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

3791

Vol. 63, No. 17

Tuesday, January 27, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

7 CFR Part 783

Commodity Credit Corporation

7 CFR Part 1478

RIN 0560–AF17

Tree Assistance Program

AGENCIES: Farm Service Agency and

Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this final rule

is to adopt as final, with change, the

interim rule published in the Federal

Register on September 29, 1997 (62 FR

50850). This final rule sets forth the

regulations necessary for implementing

the 1997 Tree Assistance Program

(TAP). The Act Making Emergency

Supplemental Appropriations for

Recovery from Natural Disasters for the

fiscal year ending September 30, 1997

(the Act), authorized TAP assistance to

small orchardists to replace or

rehabilitate trees and vineyards

damaged by natural disasters. Due to

limited funds appropriated for this

program, the losses for which

reimbursement is sought are limited to

natural disasters that occurred between

October 1, 1996, and September 30,

1997. Cost-share assistance may not

exceed 100 percent of the eligible

replacement or rehabilitation costs and

may be based on average costs or the

actual costs for the replanting practices,

as determined by the Deputy

Administrator for Farm Programs.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Final rule effective

January 26, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David M. Nix, Production, Emergencies,

and Compliance Division (PECD), Farm

Service Agency (FSA), USDA, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP

0517, Washington, DC 20012–0517,

telephone (202) 690–4091, e-mail

address: dnix@wdc.fsa.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This final rule has been determined to

be not significant and was not reviewed

by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) under Executive Order

12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act is not

applicable to this rule because the Farm

Service Agency (FSA) is not required by

5 U.S.C. 553 or any other provision of

law to publish a notice of proposed

rulemaking with respect to the subject

matter of this rule.

Environmental Evaluation

An Environmental Evaluation with

respect to the Tree Assistance Program

has been completed. It has been

determined that this action is not

expected to have a significant impact on

the quality of the human environment.

In addition, it has been determined that

this action will not adversely affect

environmental factors such as wildlife

habitat, water quality, air quality, and

land use and appearance. Accordingly,

neither an Environmental Assessment

nor an Environmental Impact Statement

is needed.

Executive Order 12372

This program is not subject to the

provisions of Executive Order 12372,

which require intergovernmental

consultation with State and local

officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR

part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR

29115 (June 24, 1983).

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed in

accordance with Executive Order 12988.

The provisions of this rule preempt

State law to the extent that such laws

are inconsistent with the provisions of

this rule. The provisions of this rule are

retroactive to October 1, 1996. Before

any judicial action may be brought

regarding the provisions of this rule, the

administrative remedies must be

exhausted.

Executive Order 12612

It has been determined that this rule

does not have sufficient Federalism

implications to warrant the preparation

of a Federalism Assessment. The

provisions contained in this rule will

not have a substantial direct effect on

States or their political subdivisions or

on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of government.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995

This rule contains no Federal

mandates under the regulatory

provisions of Title II of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA)

for State, local, and tribal governments

or the private sector. Therefore, this rule

is not subject to the requirements of

sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA

regulations.

Discussion of Changes

No comments were received in

response to the interim rule issued on

September 29, 1997. However, during

the administration of this program, FSA

discovered a need for clarification

regarding duplication of benefits which

will be set forth in this final rule.

Clarification provides if an owner is

eligible to receive payments under this

part, catastrophic risk protection crop

insurance program (7 CFR part 402), and

non-insured crop disaster assistance

program (7 CFR part 1437) for the same

tree or vine loss, the eligible owner must

choose whether to receive the other

program benefits or payments under this

part.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Parts 783 and

1478

Disaster assistance, Grant programs—

agriculture.

Accordingly, the interim rule set forth

at 7 CFR part 783 which was published

September 29, 1997, is adopted as a

final rule with the following change:

PART 783—1997 TREE ASSISTANCE

PROGRAM

1. The authority citation for part 783

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 105–18, 111 Stat. 158.

2. Section 783.8 paragraph (c) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 783.8 Application process.

* * * * *

(c) If an owner is eligible to receive

payments under this part and the

catastrophic risk protection crop

insurance program (7 CFR part 402), or
3792 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 17 /Tuesday, January 27, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

the noninsured crop disaster assistance

program (7 CFR part 1437) for the same

tree or vine loss, the eligible owner must

choose whether to receive the other

program benefits or payments under this

part. The eligible owner cannot receive

both. However, if the other program

benefits are not available until after the

eligible owner has received benefits

under this part, the eligible owner may

obtain the other program benefits if the

eligible owner refunds the total amount

of the payment received prior to

receiving the other program benefits. If

the eligible owner purchased additional

coverage insurance, as defined in 7 CFR

400.651, or is eligible for emergency

loans, the eligible owner will be eligible

for assistance under such program, and

this part as long as the amount received

for the loss under the additional

coverage or the emergency loan together

with the amount received from the other

programs does not exceed the amount of

the actual loss of the eligible owner.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on January 20,

1998.

