Proposed Rule2021-20020
Visas: Immigrant Visas
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 16, 2021
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
The Department of State (``Department'') seeks public comments identifying barriers that impede access to, and fair, efficient adjudication of, immigration benefits, and recommendations on how to remove those barriers, and identifying any Department actions that fail to promote access to the legal immigration system.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51643-51644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20020]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Parts 40, 41, and 42
[Public Notice: 11459]
RIN 1400-AF30
Visas: Immigrant Visas
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Request for public input.
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SUMMARY: The Department of State (``Department'') seeks public comments
identifying barriers that impede access to, and fair, efficient
adjudication of, immigration benefits, and recommendations on how to
remove those barriers, and identifying any Department actions that fail
to promote access to the legal immigration system.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 18, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 1400-AF30, by
either of the following methods:
<bullet> Internet (preferred): At <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, you can
search for the document using Docket Number DOS-2021-0017 or using the
notice RIN 1400-AF30.
<bullet> Email: Claire Kelly, Office of Visa Services, Bureau of
Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#85d3ecf6e4d7e0e2f6c5f6f1e4f1e0abe2eaf3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="63350a1002310604102310170217064d040c15">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
include the RIN or Docket Number in the Subject Line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claire Kelly, Office of Visa Services,
Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State, 600 19th St. NW,
Washington, DC 20006, (202) 485-7586.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation
All interested parties are invited to respond to this Request for
Public Input by submitting written views and comments on all aspects of
the Department of State's implementation and execution of its
authorities relating to the immigrant visa function, including existing
regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other
similar agency actions. Comments must be submitted in English or
commenters must submit an English translation. Comments that will
provide the most assistance to the Department in considering
recommendations will reference a specific existing regulation, order,
guidance, policy, or any other similar agency action, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include information that
supports the recommended change.
II. Background
Executive Order (E.O.) 14012 describes a policy of the
Administration to restore faith in our legal immigration system and to
strengthen integration and inclusion efforts for new Americans. As a
first step to advance this policy, section 3 of the E.O. tasked the
Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland
Security with identifying:
<bullet> Barriers that impede access to immigration benefits and
fair, efficient adjudications of these benefits and make
recommendations on how to remove these barriers, as appropriate and
consistent with applicable law; and
<bullet> any agency actions that fail to promote access to the
legal immigration system . . . and recommend steps, as appropriate
and consistent with applicable law, to revise or rescind those
agency actions.\1\
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\1\ E.O. 14012, 86 FR 8277 (February 5, 2021).
The Department of State's role in facilitating access to the U.S.
immigration system includes the issuance of immigrant visas to eligible
individuals outside of the United States. The Department welcomes
comments on: (1) Any existing barriers that impede access to, and fair,
efficient adjudication of, immigrant visas, and (2) recommendations on
actions the Department could take to improve access to adjudication of
immigrant visas; however the Department is not soliciting comments on
administrative processing or communication surrounding administrative
processing as the Department at this time is unable to alter or improve
communication surrounding administrative processing. Additionally, as
the Department is already undertaking efforts to address the Immigrant
Visa (including Diversity Visa) backlog caused by Presidential
Proclamation 10014 \2\ and the global pandemic's effect on visa
operations, comments on this area are less useful than comments on
perceived systemic barriers pre-pandemic. This Request for Public Input
is not soliciting comments on areas outside the Department's
responsibility, including the functions, roles and responsibilities
vested in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor,
or Department of Justice, though the Department is interested in
learning whether there are areas of overlap between any of the policies
of these agencies and the Department of State that create such
barriers, inefficiencies, or that impede access to, fair and efficient
adjudication of immigrant visas. The Department is not obligated to
respond in any way to comments received in response to this Request for
Public Input; however, the Department intends to consider all comments
in developing the report to the President required under section 3(c)
of E.O. 14012, describing its progress towards implementing a plan to
advance the policy set forth in section 1 of E.O. 14012. This Request
for Public Input does not create any right for members of the public
who submit comments or any obligations for the Department of State.
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\2\ Proclamation No. 10014, 85 FR 23441 (April 27, 2020).
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III. Request for Input
A. Maximizing the Value of Public Feedback
This notice contains a list of questions, the answers to which may
assist the Department in identifying aspects of immigrant visa-related
processes that may benefit from the Department's review with the goals
of eliminating any undue burdens on the public, saving costs for both
the public and the Department, increasing navigability, saving time,
reducing perceived confusion, promoting simplification, improving
efficiency, and/or removing barriers that unnecessarily impede access
to immigrant visas. The Department encourages public comment on these
questions and seeks any other information or data commenters believe
are relevant to this notice. The type of feedback that is most useful
to the Department will identify specific regulations and/or processes
and include actionable information and/or data and/or provide viable
alternatives, that meet statutory obligations and regulatory objectives
and requirements. Public feedback that simply states that a stakeholder
feels strongly that the
[[Page 51644]]
Department should change its processes but does not contain specific
information on what change should be considered or how a proposed
change will reduce barriers, or otherwise improve existing processes,
is less useful to the Department.
