This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

30105

Vol. 63, No. 106

Wednesday, June 3, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

8 CFR Parts 103 and 209

[INS No. 1829–96]

RIN 1115–AD73

Adjustment of Status of Refugees and

Asylees: Processing Under Direct Mail

Program

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Justice.

ACTION: Interim rule with request for

comments.

SUMMARY: This interim rule amends the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

(Service or INS) regulations regarding

the filing and processing of applications

by alien refugees and asylees to adjust

their status to that of lawful permanent

residents. This rule expands the

Service’s Direct Mail Program to require

refugees and asylees to file their

applications for adjustment of status

directly with an INS service center for

processing. This procedural change is

designed to improve customer service to

these applicants.

DATES: Effective date: This interim rule

is effective July 6, 1998.

Comment Date: Written comments

must be submitted on or before August

3, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written

comments, in triplicate, to the Director,

Policy Directives and Instructions

Branch, Immigration and Naturalization

Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 5307,

Washington, DC 20563. To ensure

proper handling, please reference INS

No. 1829–96 on your correspondence.

Comments are available for public

inspection at the above address by

calling (202) 514–3048 to arrange for an

appointment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gerard Casale, Staff Officer, Immigration

and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street,

NW., Room 3214, Washington, DC

20536, Telephone: (202) 514–5014, or

Ronald E. Johnson, Center

Adjudications Officer, California

Service Center, Immigration and

Naturalization Service, 24000 Avila

Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677,

Telephone: (714) 360–2872.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

Section 209(b) of the Immigration and

Nationality Act (Act) provides that

refugees and asylees in the United

States may be adjusted to the status of

permanent residents.

Background

What Are the Current Procedures for the

Adjustment of Refugees and Asylees to

Permanent Resident Status?

A. Refugees

The procedure by which refugees

acquire permanent resident status is an

inspection process divided into three

stages, as follows:

(1) A personal interview of each

refugee applicant is conducted by an

immigration officer outside the United

States to determine eligibility for

refugee status and admissibility to the

United States. Each applicant is

questioned under oath and signs a

sworn statement concerning

admissibility. A medical examination is

performed, and security checks, when

required, are conducted prior to travel

to the United States. Remaining

questions of identity, eligibility for

refugee status, and admissibility to the

United States are resolved at this time.

(2) The applicant is admitted to the

United States as a refugee.

(3) Following a personnel appearance

at a local Service office 1 year after the

date of admission to the United States,

the refugee is inspected, interviewed,

and adjusted to the status of a lawful

permanent resident.

Refugees are currently required to

submit fingerprints and biographic

forms which are processed prior to

determining there admissibility to

permanent resident status. The

fingerprints are referred to the Federal

Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the

biographic data circulated to the FBI

and other agencies to determine if any

information exists which would bar the

applicant from permanent residence.

Responses to these agency checks,

positive or negative, must be received

prior to admitting the refugee to

permanent residence. Once the

responses have been received, the

inspection and examination interview is

conducted (if the applicant has not

already been interviewed prior to that

receipt). Upon successful completion of

the inspection and examination

interview, the refugee applicant is

granted lawful permanent residence in

the United States.

B. Ayslees

The adjustment process for asylee is

similar to that for a refugee, with some

exceptions. The process by which

asylees acquire permanent resident

status in the United States has two

stages, as follows:

(1) An alien in the United States

applies for asylum, followed by an

interview before an asylum officer or a

hearing before an immigration judge. On

the application and during the interview

or hearing, the applicant must establish

his or her eligibility for status as a

refugee.

(2) After 1 year since the grant of

asylum, the asylee applies for

permanent resident status by filing

Form I–485, Application to Register

Permanent Residence or Adjust Status,

which the Service officer uses to

determine the applicant’s continuing

eligibility for benefits under section

209(b) of the Act. Required fingerprints

are generally collected and processed

before the applicant appears for

interview at a Service office, if an

interview is required.

How Can the Service Improve and

Streamline This Adjustment Process?

Applications and petitions for

immigration benefits, particularly those

for adjustment of status and for

naturalization, are being filed in record

numbers. As a result, processing time

for these applications has lengthened

significantly. The processing of refugees

and asylees for permanent residence

consumes a large amount of resources.

The Service believes that the refugee

adjustment process will be improved by

requiring applicants to submit the

written information concerning

themselves on a single prescribed form,

the I–485, as asylees already do. Use of

the Form I–485 will help to ensure a

more orderly and efficient process of
30106 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 106 /Wednesday, June 3, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

their applications for permanent

resident status; it will also enable the

Service to track cases more effectively,

respond more quickly to status inquires,

and provide better overall service to

these applicants.

