officer to execute
their application and subscribe to the contents of their application
under oath, and they must be interviewed by a consular officer.
The requirement for immigrant visa applicants to be interviewed by
a consular officer and to execute and affirm the information presented
on the Form DS-260/DS-230 application before a consular officer
provides benefits to the Department and applicants alike. Consular
officers have an opportunity to assess the credibility of immigrant
visa applicants when they appear in person, while visa applicants are
provided an opportunity, if necessary, to correct, any information on
their application, which the applicants sign under penalty of perjury.
Applicants could face civil and criminal consequences for material
misrepresentations. However, there is reduced benefit from requiring
the recipient of a previously approved immigrant visa to return to the
consular post to execute their application in person, take an in-person
oath, and be interviewed for an identical or substantially similar
application, and those actions would significantly strain consular
resources. Accordingly, in light of current resource considerations due
to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department is temporarily permitting
consular officers to waive a second personal appearance and interview
at the consular officer's discretion.
Local conditions such as medical infrastructure, COVID-19 cases,
emergency response capabilities, and restrictions on leaving home may
affect when and the extent to which Department facilities can provide
routine services, including scheduling appointments and the ability of
applicants to obtain documentation and medical screening appointments.
The Department's embassies and consulates are implementing safeguards
to keep staff and customers safe, including implementing physical
distancing in waiting rooms, scheduling fewer interviews at a time,
frequently disinfecting high touch areas, and following local health
and safety regulations. The Department is facing a high demand for visa
services, and the policy announced in this TFR will help allocate
scarce resources to areas where personal appearances by and interviews
of visa applicants are relatively more beneficial.
The Department conducted a database query to determine how many
individuals may benefit from this rule and determined that nearly
49,000 individuals were issued immigrant visas between August 4, 2019
(180 days before the first Presidential Proclamation suspending entry
into the United States of certain immigrants in relation to the COVID-
19 pandemic) and September 30, 2021, and have not yet sought admission.
Of the individuals issued immigrant visas between August 4, 2019, and
May 31, 2021, over 11,000 did not seek admission before their immigrant
visas expired. Additionally, according to the Department's database
query, at least 244 individuals were refused admission into the United
States at a port of entry between August 4, 2019, and September 30,
2021, though it is not certain how many of those refusals of admission
were due to suspensions of entry relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some individuals in this population may be eligible to benefit from
this rule.
This TFR applies to a narrow category of immigrant visa applicants.
To qualify for the discretionary in-person waiver, an applicant must:
(1) Have been issued a U.S. immigrant visa on or after August 4,
2019;
(2) Seek an immigrant visa in the same classification and pursuant
to the same approved petition as the previously issued immigrant visa,
or an immigrant visa pursuant to the same approved petition as the
previously issued visa but in a different classification because it was
automatically converted due to the death or naturalization of the
petitioner of the previously issued immigrant visa;
(3) Qualify for an immigrant visa in the same classification, or
another classification as the result of automatic conversion due to the
death or naturalization of the petitioner of the previously issued
immigrant visa, and pursuant to the same approved petition as the
previously issued immigrant visa; and
(4) Have no changed circumstances that could affect the applicant's
eligibility for the visa.
This TFR furthers the Department's commitment to the health and
safety of consular officers and customers by reducing personal
appearances, as appropriate, which could potentially expose consular
officers, locally employed staff, applicants, and customers to COVID-
19. This will also save time and travel expenses for applicants who
wish to apply for another immigrant visa after having been unable or
unwilling to use their original visa. This TFR is effective until 24
months following its publication in the Federal Register.
III. Regulatory Findings
A. Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
This TFR is being issued without prior notice and opportunity to
comment and with an immediate effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(a)(1), (b)(A), (b)(B), and (d)(3), the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA), 5 U.S.C. 551, et seq.
1. Foreign Affairs
This TFR involves a foreign affairs function of the United States.
In Raoof v. Sullivan, the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia found that the Department properly exercised the foreign
affairs exception under the APA when it ``did not engage in formal
rule-making'' for the J-1 nonimmigrant visa two-year foreign residence
requirement because ``the exchange visitor program--with its statutory
mandate for international interaction through nonimmigrants--certainly
relates to foreign affairs and diplomatic duties conferred upon the
Secretary of State and the State Department.'' 315 F.Supp.3d 34, 44
(D.D.C. 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable disruption
to routine visa services. This TFR will help visa-issuing consular
posts around the world allocate scarce resources to areas where
personal appearances and interviews are more beneficial relative to
other areas, including for the protection of U.S. national security.
The TFR will also protect embassy and consulate staff, visa applicants,
and U.S. citizens seeking consular services from potential exposure to
COVID-19 and the serious illness or death that may result from such
exposure.
