Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 22 / Thursday, February 2, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 5177 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

22 CFR Parts 22 and 51 

[Public Notice: 7779] 

RIN 1400–AC58 

Schedule of Fees for Consular 

Services, Department of State and 

Overseas Embassies and Consulates 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consular Affairs, 

State. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule adopts as final the 

interim final rule published in the 

Federal Register on June 28, 2010 

(Public Notice 7068). Specifically, the 

rule made changes to the Schedule of 

Fees for Consular Services (Schedule) 

for a number of different fees. This 

rulemaking adopts as final the changes 

to these fees. 

DATES: Effective February 2, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Polly Hill, Office of the Comptroller, 

Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department 

of State; phone: 202–663–1301, telefax: 

202–663–2526; email: fees@state.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For the 

complete explanation of the background 

of this rule, including the rationale for 

the change, the authority of the 

Department of State (‘‘Department’’) to 

make the fee changes in question, and 

an explanation of the study that 

produced the fee amounts, consult the 

prior public notices cited in the 

‘‘Background’’ section below. 

Background 

The Department published a proposed 

rule in the Federal Register, 75 FR 6321, 

on February 9, 2010, proposing to 

amend sections of 22 CFR part 22. 

Specifically, the rule proposed changes 

to the Schedule of Fees for Consular 

Services and provided 30 days for 

comments from the public. In response 

to requests by the public for more 

information and a further opportunity to 

submit comments, the Department 

subsequently published a 

supplementary notice in the Federal 

Register, 75 FR 14111, on March 24, 

2010 (Public Notice 6928). The 

supplementary notice provided a more 

detailed explanation of the Cost of 

Service Model (‘‘CoSM’’), previously 

referred to as the Cost of Service Study 

or ‘‘CoSS,’’ which is the activity-based 

costing model that the Department used 

to determine the proposed fees for 

consular services, and reopened the 

comment period for an additional 15 

days. During this and the previous 30 

day comment period, 1,797 comments 

were received, either by email or 

through the submission process at 

www.regulations.gov. 

The Department analyzed the 1,797 

comments in the interim final rule at 75 

FR 36522, on June 28, 2010 (Public 

Notice 7068) and does not reproduce 

that analysis here. Instead, the current 

notice addresses only the four 

additional comments received in the 

further 60 days during which the 

comment period for this interim final 

rule was open (see Analysis of 

Comments, below). In total, the public 

was given 105 days to comment on this 

change to the Schedule of Fees and a 

total of 1,801 comments were received. 

This rule establishes the following 

fees for the categories below, as 

determined by the CoSM: 

—Passport Book Application Services 

for Applicants Age 16 or Over 

(including renewals): from $55 to $70 

—Additional Passport Visa Pages: from 

$0 to $82 

—Passport Book Security Surcharge 

(Enhanced Border Security Fee): from 

$20 to $40 

—File Search and Verification of U.S. 

Citizenship: from $60 to $150 

—Application for Consular Report of 

Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the 

United States: from $65 to $100 

—Administrative Processing of Formal 

Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship: 

from $0 to $450* 

—Passport Card Application Services 

for Applicants Age 16 or Over 

(including renewals): from $20 to $30 

—Passport Card Application Services 

for Applicants Under Age 16: from 

$10 to $15 

—Making arrangements for a Deceased 

Non-U.S. Citizen Family Member: 

from a charge of Consular time spent 

on the service, previously $265 an 

hour plus expenses to $200 plus 

expenses 

—Immigrant Visa Application for 

Immediate Relative and Family 

Preference Applications: from $355 to 

$330 

—Immigrant Visa Application for 

Employment-Based Applications: 

from $355 to $720 

—Immigrant Visa Application for Other 

Visa Classes: from $355 to $305 

—Diversity Visa Program Fee: from $375 

to $440 

—Affidavit of Support Review (only 

when reviewed domestically): from 

$70 to $88 

—Determining Returning Resident 

Status: from $400 to $380 

—Immigrant Visa Security Surcharge: 

from $45 to $74 

—Providing Notarial Service: First 

service (seal): from $30 to $50 

—Providing Notarial Service: Each 

additional seal: from $20 to $50 

—Certification of a True Copy or That 

No Record of an Official File Can be 

Located: First copy: from $30 to $50 

—Certification of a True Copy or That 

No Record of an Official File Can be 

Located: Each additional copy: from 

$20 to $50 

—Provision of Documents, Certified 

Copies of Documents, and Other 

Certifications by the Department of 

State (domestic): from $30 to $50 

—Authentications (by posts abroad): 