The Service also believes that the

processing of refugee and asylee

adjustment applications can be more

efficiently managed at a centralized

location through the Direct Mail

Program. Under the Direct Mail

Program, applicants for certain

designated immigration benefits mail

their applications or petitions directly to

an INS service center for processing

instead of submitting them to an INS

local office. The Service is

incrementally expanding the Direct Mail

Program to include all applications and

petitions, except where it is

impracticable to do so. Expansion to

Direct Mail is a key element in the

Service’s strategy to reduce processing

times and improve customer service. It

is also consistent with the Service’s

current adjustment of status interview

policy, which encourages field

personnel to focus resources on

interviewing those cases in which inperson examinations are actually

needed. The types of adjustment

applications selected for the Direct Mail

Program have been those with the

lowest known fraud risk. However, as

an indicator of adjudication quality, the

statistical evidence of denial rates for

adjustment cases currently being

adjudicated by the service centers

compares favorably with the overall

denial rates for those adjudicated at

district offices. Including applications

for adjustment of status by refugees and

asylees in the Direct Mail Program

allows the Service to redirect resources

to improve service at local offices while

moving closer to the goal of full Direct

Mail implementation.

What Does This Interim Rule do?

This interim rule streamlines the

processing of request for adjustment of

status submitted by refugees and asylees

to one centralized location. Under this

rule, refugees or asylees are required to

mail their Form I–485 applications for

adjustment of status directly to the

designated service center, at this time

the Nebraska Service Center (NSC), for

processing. It is believed that the initial

filing and data entry for all refugee and

asylee adjustment applications can best

be accomplished at a single service

center having the personnel, training,

and technical resources to process them

efficiently and consistently.

Under this new Direct Mail

procedure, the service center will

evaluate each application and determine

whether an interview is necessary. The

Service may decide to adjudicate an

application without an interview in

cases where the evaluation does not

indicate questions concerning the

applicant’s eligibility for adjustment of

status. Service center adjudication

officers are trained to refer to the local

offices any application that appears to

warrant an interview.

The service center will refer to the

local offices for interview and

adjudication all cases indicating higher

risk or complex issues, such as criminal

charges, indications of fraud, changes in

the country conditions upon which a

refugee or asylees status was based, or

asylees who had entered the United

States without inspection. As an

additional tool to monitor the integrity

of the adjudications process and any

emerging trends affecting the exercise of

the Service’s interview determination

authority, the service center will refer to

the local offices for interview a random

sample of at least 2 percent of all other

refugee an asylee adjustment

applications. In all cases where a service

center refers an adjustment application

to a local office for adjudication, the

receiving office will complete and

return to the service center an interview

referral processing worksheet, which

will be reviewed as an indicator for any

additional interview referral criteria that

should be implemented. Those cases

which are referred to district offices for

interview will be adjudicated by the

district directors of those offices.

Other statutory references in §§ 209.1

and 209.2 are being amended to reflect

revised sections of the Act, as amended

by the Illegal Immigration Reform and

Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

(IIRIRA). Section 341 of IIRIRA

amended section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the

Act regarding vaccination requirements

for immigrants. The Centers for Disease

Control have provided the designated

civil surgeons with instructions

regarding the vaccination assessment

and the vaccination supplement. The

Service has determined that these

vaccination requirements do not apply

to aliens seeking admission as refugees

under section 207 of the Act, but that

they do apply to refugees at the time of

their application for adjustment to

permanent resident status under section

209(a) of the Act, as well as to asylees

applying for adjustment under section

209(b) of the Act.

What are the Changes in Refugee

Adjustment Processing?

Section 209(a) of the Act states that a

refugee must be returned to the

‘‘custody’’ of the Service for inspection

and examination. There is no

comparable statutory requirement for

asylees applying for adjustment of

status. The ‘‘custody’’ requirement for

refugees applying for adjustment of

status can be met if the Service

maintains sufficient control over the

applicants to make a determination of

their admissibility to the United States

as immigrants and to institute removal

procedures if they should be found to be

inadmissible. Additionally, a procedure

that requires refugees to apply for

adjustment of status and gives the

Service the authority to compel them to

appear before an officer of the Service

satisfies the requirements of the Act.

Although the Service may require

refugees seeking adjustment of status to

be interviewed by an immigration

officer, the Service does not have to

interview each and every refugee.

