Department of State December 31, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule finalizes the proposed rule published on October 17, 2006, and implements certain provisions of Section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). The IRTPA provides that United States citizens and nonimmigrant aliens may enter the United States only with passports or such alternative documents as the Secretary of Homeland Security may designate as satisfactorily establishing identity and citizenship. The statute requires that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, develop and implement a plan to require virtually all travelers entering the United States to present a passport or other document or combination of documents that are deemed by the Secretary of Homeland Security to be sufficient to denote identity and citizenship. The legislation also requires that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State seek to facilitate the frequent travel of those living in border communities. This final rule takes into account the amendment to section 7209 by the 2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act calling for the availability of a passport card for land and sea travel between the United States and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The Administration's proposal to address the remainder of the legislative requirements in section 7209, called the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), is being addressed in separate rulemakings.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, Delegation of Authority No. 236 of October 19, 1999, as amended, and Delegation of Authority No. 257 of April 15, 2003 [68 FR 19875], I hereby determine that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting, 1830-1925'', imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, from on or about February 7, 2008, until on or about April 27, 2008, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. Public Notice of these Determinations is ordered to be published in the Federal Register.

This rule amends 22 CFR Part 41 in order to reflect increased security measures requiring fingerprinting and name checks of all visa applicants, with certain narrow exceptions, and to be consistent with an amendment to the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services including the cost of such checks in fees for non-immigrant and immigrant visas and border crossing cards.