from $30 to $50 

—Processing Letters Rogatory and 

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 

275 (FSIA) Judicial Assistance Cases: 

from $735 to $2,275 

—Scheduling/Arranging Appointments 

for Depositions: from $475 to $1,283 

—Attending or Taking Depositions, or 

Executing Commissions to Take 

Testimony: from $265 per hour plus 

expenses to $309 per hour plus 

expenses 

—Providing Seal and Certification of 

Depositions: from $70 to $415 

—Consular Time Charges: from $265 to 

$231 

Administrative processing of formal 

renunciation of U.S. citizenship was 

previously a no-fee service. Under the 

new fee structure, the renunciant must 

now pay a fee for this service. The 

Department has decided that the 

renunciant should pay this fee at the 

visit during which he or she swears the 

oath of renunciation. The proposed and 

interim final rules referred to it as 

‘‘Documentation of formal renunciation 

of U.S. citizenship,’’ at Item 8 of their 

respective reproductions of the 

Schedule of Fees. See 75 FR 36522, 

36532; 75 FR 6321, 6328. This final rule 

makes a technical correction to the title 

of the service, labeling it 

‘‘Administrative processing of formal 

renunciation of U.S. citizenship.’’ 

Please note there are two additional 

clarifications the Department of State is 

making in this final rule. First, the 

Immigrant Visa application for 

employment-based applications is based 

on I–140 and I–526 petitions and also 

includes investor visas. The interim 

final rule incorrectly stated that 

employment-based visas are based on 

the I–140 petition only. Second, since 

publishing the interim final rule on June 

28, 2010 (75 FR 36522), the Department 

reexamined the CoSM’s inputs to the 

Diversity Visa Lottery Fee. Upon 

reexamination, it was decided that the 

present fee adequately accounts for the 

costs of processing the immigrant visa 

application and enhanced security. The 

Department, therefore, has decided it 

will not charge the separate Immigrant 

Visa Application Processing Fee or 

Immigrant Visa Security Surcharge to 


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5178 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 22 / Thursday, February 2, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Diversity Visa Lottery selecteeapplicants and will amend the Schedule 

of Fees to so reflect. 

Analysis of Comments 

In the additional 60 day period since 

the publication of the interim final rule, 

four additional comments were 

received. Three commenters expressed 

concern over the fee increase for extra 

passport visa pages. Two of those 

commenters traveled frequently for 

work and noted that this would be an 

additional cost. The third commenter, 

an American citizen living overseas, 

expressed concern over the large cost to 

his family to receive additional visa 

pages. A suggestion was made by one of 

the commenters to waive the additional 

visa pages fee every other year for 

business people who travel frequently. 

As explained in the supplementary 

notice, 75 FR 14111, 14113, the cost of 

this service includes not only the pages 

themselves, but the employee time 

spent affixing the pages into a passport, 

endorsing the passport, and performing 

a quality-control check on the expanded 

passport; also the costs of trained labor, 

supervisors, and overhead; of 

performing a name check of the 

applicant prior to providing the service; 

and a share of the overall costs of nofee emergency services provided to 

Americans overseas—costs incorporated 

into and assigned across all passport 

book services. The Department does 

offer a larger passport for travelers who 

anticipate that they will need more visa 

pages. Any passport applicant may 

request a larger book (52 pages, instead 

of the standard 28 pages) at the time of 

application for no additional fee. 

Information about this option is widely 

available to customers both 

domestically and overseas. Because the 

Department’s passport processing 

operations must be self-sustaining as 

much as possible and has accordingly 

set these fees at a level that will allow 

cost recovery, the Department is not in 

a position to grant a fee waiver to 

frequent business travelers. 

The final comment was directed 

toward the fee increase for the passport 

book. The commenter stated that the fee 

increase influenced whether she would 

renew her passport book and her 

decision to travel abroad. The 

Department is aware of the financial 

impact this fee increase may have on 

individuals and businesses; however, 

the Department must recover its costs 

from the passport services it provides. 

The Department also maintains that the 

increase in passport fees is not 

significant in comparison with the 

overall costs of international travel. 

