2558 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 18, 2012 / Notices 

Dated: January 11, 2012. 

Jennifer S. Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy . 

[FR Doc. 2012–869 Filed 1–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

[Docket No. DHS–2011–0108] 

RIN 1601–ZA11 

Identification of Foreign Countries 

Whose Nationals Are Eligible To 

Participate in the H–2A and H–2B 

Nonimmigrant Worker Programs 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Under Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) regulations, 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services (USCIS) may approve petitions 

for H–2A and H–2B nonimmigrant 

status only for nationals of countries 

that the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

with the concurrence of the Secretary of 

State, has designated by notice 

published in the Federal Register. That 

notice must be renewed each year. This 

notice announces that the Secretary of 

Homeland Security, in consultation 

with the Secretary of State, is 

identifying 58 countries whose 

nationals are eligible to participate in 

the H–2A and H–2B programs for the 

coming year. New countries on this 

year’s list include Haiti, Iceland, 

Montenegro, Spain, and Switzerland. 

DATES: Effective Date: This notice is 

effective January 18, 2012, and shall be 

without effect at the end of one year 

after January 18, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Francis Cissna, Office of Policy, 

Department of Homeland Security, 

Washington, DC 20528, (202) 447–3835. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: USCIS generally may 

approve H–2A and H–2B petitions only 

for nationals of countries that the 

Secretary of Homeland Security, with 

the concurrence of the Secretary of 

State, has designated as participating 

countries. Such designation must be 

published as a notice in the Federal 

Register and expires after one year. 

USCIS may, however, allow a national 

from a country not on the list to be 

named as a beneficiary of an H–2A or 

H–2B petition based on a determination 

that such participation is in the U.S. 

interest. See 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F) and 

8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(i)(E). 

In designating countries to include on 

the list, the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, with the concurrence of the 

Secretary of State, will take into account 

factors including, but not limited to: (1) 

The country’s cooperation with respect 

to issuance of travel documents for 

citizens, subjects, nationals, and 

residents of that country who are subject 

to a final order of removal; (2) the 

number of final and unexecuted orders 

of removal against citizens, subjects, 

nationals, and residents of that country; 

(3) the number of orders of removal 

executed against citizens, subjects, 

nationals, and residents of that country; 

and (4) such other factors as may serve 

the U.S. interest. See 8 CFR 

214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(1)(i) and 8 CFR 

214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(1). 

In December 2008, DHS published in 

the Federal Register two notices, 

‘‘Identification of Foreign Countries 

Whose Nationals Are Eligible to 

Participate in the H–2A Visa Program,’’ 

and ‘‘Identification of Foreign Countries 

Whose Nationals Are Eligible to 

Participate in the H–2B Visa Program,’’ 

which designated 28 countries whose 

nationals are eligible to participate in 

the H–2A and H–2B programs. See 73 

FR 77,043 (Dec. 18, 2008); 73 FR 77,729 

(Dec. 19, 2008). The notices ceased to 

have effect on January 17, 2010 and 

January 18, 2010, respectively. See 

8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(i)(F)(2) and 8 CFR 

214.2(h)(6)(i)(E)(3). 

To allow for the continued operation 

of the H–2A and H–2B programs, the 

Secretary of Homeland Security 

published, with the concurrence of the 

Secretary of State, a notice in the 

Federal Register on January 19, 2010, 

‘‘Identification of Foreign Countries 

Whose Nationals Are Eligible to 

Participate in the H–2A and H–2B 

Programs.’’ The notice provided for the 

continued eligibility of the 28 countries 

initially listed in the Federal Register 

notices of December 18 and December 

19, 2008, and added 11 additional 

countries. See 75 FR 2,879 (Jan. 19, 

2010). A notice in the Federal Register 

on January 18, 2011, ‘‘Identification of 

Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are 

Eligible to Participate in the H–2A and 

H–2B Programs,’’ provided for the 

continued eligibility of 38 of the 

countries listed in the 2010 notice, 

removed Indonesia from the list, as 

Indonesia was not meeting the 

standards set forth in the regulation, and 

added 15 countries. See 76 FR 2,915 

(Jan. 18, 2011). 

The Secretary of Homeland Security 

has determined, with the concurrence of 

the Secretary of State, that the 53 

countries previously designated in the 

January 18, 2011 notice continue to 

meet the standards identified in that 

notice for eligible countries and 

therefore should remain designated as 

countries whose nationals are eligible to 

participate in the H–2A and H–2B 

programs. Further, the Secretary of 

Homeland Security, with the 

concurrence of the Secretary of State, 

has determined that it is now 

appropriate to add five additional 

countries to the list of countries whose 

nationals are eligible to participate in 

the H–2A and H–2B programs. This 

determination is made taking into 

account the four factors identified 

above. The Secretary of Homeland 

Security also considered other pertinent 

factors including, but not limited to, 

evidence of past usage of the H–2A and 

H–2B programs by nationals of the 

countries to be added, as well as 

evidence relating to the economic 

impact on particular U.S. industries or 

regions resulting from the addition or 

continued non-inclusion of specific 

countries. In consideration of all of the 

above, this notice designates for the first 

time Haiti, Iceland, Montenegro, Spain, 

and Switzerland as countries whose 

nationals are eligible to participate in 

the H–2A and H–2B programs. 