To facilitate the extension of the

Direct Mail Program to include the

adjustment of status of refugees, the

Service is amending § 209.1 to require

the submission of a Form I–485, without

fee to the Service. The application and

accompanying documents will be

reviewed to determine whether the

applicant is admissible to the United

States and otherwise eligible of

permanent residence, has been

physically present in the United States

for at least 1 year, and has not already

acquired permanent resident status on

some other basis.

In requiring refugees seeking

permanent residence to submit a Form

I–485, the Service constructively places

them under its custodial control. At the

same time, the direct filing of a Form I–

485 with the service center enable the

INS to exercise discretion in

determining when an in-person

interview with the applicant is

necessary. With this streamlined

process, the Service can enhance

customer service and make more

effective use of Service resources.

Although this streamlined Direct Mail

process requires refugee applicants for

permanent residence to file a Form I–

485, they will continue to be exempted

from a filing fee. In refraining from

charging this class of applicants the

normal Form I–485 filing fee, the

Service is following its established

policy of assisting refugees in their

settlement and assimilation into

American society.

The file of a refugee generally

includes the original medical

examination report issued by the panel

physician prior to the applicant’s entry

into the United States. The regulations

at § 209.1(b) provide that a refugee is not

required to repeat the entire medical

examination if no medical grounds of

inadmissibility arose during the initial
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 106 /Wednesday, June 3, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 30107

medical examination prior to entry.

Such refugee applicants for adjustment

of status under section 209(a) of the Act

need only comply with the vaccination

requirement, by submitting a

vaccination supplement that has been

completed by a designated civil

surgeon. The Service is developing

special procedures to address concerns

about the difficulties encountered by

some refugees in complying with the

vaccination requirements.

What are the Changes in Asylee

Adjustment Processing?

To facilitate the extension of the

Direct Mail Program to include

applications for adjustment of status

filed by asylees, the Service is amending

§ 209.2 by replacing the phrase ‘‘district

director’’ with ‘‘director’’ wherever it

appears. These changes permit the

Service to assign adjudicative

jurisdiction for asylum-based permanent

residence applications to either district

directors or service center directors.

The Service is amending § 209.2(c) to

require filing of an asylum-based Form

I–485 with the Service office identified

in the instructions accompanying the

Form I–485 (which at this time will be

the NSC). This amendment allows the

Service to more effectively and

efficiently respond as its workload

changes.

Section 209.2(e) is being amended to

allow the Service to review an

application for asylum-based permanent

residence and determine if a final

decision on the application can be made

without an interview. In this process,

the officer will determine if there are

facts or issues that need to be resolved

in an interview, or whether the

application meets other referral criteria

developed by the Service. The

application will be transferred to a local

office for processing if it is determined

that an interview with the applicant is

necessary. If the local office discovers

evidence of fraud in the original

application for asylum, or determines

that the applicant no longer qualifies as

a refugee under section 101(a)(42) of the

Act, the evidence will be referred to the

Asylum Office having jurisdiction over

the applicant’s place of residence, for a

determination whether asylee status is

to be revoked. Once the Asylum Office

has resolved the issues regarding

revocation, the local office will

complete its adjudication of the Form

I–485 application.

Medical examinations are not

required from aliens who apply for

asylum, because they are, by that time,

already in the United States and not

seeking admission. However, when

asylees apply under section 209(b) of

the Act for admission to permanent

resident status 1 year after having been

granted asylum, they must submit the

results of a full medical examination,

completed by a designated civil surgeon

in the United States, as provided in

§ 209.2(d). This rule amends § 209.2(d)

to include the vaccination assessment

requirement as part of the civil

surgeon’s examination report.

What Applications are Included in the

Direct Mail Process for an Adjustment

Application Filed by a Refugee or

Asylee?

As of June 3, 1998, the following

applications must be mailed to the NSC

(see section entitled ‘‘Modification of

filing instructions on relating forms’’)

instead of being filed with a local INS

district office:

(1) Form I–485, Application to

Register Permanent Residence or Adjust

Status (including adjustment

applications submitted by eligible

dependents of the principal applicant),

if it is being filed on the basis of refugee

status or an approved asylum

application (Form I–589, Application

for Asylum or for Withholding of

Deportation);

(2) Form I–643, Health and Human

Services Statistical Data for Refugee/

Asylee Adjusting Status;

(3) Form I–131, Application for Travel

Document, filed on the basis of a refugee

or an asylum-based Form I–485; except

that an applicant who is seeking

advance parole authorization may file

the Form I–131 either at a service center

or at a district office;

(4) Form I–602, Application by

Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of

Excludability, filed on the basis of a

refugee or asylum-based Form I–485;

and

(5) Form I–765, Application for

Employment Authorization, filed on the

basis of status as a refugee or an asylee.