In many countries, the consular section of the U.S. Embassy is the
United States' most public-facing direct engagement with a host
country's populace. An outbreak of COVID-19 that could be sourced to a
U.S. Embassy
[[Page 70738]]
consular section waiting room could have an impact on U.S. relations
with the host country, particularly if there were mitigating measures
that could have been taken that were not.
Recognizing that the Department's continued ability to facilitate
visa processing for applicants from any given country has a significant
impact on that country's bilateral relationship with the United States,
this TFR clearly and directly impacts foreign affairs functions of the
United States and ``implicat[es] matters of diplomacy directly.'' City
of N.Y. v. Permanent Mission of India to the U.N., 618 F.3d 172, 202
(2d Cir. 2010). This TFR reflects changes to U.S. foreign policy,
specifically in the context of U.S. visas. In acknowledging its limited
consular resources and local conditions, the Department noted that
medical infrastructure, COVID-19 cases, emergency response
capabilities, and restrictions on leaving home may affect when, and the
extent to which, Department facilities can begin to provide routine
services. This TFR, by granting greater flexibility to accommodate the
immigrant visa process in light of the dynamic conditions posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic, will allow the Department to better facilitate
immigration of foreign nationals to the United States, a key foreign
affairs function of the United States. This TFR, which temporarily
provides flexibility to consular officers to issue immigrant visas
under limited circumstances, directly relates to the Department's
authority to carry out diplomatic duties and inherently involves the
Secretary of State's foreign affairs functions.
2. Statement of Department Procedure and Practice
This TFR provides for a temporary change in the Department's
procedures and practice regarding the adjudication of certain immigrant
visa applications. The APA provides that notice and comment is not
required for ``interpretive rules, general statements of policy, or
rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice.'' 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(A). Some individuals who have been issued immigrant visas did
not use them for reasons related to the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, including personal choice, a lack of travel options, or
official travel restrictions. Whether such individuals must appear in
person to apply for a new immigrant visa or may proceed with the
application steps without such an appearance is a matter of Department
procedure and practice.
Courts have said that substantive rules ``create new law, rights,
or duties'' or ``change existing rights and obligations,'' whereas
procedural rules do not ``alter the rights or interests of parties''
but instead only ``the manner in which the parties present themselves
or their viewpoints to the agency.'' Time Warner Cable Inc. v. FCC, 729
F.3d 137 (2d Cir. 2013) (emphasis added); see also Kaspar Wire Works,
Inc. v. Sec'y of Labor, 268 F.3d 1123, 1131-1132 (D.C. Cir. 2001)
(finding even an agency's approach of imposing per-instance penalties
to be a procedural ``agency housekeeping rule''). Whether an applicant
for an immigrant visa who had previously been issued a visa in the same
classification, pursuant to the same approved petition (or that was
automatically converted to another classification due to the death or
naturalization of the petitioner of the previously-granted immigrant
visa) must appear before a consular officer when re-applying does not
alter a visa applicant's rights or the duties of the Department, but
merely the manner in which such applicants present themselves to the
Department.
3. Good Cause To Forgo Notice and Comment Rulemaking
The APA authorizes an agency to issue a rule without prior notice
and opportunity to comment when the agency for good cause finds that
those procedures are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the
public interest.'' 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). The good cause exception for
forgoing notice and comment rulemaking ``excuses notice and comment in
emergency situations, or where delay could result in serious harm.''
Jifry v. FAA, 370 F.3d 1174, 1179 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Although the good
cause exception is ``narrowly construed and only reluctantly
countenanced,'' Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co. v. FERC, 969 F.2d 1141, 1144
(D.C. Cir. 1992), the Department invokes that exception for this TFR,
for the reasons set forth below.
As discussed earlier in this preamble, as many as 49,000
individuals who were issued an immigrant visa on or after August 4,
2019, may have been unable or unwilling to travel to the United States
to seek admission as a lawful permanent resident due to extended travel
restrictions and health conditions or concerns related to the COVID-19
pandemic. Those restrictions derived from a series of Presidential
Proclamations beginning in January 2020, the National Emergency
declared in March 2020, and the Department's suspension of routine
immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services at all U.S. Embassies and
Consulates in March 2020. To partially address the concerns of the
risks of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 while simultaneously
resuming consular operations to the greatest extent possible, the
Department is acting expeditiously to put in place temporary
flexibility to provide consular officers with discretion to waive the
personal appearance and interview requirements for certain individuals
who are submitting another application for an immigrant visa and to
allow them to affirm the accuracy of the contents of the application
under penalty of perjury rather than in person.
Consistent with the above analysis, notice and comment on this
rulemaking would be impracticable and unnecessary. The TFR is narrowly
construed to allow for the personal appearance and interview waiver of
certain applicants who previously appeared and were issued a visa and
who now seek to obtain a new visa to travel to the United States.