We highlight a few of those points here, noting that the comments
that will be most useful to the Department are those that are guided by
the below principles. Commenters should consider these principles as
they answer and respond to the questions in this Request for Public
Input:
<bullet> Commenters should identify, with specificity, the
regulation, order, guidance document, policy, or other similar agency
action at issue, providing the relevant Code of Federal Regulation
(CFR) citation if the comment recommends revising a current Department
regulation. If a new regulation is being suggested addressing a subject
matter that is not currently codified in regulations, it should be
identified with as much specificity as possible and with references to
the program/process and statutory authority.
<bullet> Commenters should provide, in as much detail as possible,
an explanation why a Department regulation, order, guidance document,
policy, other similar agency action should be modified, streamlined,
expanded, or repealed, as well as specific suggestions about how the
Department can better achieve its objectives and reduce unnecessary
burdens on the public.
<bullet> To the extent feasible, commenters are invited to provide
specific information on the costs, burdens, and benefits of existing
requirements and/or how proposed changes would reduce costs and
burdens, and/or increase benefits to the Department or the public.
Commenters also are invited to address how the Department can address
procedural obstacles to fair and efficient adjudications related to
immigrant visas attributable to existing regulations, orders, guidance
documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions, and whether
there are existing sources of data that the Department can use to
identify and evaluate inefficiencies and unwarranted barriers to
accessing the Department's visa-related services.
<bullet> Comments should emphasize any unduly burdensome processes
that have been in effect for enough time to warrant a fair evaluation,
in most cases for more than one year.
<bullet> Comments that reiterate substantive issues already raised
in public comments submitted on recently issued rules will be less
useful, unless they provide new information--by, for example, pointing
to new studies or data, or offering novel alternatives.
B. List of Questions for Commenters
The below non-exhaustive list of questions is meant to assist
members of the public in formulating input, and is not intended to
restrict the input that members of the public may provide:
(1) Are there any immigrant visa related regulations, orders,
guidance documents, policies, or other similar agency actions that you
consider to be unjustified or excessive barriers that impede easy
access to immigrant visa-related services and fair, efficient
adjudication of immigrant visas? For any identified barrier, is the
perceived barrier created by duplication, overlap, or inconsistency of
requirements?
(2) Are there any immigrant visa regulations, orders, guidance
documents, policies, or other similar agency actions that impose undue
burdens on applicants that are not tailored to achieving the
Department's objectives?
(3) Are there any immigrant visa regulations, orders, guidance
documents, policies, or other similar agency actions that
disproportionally and unreasonably burden disadvantaged, vulnerable, or
marginalized communities? If so, please specify the regulations,
orders, guidance documents, policies, or other similar agency actions
to include citations of any applicable Department regulations,
providing a description of the specific burden and the relevant
communities.
(4) Are there immigrant visa regulations, orders, guidance
documents, policies, or other similar agency actions for which
implementation could be modified to reduce unnecessary administrative
burdens? For example, are there regulations, orders, guidance
documents, policies, or other similar agency actions, specifically that
could be modernized, streamlined, or otherwise improved?
(5) Is there information you believe the Department currently
collects from immigrant visa applicants that it does not need or that
is not effectively scoped to information relevant to the adjudication
of an immigrant visa application? Are there immigrant visa regulations,
forms or other information collections that have been overtaken by
technological developments?
(6) Are there new technologies that the Department should consider
leveraging to modify, streamline, or do away with existing immigrant
visa regulatory or form requirements?
Additionally, the Department is interested feedback on the
following:
(1) Communication--
a. How could the immigrant visa application system (Consular Electronic
Application Center) be improved to make the required steps in the
immigrant visa application process clearer? How can the Department
better communicate information regarding the status of active immigrant
visa cases, what steps the applicant may need to take to advance the
case, and when the case will be scheduled for interview?
(2) Websites--
a. If you consulted <a href="http://nvc.state.gov">nvc.state.gov</a> to learn about the immigrant visa
process, what could be improved about it?
b. If you have used the country-specific document finder tool
(reciprocity),\3\ how could it be improved? If you have used post-
specific interview instructions found on individual post's websites,
what could be improved about them?
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\3\ <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html">https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html</a>.
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c. Are there aspects of visa appointment scheduling the Department
should consider modernizing, streamlining, or otherwise improving?
Detailed suggestions are most helpful.
Instructions: If you submit a comment, you must include the agency
name, Department of State, and RIN 1400-AF30 for this request for
public input in the title or body of the comment. Regardless of the
method used for submitting comments or material, all submissions will
be posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, and therefore will include any personal
information you provide. Therefore, because all submissions will be
public, you may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal
information that you provide. The Department of State may withhold from
public viewing information provided in comments that it determines may
infringe privacy rights of an individual or is offensive. For
additional information, please read the Privacy Act notice available in
the footer at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Zachary A. Parker,
Director, Office of Directives Management, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2021-20020 Filed 9-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P
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