Department of Homeland Security 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment upon this proposed revision of a currently approved collection of information. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the information collection notice is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments regarding the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e. the time, effort, and resources used by the respondents to respond), the estimated cost to the respondent, and the actual information collection instruments.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment upon this proposed extension of a currently approved collection of information. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the information collection notice is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments regarding the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e. the time, effort, and resources used by the respondents to respond), the estimated cost to the respondent, and the actual information collection instruments.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment upon this proposed revision of a currently approved collection of information or new collection of information. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the information collection notice is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments regarding the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e. the time, effort, and resources used by the respondents to respond), the estimated cost to the respondent, and the actual information collection instruments.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving safety zone around the vessels OCEAN PATRIOT and ROSS CANDIES operating in the Mississippi Canyon Block 20 in the Gulf of Mexico. The safety zone encompasses all navigable waters within a 500-yard radius of the vessels. The safety zone is needed to protect persons, vessels, and the marine environment from hazards associated with the vessels' limited maneuverability during installation of a containment system. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering or remaining in this zone unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector New Orleans or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish two temporary safety zones on the navigable waters of the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County and New Hanover County, North Carolina. These temporary safety zones are intended to restrict vessel traffic on the Cape Fear River while a vessel transports and offloads one new Post-Panamax container crane to the North Carolina State Port in Wilmington, North Carolina. The first temporary safety zone will be enforced for one day during vessel transit from March 20 through April 15, 2019, and the second temporary safety zone for offload will be enforced for one day within five days after transit. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic on the Cape Fear River to protect mariners and vessels from the hazards associated with transporting and offloading the assembled container crane. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit vessels or persons from being in the safety zones unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) North Carolina or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security (``DHS'' or ``the Department'') regulations governing petitions filed on behalf of H-1B beneficiaries who may be counted toward the 65,000 visa cap established under the Immigration and Nationality Act (``H-1B regular cap'') or beneficiaries with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education who are eligible for an exemption from the regular cap (``advanced degree exemption''). The amendments require petitioners seeking to file H-1B petitions subject to the regular cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (``USCIS'') during a designated registration period, unless the registration requirement is temporarily suspended. USCIS is suspending the registration requirement for the fiscal year 2020 cap season to complete all requisite user testing of the new H-1B registration system and otherwise ensure the system and process are operable. This final rule also changes the process by which USCIS counts H-1B registrations (or petitions, for FY 2020 or any other year in which the registration requirement will be suspended), by first selecting registrations submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will then select from the remaining registrations a sufficient number projected as needed to reach the advanced degree exemption. Changing the order in which USCIS counts these separate allocations will likely increase the number of beneficiaries with a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for further processing under the H- 1B allocations. USCIS will proceed with implementing this change to the cap allocation selection process for the FY 2020 cap season (beginning on April 1, 2019), notwithstanding the delayed implementation of the H- 1B registration requirement.

On December 27, 2018 (83 FR 66724-66725) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice announcing that a meeting of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) was to take place on Thursday, January 31, 2019 via teleconference. Due to the lapse in appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, DHS is cancelling the January 31, 2019 meeting.

This document amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations to reflect an extension of import restrictions on certain archaeological material from China. The restrictions, which were originally imposed by CBP Dec. 09-03 and last extended by CBP Dec. 14-02, are due to expire on January 14, 2019. The Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, has made the requisite determination for extending the import restrictions that previously existed and entering into a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China to reflect the extension of these import restrictions. The new MOU supersedes the existing agreement that became effective on January 14, 2009. Accordingly, these import restrictions will remain in effect for an additional five years, and the CBP regulations are being amended to reflect this further extension through January 14, 2024. This document also contains the amended Designated List that describes the types of archaeological material to which the restrictions apply, including a new subcategory of glass objects from the Zhou period through the Tang period.