Bruce R. Weber,

Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency

and Acting Executive Vice President,

Commodity Credit Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–1916 Filed 1–26–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

8 CFR Parts 207, 208, and 299

[INS No. 1639–93]

RIN 1115–AD59

Procedures for Filing a Derivative

Petition (Form I–730) for a Spouse and

Unmarried Children of a Refugee/

Asylee

AGENCY: Immigaration and

Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

(Service) regulations by providing

specific guidelines on the procedures

which must be followed by a refugee or

asylee to bring his/her spouse and

unmarried, minor child(ren)

(derivatives) into the United States. This

rule responds to the family reunification

needs of refugees by establishing an

equitable and consistent derivative

policy for refugees which parallels the

current derivative procedures for

asylees. This rule also amends asylum

regulations by removing from the

definition of qualifying relationship

child(ren) born to, or legally adopted by,

the principal alien and spouse after

approval of the principal alien’s asylum

application.

DATES: This rule is effective February

26, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Suzy Nguyen or Ramonia Law-Hill,

Senior Adjudications Officer,

Adjudications Division, Immigration

and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street,

NW., Room 3214, Washington, DC

20536, telephone (202) 514–5014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 9,

1996, the Service published a proposed

rule in the Federal Register at 61 FR

35984, providing procedures that must

be followed by a refugee or asylee to

bring his or her spouse and unmarried,

minor child(ren) (derivatives) into the

United States.

The proposed rule was designed to

respond more fully to the family

reunification needs of refugees, while

establishing specific guidelines on the

derivative policy for both refugees and

asylees. First, the proposed rule allowed

the Service to use the refugee’s date of

admission into the United States to

determine accompanying or followingto-join eligibility for his/her spouse and

unmarried, minor child(ren). A refugee

would be able to file a Form I–730,

Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, for

his/her spouse and/or each individual

child if the relationship predates the

refugee’s date of admission to the

United States, rather than the date of

interview or tentative approval date of

the application. This eligibility would

extend to a child who is in utero on the

date of the refugee’s admission to the

United States but is born after the

refugee’s admission as a refugee.

Second, the proposed rule imposed a

1-year time limit from the date of the

principal refugee’s admission to the

United States within which he or she

must file a Form I–730 for his/her

spouse and/or each individual child,

unless the Service determined that the

filing period should be extended for

humanitarian reasons. Similarly, the

principal asylee would be required to

file a Form I–730 for each qualifying

family member within 1 year of the date

on which he or she was granted asylum

status, unless the Service determines

that the filing period should be

extended for humanitarian reasons.

Third, the proposed rule required that

only an alien who was admitted to the

United States as a principal refugee

would be eligible to file the Form I–730

for accompanying or following-to-join

benefits for his/her spouse and/or

unmarried, minor child(ren). Those

individuals who derived their refugee

status from the principal refugee would

not be eligible to file a Form I–730.

Fourth, the proposed rule would

amend the asylum regulations by

requiring that, for purposes of filing a

Form I–730, the asylee’s relationship to

a child must have existed at the time of

approval of the asylum application.

Finally, the proposed rule added

certain documentary and evidentiary

requirements for filing a Form I–730,

such as requiring that a separate Form

I–730 be filed for each individual

qualifying family member and that a

photograph of the derivative be

included. These proposed regulations

served to clarify the Service’s

accompanying and following-to-join

policy for Service officers and the

general public by standardizing refugee

and asylee derivative procedures.

The Immigration and Naturalization

Service allowed a 60-day public

comment period which ended on

September 9, 1996. The Service received

19 comments on the proposed rule. The

following is a discussion of those

comments and the Service’s response.

Discussion of Comments

Using the Principal Refugee’s Date of

Admission To Determine Derivative

Eligibility

The Service proposed that the

principal refugee’s date of admission

into the United States be used to

determine accompanying or followingto-join eligibility for his/her derivatives.

Current regulations require that the

refugee’s relationship to the spouse or

child exist prior to the tentative

approval date of the principal’s

application for refugee status.

Furthermore, according to the proposed

rule, if the refugee proves that he/she is

the parent of a child who was born after

the refugee’s admission to the United

States, but who was in utero on the date

of refugee’s admission as a refugee, the

child shall be eligible to accompany or

follow-to-join the refugee.

Fourteen commenters praised and

supported the Service’s decision to use

the principal refugee’s date of admission

rather than date of tentative approval. In

addition, three commenters supported

the Service’s proposed rule pertaining to

children in utero. Only one commenter

was in opposition, claiming that the

change would invite exploitation and

fraud.

The Service has carefully considered

the one commenter’s concern regarding

the possibility of fraud. The Service

feels that the proposed rule contains

certain evidentiary and documentary

requirements (such as requiring a recent

photograph of the spouse or child and