How Will Photographs and Fingerprints

be Processed Under This Rule?

A refugee or asylee applying to the

NSC for adjustment of status must

submit, as part of his or her Form I–485

application, the required photographs.

After the application has been accepted

for processing, the NSC will send those

applicants who are required to be

fingerprinted written instructions

regarding the time and place for the

taking of the prescribed set of Form

FD–258 fingerprints. Applicants whose

Form I–485 applications have been

approved will be instructed regarding

the time and place for the execution of

a Form I–89, Data Collection Card to

capture the biometric data (photograph,

index fingerprint, and signature)

required for the production of their

permanent resident card.

The Service plans to restructure Form

I–485 processing to eliminate the need

for a separate Form I–89 card to capture

the applicant’s biometric alien

registration card data. Until further

notice, however, applicants whose Form

I–485 applications have been approved

must continue to make a personal

appearance for the execution of the I–89

data card. The Service will notify aliens

involved in Form I–485 processing

under this Direct Mail Program,

regarding when and where the Form

I–89 card may be executed.

How May Refugee or Asylee Adjustment

Applicants Apply for an Employment

Authorization Document, Advance

Parole, or a Waiver of Inadmissibility?

An applicant for adjustment of status

may apply concurrently to the NSC for

the following:

(1) An employment authorization

document (EAD) by filing a Form I–765,

Application for Employment

Authorization;

(2) Advance parole authorization by

filing Form I–131, Application for

Travel Document; or

(3) A waiver of exclusion grounds by

filing Form I–602, Application by

Refugee for Waiver on Grounds of

Excludability.

In the event that the NSC transfers an

applicant’s Form I–485 to a local district

office for adjudication, the NSC will

send the applicant a written notice of

the transfer, with instructions that any

subsequent application for related

benefits based on the adjustment

application (such as a Form I–602, Form

I–765, or Form I–131) must be filed with

the local office where the I–485

application is pending.

Will There be a Transition Period?

During the first 60 days following the

effective date of this rule, local Service

offices that receive any of the

applications designated in this rule for

the Direct Mail Program must decide

whether to continue to accept and

process them locally, or to forward

them, at no cost to the applicant or

petitioner, to the Nebraska Service

Center for adjudication. The local

office’s decision will be based on its

assessment of pertinent factors such as

whether the transition to Direct Mail

will significantly delay EAD issuance,

whether accepting the case is

appropriate in light of current

workloads, or other relevant

circumstances. Applications forwarded

to the NSC will be considered properly

filed when received at the NSC with the

proper signature and fee.
30108 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 106 /Wednesday, June 3, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

Any application or petition

designated for Direct Mail which is

submitted to a local office after the

expiration of this 60 day transition

period will be returned to the applicant

for proper filing with the NSC. The local

office cannot assume responsibility for

any applicant’s failure to file a timely

application or petition at the NSC.

How Will This Rule Change the Filing

Instructions for Form–485 and Related

Forms?

The present edition of Form I–485

(Rev. 09–09–92) will be revised as soon

as practicable to include instructions to

refugees and asylees regarding

adjustment procedures under this rule.

In the meantime, the Supplementary

Instructions accompanying the Form I–

485 which are currently attached to all

Forms I–485 distributed to the public

will include the following additional

information:

Fee

1. Form I–485 base filing fee. If you

are applying for permanent resident

status as a Refugee under section 209(a)

of the Immigration and Nationality Act

(Act), you are not required to pay the

filing fee.

Where to File

2. Applications by Refugees and

Asylees. If you are a refugee or an asylee

applying for permanent residence under

section 209 of the Act, you must mail

your application on Form I–485 to the

following address: Nebraska Service

Center, P.O. Box 87485, Lincoln, NE

68501–7485.

If along with your adjustment

application you are filing a Form I–131,

Application for Travel Document, for

the purpose of obtaining advance parole

authorization, or a Form I–765,

Application for Employment

Authorization, or a Form I–602,

Application by Refugee for Waiver on

Grounds of Excludability, please follow

the instructions which accompany those

forms.

