Title 45—Public Welfare--Volume 1
PART 504—FILING OF CLAIMS AND PROCEDURES THEREFOR
§ 504.1   Claim defined.
(a) This subchapter is included solely in order to provide for the adjudication of any additional claims that may arise on behalf of survivors of deceased civilians and military veterans who had been listed as missing during the Vietnam conflict but were subsequently determined to have been interned, in hiding, or captured by a hostile force in Southeast Asia (see § 504.2(a)(3) and (b)(3)). The Commission no longer has authority to receive or consider any other types of claims based on the internment of civilians or the maltreatment of military servicemen held as prisoners of war by forces hostile to the United States.
(b) A properly completed and executed application made on an official form provided by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission for such purpose constitutes a claim and will be processed under the laws administered by the Commission.
(c) Any communication, letter, note, or memorandum from a claimant, or the claimant's duly authorized representative, or a person acting as next friend of a claimant who is not legally competent, setting forth sufficient facts to apprise the Commission of an interest to apply under the provisions of sections 5(i) and 6(f) of the Act, will be deemed to be an informal claim. Where an informal claim is received and an official form is forwarded for completion and execution by the applicant, that official form will be considered as evidence necessary to complete the initial claim, and unless that official form is received within thirty (30) days from the date it was transmitted for execution, if the claimant resides in the continental United States, or forty-five (45) days if outside the continental United States, the claim may be disallowed.
§ 504.2   Time within which claims may be filed.
(a) Claims of individuals entitled to benefits under section 5(i) of the War Claims Act of 1948, as added by Public Law 91-289, will be accepted by the Commission during the period beginning June 24, 1970, and ending:
(1) June 24, 1973, inclusive;
(2) 3 years from the date the civilian American citizen by whom the claim is filed returned to the jurisdiction of the United States; or
(3) 3 years from the date upon which the Commission, at the request of a potentially eligible survivor, makes a determination that the civilian American citizen has actually died or may be presumed to be dead, in the case of any civilian American citizen who has not returned to the jurisdiction of the United States, whichever of the preceding dates last occurs.
(b) Claims of individuals entitled to benefits under section 6(f) of the War Claims Act of 1948, as added by Public Law 91-289, will be accepted by the Commission during the period beginning June 24, 1970, and ending:
(1) June 24, 1973, inclusive;
(2) 3 years from the date the prisoner of war by whom the claim is filed returned to the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces of the United States; or
(3) 3 years from the date the Department of Defense makes a determination that the prisoner of war has actually died or is presumed to be dead, in the case of any prisoner of war who has not returned to the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces of the United States, whichever of the preceding dates last occurs.
§ 504.3   Official claim forms.
Official forms are provided for use in the preparation of claims for submission to the Commission for processing. Claim forms are available at the Washington offices of the Commission and through other offices as the Commission may designate. The official claim form for all claims under section 5(i) and 6(f) has been designated FCSC Form 289, “Application for Compensation for Members of the Armed Forces of the United States Held as Prisoner of War in Vietnam; for Persons Assigned to Duty on board the ‘U.S.S. Pueblo’ Captured by Military Forces of North Korea; for Civilian American Citizens Captured or Who Went into Hiding to Avoid Capture or Internment in Southeast Asia During the Vietnam Conflict and, in Case of Death of any Such Person, for Their Survivors.”
§ 504.4   Place of filing claims.
Claims must be mailed or delivered in person to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, 600 E Street, NW, Room 6002, Washington, DC 20579.
§ 504.5   Documents to accompany forms.
All claims filed pursuant to sections 5(a) and 6(f) of the Act must be accompanied by evidentiary documents, instruments, and records as outlined in the instruction sheet attached to the claim form.
§ 504.6   Receipt of claims.
(a) Claims deemed received. A claim will be deemed to have been received by the Commission on the date postmarked, if mailed, or if delivery is made in person, on the date of delivery at the offices of the Commission in Washington, DC.
(b) Claims developed. In the event that a claim has been insufficiently prepared so as to preclude processing thereof, the Commission may request the claimant to furnish whatever supplemental evidence, including the completion and execution of an official claim form, as may be essential to the processing of the claim. In case the evidence or official claim form requested is not returned within the time which may be designated by the Commission, the claim may be deemed to have been abandoned and may be disallowed.