Designation of Countries Whose 

Nationals Are Eligible To Participate in 

the H–2A and H–2B Nonimmigrant 

Worker Programs 

Pursuant to the authority provided to 

the Secretary of Homeland Security 

under sections 214(a)(1), and 215(a)(1) 

and 241 of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1), 

1185(a)(1), and 1231), I have designated, 

with the concurrence of the Secretary of 

State, that nationals from the following 

countries are eligible to participate in 

the H–2A and H–2B non-immigrant 

worker programs: 

Argentina 

Australia 

Barbados 

Belize 

Brazil 

Bulgaria 

Canada 

Chile 

Costa Rica 

Croatia 

Dominican Republic 

Ecuador 

El Salvador 

Estonia 

Ethiopia 

Fiji 

Guatemala 

Haiti 

Honduras 

Hungary 

Iceland 

Ireland 

Israel 

Jamaica 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 18, 2012 / Notices 2559 

Japan 

Kiribati 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Macedonia 

Mexico 

Moldova 

Montenegro 

Nauru 

The Netherlands 

Nicaragua 

New Zealand 

Norway 

Papua New Guinea 

Peru 

Philippines 

Poland 

Romania 

Samoa 

Serbia 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

Solomon Islands 

South Africa 

South Korea 

Spain 

Switzerland 

Tonga 

Turkey 

Tuvalu 

Ukraine 

United Kingdom 

Uruguay 

Vanuatu 

This notice does not affect the status 

of aliens who currently hold valid H–2A 

or H–2B nonimmigrant status. Persons 

currently holding such status, however, 

will be affected by this notice at the 

time they seek an extension of stay in 

H–2 classification, or a change of status 

from another non-immigrant status to 

H–2 status, or a change of status from 

H–2A to H–2B (and vice-versa). 

Nothing in this notice limits the 

authority of the Secretary of Homeland 

Security or her designee or any other 

federal agency to invoke against any 

foreign country or its nationals any 

other remedy, penalty, or enforcement 

action available by law. 

Janet Napolitano, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–870 Filed 1–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9M–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: New Information Collection: 

Comment Request 

ACTION: 60-Day notice of information 

collection under review: E-Verify 2012 

Web User Survey. 

* * * * * 

The Department of Homeland 

Security, U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services (USCIS) will be 

submitting the following information 

collection request for review and 

clearance in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 

information collection is published to 

obtain comments from the public and 

affected agencies. Comments are 

encouraged and will be accepted for 

sixty days until March 19, 2012. 

Written comments and/or suggestions 

regarding the item(s) contained in this 

notice, especially regarding the 

estimated public burden and associated 

response time, should be directed to the 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS), USCIS, Chief, Regulatory 

Products Division, 20 Massachusetts 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20529– 

2020. Comments may also be submitted 

to DHS via facsimile to (202) 272–0997 

or via email at rfs.regs@dhs.gov. When 

submitting comments by email, please 

make sure to add E-Verify 2012 Web 

User Survey in the subject box. 

Note: The address listed in this notice 

should only be used to submit comments 

concerning E-Verify Program Data Collection. 

Please do not submit requests for individual 

case status inquiries to this address. If you 

are seeking information about the status of 

your individual case, please check ‘‘My Case 

Status’’ online at https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/ 

Dashboard.do, or call the USCIS National 

Customer Service Center at 1–(800) 375–5283 

(TTY 1–(800) 767–1833). 

Written comments and suggestions 

from the public and affected agencies 

should address one or more of the 

following four points: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agencies estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

Overview of This Information 

Collection 

(1) Type of Information Collection: 

New information collection. 

(2) Title of the Form/Collection: EVerify 2012 Web User Survey. 

(3) Agency form number, if any, and 

the applicable component of the 

Department of Homeland Security 

sponsoring the collection: No Form 

Number; U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services. 

(4) Affected public who will be asked 

or required to respond, as well as a brief 

abstract: Primary: Individuals or 

Households. E-Verify 2012 Web User 

Survey is necessary in order for U.S. 

Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS) to obtain data from E-Verify 

employers in anticipation of the 

enactment of mandatory state and/or 

national eligibility verification programs 

for all or a substantial number of 

employers. 

(5) An estimate of the total number of 

respondents and the amount of time 

estimated for an average respondent to 

respond: 2,800 responses at 30 minutes 

(.50 hours) per response. 

(6) An estimate of the total public 

burden (in hours) associated with the 

collection: 1,400 annual burden hours. 

If you need a copy of the information 

collection instrument, please visit the 

Web site at: http://www.regulations. 

gov/. 

We may also be contacted at: USCIS, 

Regulatory Products Division, 20 

Massachusetts Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20529–2020, 

Telephone number (202) 272–8377. 

Dated: January 12, 2012. 

Sunday Aigbe, 

Chief, Regulatory Products Division, Office 

of the Executive Secretariat, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2012–874 Filed 1–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P 


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