Good Cause Exemption

The Service’s implementation of this

rule as an interim rule, with provisions

for post-promulgation comments, is

based upon the exception found at 5

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3). This rule

imposes no substantive change in

existing requirements, but rather adjusts

the Service’s procedures for

implementing those requirements, in

order to promote efficiency of

adjudication and better service to the

public.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Commissioner of the Immigration

and Naturalization Service, in

accordance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), has

reviewed this regulation and, by

approving it, certifies that the rule will

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. This rule is primarily

administrative in nature and merely

updates existing procedures contained

in Title 8 of the Code of Federal

Regulations. This rule applies to

individuals and has no economic effect

on small entities.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995

This rule will not result in the

expenditure by State, local, or tribal

governments, in the aggregate, or by the

private sector, of $100 million or more

in any 1 year, and it will not

significantly or uniquely affect small

governments. Therefore, no actions were

deemed necessary under the provisions

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

of 1995.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996

This rule is not a major rule as

defined in section 804 of the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996. This rule will not

result in an annual effect on the

economy of $100 million or more; a

major increase in costs or prices; or

significant adverse effects on

competition, employment, investment,

productivity, innovation, or on the

ability of United States-based

companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and

export markets.

Executive Order 12866

This rule is not considered by the

Department of Justice, Immigration and

Naturalization Service, to be a

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under

Executive Order 12866, 3(f), Regulatory

Planning and Review, and the Office of

Management and Budget has waived its

review process under section 6(a)(3)(A).

Executive Order 12612

The regulations proposed herein will

not have substantial direct effects on the

States, on the relationship between the

National Government and the States, or

on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government. Therefore, in

accordance with Executive Order 12612,

it is determined that this rule does not

have sufficient federalism implications

to warrant the preparation of a

Federalism Assessment.

Executive Order 12988 Civil Justice

Reform

This interim rule meets the applicable

standards set forth in sections 3(a) and

3(b)(2) of E.O. 12988.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The information collection

requirements contained in this rule have

been approved for use by the Office of

Management and Budget under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act. The OMB control numbers for these

collections are contained in § 299.5,

Display of control numbers.

List of Subjects

8 CFR Part 103

Administrative practice and

procedure, Authority delegations

(Government agencies), Freedom of

Information, Privacy, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Surety

bonds.

8 CFR Part 209

Aliens, Immigration, Refugees.

Accordingly, chapter I of title 8 of the

Code of Federal Regulations is amended

as follows:

PART 103—POWERS AND DUTIES OF

SERVICE OFFICERS; AVAILABILITY

OF SERVICE RECORDS

1. The authority citation for part 103

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552, 552(a); 8 U.S.C.

1101, 1103, 1201, 1229, 1252 note, 1252b,

1304, 1356; 31 U.S.C. 9701; E.O. 12356, 47

FR 14874, 15557, 3 CFR, 1982 Comp., p 166;

8 CFR part 2.

2. In § 103.7, paragraph (b)(1) is

amended by revising the entry for

‘‘Form I–485’’ to read as follows:

§ 103.7 Fees.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

* * * * *

Form I–485. For filing application for

permanent resident status or creation of a

record of lawful permanent residence—$130

for an applicant 14 years of age or older; $100

for an applicant under the age of 14 years;

no fee for an applicant filing as a refugee

under section 209(a) of the Act.

* * * * *

PART 209—ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS

OF REFUGEES AND ALIENS

GRANTED ASYLUM

3. The authority citation for part 209

continues to read as follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 106 /Wednesday, June 3, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 30109

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101, 1103, 1157, 1158,

1159, 1228, 1252, 1282; 8 CFR part 2.

4. Section 209.1 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 209.1 Adjustment of status of refugees.

The provisions of this section shall

provide the sole and exclusive

procedure for adjustment of status by a

refugee admitted under section 207 of

the Act whose application is based on

his or her refugee status.

(a) Eligibility. (1) Every alien in the

United States who is classified as a

refugee under part 207 of this chapter,

whose status has not been terminated, is

required to apply to the Service 1 year

after entry in order for the Service to

determine his or her admissibility under

section 212 of the Act.

(2) Every alien processed by the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

abroad and paroled into the United

States as a refugee after April 1, 1980,

and before May 18, 1980, shall be

considered as having entered the United

States as a refugee under section 207(a)

of the Act.

(b) Application. Upon admission to

the United States, every refugee entrant

shall be notified of the requirement to

submit an application for permanent

residence 1 year after entry. An

application for the benefits of section

209(a) of the Act shall be filed on Form

I–485, without fee, with the director of

the appropriate Service office identified

in the instructions which accompany

the Form I–485. A separate application

must be filed by each alien. Every

applicant who is 14 years of age or older

must submit a completed Form G–325A

(Biographical Information) with the

Form I–485 application. Following

submission of the Form I–485

application, a refugee entrant who is 14

years of age or older will be required to

execute a Form FD–258 (Applicant

Fingerprint Card) at such time and place

as the Service will designate.