This TFR expires 24 months after its publication in the Federal
Register. This action is temporary in nature and includes appropriate
conditions to ensure that it is narrowly tailored to the disruption in
travel to the United States related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Considering the public health emergency caused by the spread of the
virus associated with COVID-19, delaying implementation of this rule
until the conclusion of notice-and-comment procedures would be
impracticable and contrary to the public interest due to the need to
resume consular operations, and due to the associated COVID-19
transmission risk to consular office staff as well as the public.
4. Good Cause To Proceed With an Immediate Effective Date
The APA also authorizes agencies to make a rule effective
immediately, upon a showing of good cause, instead of imposing a 30-day
delay. 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). There is a less restrictive standard for the
good-cause exception to requirement for a 30-day delayed effective,
than for forgoing notice and comment rulemaking due to good cause.
Riverbend Farms, Inc. v. Madigan, 958 F.2d 1479, 1485 (9th Cir. 1992);
Am. Fed'n of Gov't Emps., AFL-CIO v. Block, 655 F.2d 1153, 1156 (D.C.
Cir. 1981); U.S. Steel Corp. v. EPA, 605 F.2d 283, 289-90 (7th Cir.
1979). An agency shows good cause for eliminating the 30-day delayed
effective date when it demonstrates urgent conditions that the rule
seeks to correct or unavoidable time limitations. U.S. Steel Corp., 605
F.2d at 290; United States v. Gavrilovic, 511 F.2d 1099, 1104 (8th Cir.
1977). For the same reasons as set forth above, the Department also
concludes that it has
[[Page 70739]]
good cause to dispense with the 30-day effective date requirement,
given that this TFR is necessary to prevent serious risk to the health
of consular officers, other embassy and consulate staff, immigrant visa
applicants, and other customers due to COVID-19.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act/Executive Order 13272: Small Business
The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires
agencies to perform an analysis of the potential impact of regulations
on small business entities when regulations are subject to the notice
and comment procedures of the APA. Because this TFR is exempt from
notice and comment rulemaking requirements under 5 U.S.C. 553, it is
exempt from the regulatory flexibility analysis requirements set forth
by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604). Therefore, a
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required. Furthermore, this TFR
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small business entities.
C. Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.,
generally requires agencies to prepare a statement before proposing any
rule that may result in an annual expenditure of $100 million or more
by State, local, or Tribal governments, or by the private sector. 2
U.S.C. 1532. This TFR does not require the Department to prepare a
statement because it will not result in any such expenditure, nor will
it significantly or directly affect small governments, including State,
local, or Tribal governments, or the private sector. This TFR involves
visas for noncitizens, which are administered by federal agencies under
federal law, and it does not directly or substantially affect State,
local, or Tribal governments, or businesses.
D. Congressional Review Act of 1996
This TFR is not a major rule as defined in 5 U.S.C. 804. This TFR
will not result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or
more; a major increase in costs or prices; or significant adverse
effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity,
innovation, or on the ability of United States-based companies to
compete with foreign based companies in domestic and import markets.
E. Executive Order 12866
The Department has reviewed this TFR to ensure its consistency with
the regulatory philosophy and principles set forth in Executive Order
12866. The policy announced in this TFR will further national security
by allowing consular officers to allocate scarce resources to cases
that had not been previously adjudicated and issued, where personal
appearances and interviews are relatively more beneficial. It will help
protect from the spread of COVID-19 embassy and consulate staff
worldwide, visa applicants, and U.S. citizens or others seeking
consular services who might otherwise come into proximity with
immigrant visa applicants. It will also provide time and cost savings
to those visa applicants who will not need to travel to a consular post
to provide an in-person oath. It will not result in new costs. The
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has determined that this is a
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. As such, OMB
has reviewed this regulation accordingly.
F. Executive Order 13563
Along with Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 13563 directs
agencies to assess costs and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory
approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic,
environmental, public health and safety, distributed impacts, and
equity effects). The Department has reviewed the TFR under Executive
Order 13563 and has determined that this rulemaking is consistent with
the guidance therein.
G. Executive Orders 12372 and 13132--Federalism
This TFR 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. Nor will the TFR have federalism implications relevant
under Executive Orders 12372 and 13132.
H. Executive Order 13175--Consultation and Coordination With Indian
Tribal Governments
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 pre-empt Tribal law.
Accordingly, the requirements of Section 5 of Executive Order 13175 do
not apply to this rulemaking.
I. Executive Order 12988--Civil Justice Reform
The Department has reviewed the TFR in light of sections 3(a) and
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988 to eliminate ambiguity, minimize
litigation, establish clear legal standards, and reduce burden.