Conclusion 

The Department has adjusted the fees 

to ensure that sufficient resources are 

available to meet the costs of providing 

consular services in light of the CoSM’s 

findings that the U.S. Government was 

not fully covering its costs for providing 

these consular services. Pursuant to 

OMB guidance, the Department 

endeavors to recover the cost of 

providing services that benefit specific 

individuals, as opposed to the general 

public. See OMB Circular A–25, 

¶ 6(a)(1), (a)(2)(a). For this reason, the 

Department has adjusted the Schedule. 

Regulatory Findings 

For a summary of the regulatory 

findings and analyses regarding this 

rulemaking, please refer to the findings 

and analyses published with the interim 

final rule, which can be found at 75 FR, 

at 36529, which are adopted herein. The 

rule became effective July 13, 2010. As 

noted above, the Department has 

considered the comments submitted in 

response to the interim final rule, and 

does not adopt them. Thus, the rule 

remains in effect without modification. 

In addition, as noted in the interim 

final rule, this rule was submitted to 

and reviewed by OMB pursuant to E.O. 

12866. The Department of State has also 

considered this rule in light of 

Executive Order 13563, dated January 

18, 2011, and affirms that this regulation 

is consistent with the guidance therein. 

Accordingly, the Interim Rule 

amending 22 CFR parts 22 and 51, 

which was published in the Federal 

Register, 75 FR 36522, on June 28, 2010 

(Public Notice 7068), is adopted as final 

without change. 

Dated: January 23, 2012. 

Patrick F. Kennedy, 

Under Secretary of State for Management, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2075 Filed 2–1–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Indian Gaming Commission 

25 CFR Part 514 

Fees 

AGENCY: National Indian Gaming 

Commission, Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Indian Gaming 

Commission (NIGC or Commission) is 

amending its fee regulation. The Indian 

Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) requires 

Tribal gaming operations to pay a fee to 

the Commission for each gaming 

operation regulated by IGRA that 

conducts Class II or Class III gaming 

activity. IGRA also requires that ‘‘[t]he 

Commission, by a vote of not less than 

two of its members, shall annually 

adopt the rate of the fees authorized by 

this section which shall be payable to 

the Commission on a quarterly basis.’’ 

Pursuant to the Commission’s authority 

to ‘‘promulgate such regulations and 

guidelines as it deems appropriate to 

implement the provisions of [IGRA],’’ 

the Commission is amending its 

regulations to provide for the submittal 

of fees and fee worksheets on a quarterly 

basis rather than bi-annually; to provide 

for operations to calculate fees based on 

the gaming operation’s fiscal year rather 

than a calendar year; to amend certain 

language in the regulation to better 

reflect industry usage; to establish an 

assessment for fees and fee worksheets 

submitted one to ninety days late; and 

to establish a fingerprinting fee payment 

process. 

DATES: Effective Date: October 1, 2012. 

Compliance Date: Submitting fee 

worksheets and payments on a quarterly 

basis under §§ 514.5 and 514.6 is not 

required until January 1, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Hoenig, National Indian 

Gaming Commission, 1441 L Street 

NW., Suite 9100, Washington, DC 

20005. Telephone: (202) 632–7009; 

email: michael_hoenig@nigc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 

(IGRA) established an agency funding 

framework whereby gaming operations 

licensed by tribes pay a fee to the 

Commission for each gaming operation 

that conducts Class II or Class III gaming 

activity that is regulated by IGRA. 25 

U.S.C. 2717(a)(1). These fees are used to 

fund the Commission in carrying out its 

statutory duties. Fees are based on the 

gaming operation’s assessable gross 

revenues, which are defined as the 

annual total amount of money wagered, 

less any amounts paid out as prizes or 

paid for prizes awarded and less 

allowance for amortization of capital 

expenditures for structures. 25 U.S.C. 

2717(a)(6). The rate of fees is established 

annually by the Commission and shall 

be payable on a quarterly basis. 25 

U.S.C. 2717(a)(3). IGRA limits the total 

amount of fees imposed during any 

fiscal year to .08% of the gross gaming 

revenues of all gaming operations 

subject to regulation under IGRA. 

Failure of a gaming operation to pay the 

fees imposed by the Commission’s fee 

schedule can be grounds for a civil 


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