Notice2022-13474
Exercise of Authority Under Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
Primary source
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Published
June 23, 2022
Issuing agencies
State DepartmentHomeland Security Department
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 37524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13474]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Secretary
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
Exercise of Authority Under Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOS; Office of the Secretary, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of determination.
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Following consultations with the Attorney General, the Secretary of
State and the Secretary of Homeland Security have determined that the
grounds of inadmissibility at section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B), bar certain
individuals who do not pose a national security or public safety risk
from admission to the United States and from obtaining immigration
benefits or other status. Accordingly, consistent with prior exercises
of the exemption authority, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Homeland Security hereby conclude, as a matter of discretion in
accordance with the authority granted by section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the
INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i), as amended, after considering the
foreign policy and national security interests deemed relevant in these
consultations, that section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)(B), excluding subclause (i)(II), shall not apply with
respect to an individual who was employed as a civil servant in
Afghanistan at any time from September 27, 1996 to December 22, 2001,
or from August 15, 2021, or thereafter, if the individual establishes
that they did not voluntarily and knowingly engage in terrorist
activity on behalf of the Taliban or another designated terrorist
organization, and provided that the individual satisfies the relevant
agency authority that the individual:
(a) Is seeking a benefit or protection under the INA and has been
determined to be otherwise eligible for the benefit or protection;
(b) Has undergone and passed all relevant background and security
checks;
(c) Has fully disclosed, to the best of their knowledge, in all
relevant applications and interviews with U.S. government
representatives and agents, the nature and circumstances of any
activities or associations falling within the scope of section
212(a)(3)(B) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B);
(d) Has not participated in, or provided material support for the
commission of, a terrorist activity that they knew or reasonably should
have known targeted noncombatant persons or U.S. interests;
(e) Is not otherwise inadmissible under section 212(a)(3)(B) of the
INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B), for which no exemption applies;
(f) Poses no danger to the safety and security of the United
States; and
(g) Warrants an exemption from the relevant inadmissibility
provision(s) in the totality of the circumstances.
Implementation of this determination will be made by U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in consultation with U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or by U.S. consular
officers, as applicable, who shall ascertain, to their satisfaction,
and in their discretion, that the particular applicant meets each of
the criteria set forth above.
This exercise of authority supersedes a similar exercise of
authority by then Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and then
Secretary of State John Kerry signed on January 18, 2017, expanding the
covered time period of employment as a civil servant in Afghanistan to
include the period from ``August 15, 2021, or thereafter,'' in addition
to the period from September 27, 1996 to December 22, 2001. This
exercise of authority may be revoked as a matter of discretion and
without notice at any time with respect to any and all persons subject
to it. Any determination made under this exercise of authority as set
out above can inform but shall not control a decision regarding any
subsequent benefit or protection application, unless such exercise of
authority has been revoked.
This exercise of authority shall not be construed to prejudice, in
any way, the ability of the U.S. government to commence subsequent
criminal or civil proceedings in accordance with U.S. law involving any
beneficiary of this exercise of authority (or any other person). This
exercise of authority creates no substantive or procedural right or
benefit that is legally enforceable by any party against the United
States or its agencies or officers or any other person.
In accordance with section 212(d)(3)(B)(ii) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1182(d)(3)(B)(ii), a report on the individuals to whom this exercise of
authority is applied, on the basis of case-by-case decisions by the
U.S. Department of State or by the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, shall be provided to the specified congressional committees
not later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year.
This determination is based on an assessment related to the
national security and foreign policy interests of the United States as
they apply to the particular persons described herein and shall not
have any application with respect to other persons or to other
provisions of U.S. law.
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(B)(i).
Dated: June 8, 2022.
Alejandro N. Mayorkas,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Dated: June 8, 2022.
Antony J. Blinken,
Secretary, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2022-13474 Filed 6-21-22; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 23, 2022.
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