J. Paperwork Reduction Act
This TFR does not impose any new reporting or recordkeeping
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. Chapter
35.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 42
Administrative practice and procedure, Aliens, Passports and visas.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department amends 22
CFR part 42 as follows:
PART 42--VISAS: DOCUMENTATION OF IMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION
AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED
0
1. The authority citation for part 42 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104 and 1182; Pub. L. 105-277, 112 Stat.
2681; Pub. L. 108-449, 118 Stat. 3469; The Convention on Protection
of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption
(done at the Hague, May 29, 1993), S. Treaty Doc. 105-51 (1998),
1870 U.N.T.S. 167 (Reg. No. 31922 (1993)); 42 U.S.C. 14901-14954
(Pub. L. 106-279, 114 Stat. 825); 8 U.S.C. 1101 (Pub. L. 111-287,
124 Stat. 3058); 8 U.S.C. 1154 (Pub. L. 109-162, 119 Stat. 2960); 8
U.S.C. 1201 (Pub. L. 114-70, 129 Stat. 561).
0
2. Effective December 13, 2021, through December 13, 2023, revise Sec.
42.62 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.62 Personal appearance and interview of applicant.
(a) Personal appearance of applicant before consular officer. Every
applicant applying for an immigrant visa other than an applicant
described in paragraph (c) of this section, including an applicant
whose application is executed by another person pursuant to Sec.
42.63(a)(2), shall be required to appear personally before a consular
officer for the execution of the application or, if in Taiwan, before a
designated officer of the American Institute in Taiwan, except that the
personal appearance of any child under the age of 14 may be waived at
the officer's discretion.
(b) Interview by consular officer. (1) Every applicant executing an
immigrant visa application other than an applicant described in
paragraph (c) of this section must be interviewed by a consular officer
who shall determine on the basis of the applicant's
[[Page 70740]]
representations and the visa application and other relevant
documentation--
(i) The proper immigrant classification, if any, of the visa
applicant, and
(ii) The applicant's eligibility to receive a visa.
(2) The officer has the authority to require that the alien answer
any question deemed material to these determinations.
(c) Certain repeat applications due to COVID-19. The personal
appearance and interview of any applicant for an immigrant visa may be
waived in the discretion of the consular officer until December 13,
2023, provided that--
(1) The applicant was issued a U.S. immigrant visa on or after
August 4, 2019, and is:
(i) Seeking an immigrant visa in the same classification and
pursuant to the same approved petition as the previously issued
immigrant visa; or
(ii) Seeking an immigrant visa pursuant to the same approved
petition as the previously issued immigrant visa but in a
classification that automatically converted from the classification of
the previously issued immigrant visa due to the death or naturalization
of the petitioner;
(2) The applicant qualifies for an immigrant visa in the same
classification as the previously issued immigrant visa, or in another
classification as a result of automatic conversion from the
classification of the previously issued immigrant visa due to the death
or naturalization of the petitioner, and pursuant to the same approved
petition as the previously issued immigrant visa; and
(3) The applicant has not undergone a change in circumstances that
could affect the applicant's eligibility for the visa.
0
3. Effective December 13, 2021, through December 13, 2023, in Sec.
42.67, add paragraph (a)(4) to read as follows:
Sec. 42.67 Execution of application, registration, and
fingerprinting.
(a) * * *
(4) Form of attestation for certain repeat applications due to
COVID-19. The swearing to or signature of an application before a
consular officer by an immigrant visa applicant may be waived in the
discretion of the consular officer until December 13, 2023, provided
the applicant is willing to affirm under penalty of perjury to the
information provided on Form DS-260 or Form DS-230.
* * * * *
0
4. Effective December 13, 2023, revise Sec. 42.62 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.62 Personal appearance and interview of applicant.
(a) Personal appearance of applicant before consular officer. Every
alien applying for an immigrant visa, including an alien whose
application is executed by another person pursuant to Sec.
42.63(a)(2), shall be required to appear personally before a consular
officer for the execution of the application or, if in Taiwan, before a
designated officer of the American Institute in Taiwan, except that the
personal appearance of any child under the age of 14 may be waived at
the officer's discretion.
(b) Interview by consular officer. (1) Every alien executing an
immigrant visa application must be interviewed by a consular officer
who shall determine on the basis of the applicant's representations and
the visa application and other relevant documentation--
(i) The proper immigrant classification, if any, of the visa
applicant, and
(ii) The applicant's eligibility to receive a visa.
(2) The officer has the authority to require that the alien answer
any question deemed material to these determinations.
Kevin E. Bryant,
Deputy Director, Office of Directives Management, U.S. Department of
State.
[FR Doc. 2021-26657 Filed 12-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P