(c) Medical examination. A refugee

seeking adjustment of status under

section 209(a) of the Act is not required

to repeat the medical examination

performed under § 207.2(c), unless there

were medical grounds of inadmissibility

applicable at the time of admission. The

refugee is, however, required to

establish compliance with the

vaccination requirements described

under section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act,

by submitting with the adjustment of

status application a vaccination

supplement, completed by a designated

civil surgeon in the United States.

(d) Interview. The Service director

having jurisdiction over the application

will determine, on a case-by-case basis,

whether an interview by an immigration

officer is necessary to determine the

applicant’s admissibility for permanent

resident status under this part.

(e) Decision. The director will notify

the applicant in writing of the decision

of his or her application for admission

to permanent residence. If the applicant

is determined to be inadmissible or no

longer a refugee, the director will deny

the application and notify the applicant

of the reasons for the denial. The

director will, in the same denial notice,

inform the applicant of his or her right

to renew the request for permanent

residence in removal proceedings under

section 240 of the Act. There is no

appeal of the denial of an application by

the director, but such denial will be

without prejudice to the alien’s right to

renew the application in removal

proceedings under part 240 of this

chapter. If the applicant is found to be

admissible for permanent residence

under section 209(a) of the Act, the

director will approve the application

and admit the applicant for lawful

permanent residence as of the date of

the alien’s arrival in the United States.

An alien admitted for lawful permanent

residence will be issued Form I–551,

Alien Registration Receipt Card.

§ 209.2 [Amended]

5. In § 209.2, revise the term ‘‘district

director’’ to read ‘‘director’’ wherever it

appears in the following places:

a. Paragraph (a)(1) introductory text;

b. Paragraph (a)(2);

c. Paragraph (b); and

d. Paragraph (f).

6. Section 209.2 is further amended

by:

a. Revising paragraphs (c) and (d); and

by

b. Adding a sentence at the end of

paragraph (e), to read as follows:

§ 209.2 Adjustments of status of alien

granted asylum.

* * * * *

(c) Application. An application for the

benefits of section 209(b) of the Act may

be filed on Form I–485, with the correct

fee, with the director of the appropriate

Service office identified in the

instructions to the Form I–485. A

separate application must be filed by

each alien. Every applicant who is 14

years of age or older must submit a

completed Form G–325A (Biographic

Information) with the Form I–485

application. Following submission of

the Form I–485 application, every

applicant who is 14 years of age or older

will be required to execute a Form FD–

258 (Applicant Fingerprint Card) at

such time and place as the Service will

designate. Except as provided in

paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the

application must also be supported by

evidence that the applicant has been

physically present in the United States

for at least 1 year. If an alien has been

placed in deportation or exclusion

proceedings, the application can be filed

and considered only in proceedings

under section 240 of the Act.

(d) Medical examination. An alien

seeking adjustment of status under

section 209(b) of the Act 1 year

following the grant of asylum under

section 208 of the Act shall submit the

results of a medical examination to

determine whether any grounds of

inadmissibility described under section

212(a)(1)(A) of the Act apply. Form I–

693, Medical Examination of Aliens

Seeking Adjustment of Status, and a

vaccination supplement to determine

compliance with the vaccination

requirements described under section

212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act must be

completed by a designed civil surgeon

in the United States and submitted at

the time of application for adjustment of

status.

(e) * * * The Service director having

jurisdiction over the application will

determine, on a case-by-case basis,

whether an interview by an immigration

officer is necessary to determine the

applicant’s admissibility for permanent

resident status under this part.

* * * * *

§ 209.2 [Amended]

8. In § 209.2, paragraph (f) is amended

by revising the reference to ‘‘parts 242

and 236’’ to read ‘‘part 240’’.

Dated: May 28, 1998.

Doris Meissner,

Commissioner, Immigration and

Naturalization Service.

[FR Doc. 98–14655 Filed 6–2–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 1010

RIN 1990–AA19

Conduct of Employees

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(DOE) is amending its regulations on

conduct of employees to remove an

exemption from application of the

financial conflict of interest prohibition.

The removal of this exemption is in

response to publication by the Office of

Government Ethics (OGE) of a

superseding, executive branch-wide

regulation that describes the