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

15991 

Vol. 75, No. 61 

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 

1The United Kingdom refers only to British 

citizens who have the unrestricted right of 

permanent abode in the United Kingdom (England, 

Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel 

Islands and the Isle of Man); it does not refer to 

British overseas citizens, British dependent 

territories’ citizens, or citizens of British 

Commonwealth countries. 

2For countries designated as VWP member 

countries prior to November 17, 2008, passports 

issued before October 26, 2006 [see 8 U.S.C. 

1732(c)(2)], need not contain the electronic chip 

that includes the biographic and biometric 

information of the passport holder provided the 

passports comply with the International Civil 

Aviation Organization’s machine-readable 

standards. 

3The Secretary of State nominated Greece for 

participation in the VWP on August 31, 2007. 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

8 CFR Part 217 

RIN 1601–AA54 

Designation of Greece for the Visa 

Waiver Program 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: Citizens and eligible nationals 

of participating Visa Waiver Program 

countries may apply for admission to 

the United States at U.S. ports of entry 

as nonimmigrant aliens for a period of 

ninety days or less for business or 

pleasure without first obtaining a 

nonimmigrant visa, provided that they 

are otherwise eligible for admission 

under applicable statutory and 

regulatory requirements. On March 4, 

2010, the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, in consultation with the 

Secretary of State, designated Greece as 

a country that is eligible to participate 

in the Visa Waiver Program. 

Accordingly, this rule updates the list of 

countries authorized to participate in 

the Visa Waiver Program by adding 

Greece. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

April 5, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gianfranco Corti, Department of 

Homeland Security, Office of Policy, 

(202) 282–8732. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. The Visa Waiver Program 

Pursuant to section 217 of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 

8 U.S.C. 1187, the Secretary of 

Homeland Security (the Secretary), in 

consultation with the Secretary of State, 

may designate certain countries as Visa 

Waiver Program (VWP) countries if 

certain requirements are met. Those 

requirements include, without 

limitation: (1) Meeting the statutory rate 

of nonimmigrant visa refusal for 

nationals of the country; (2) a 

government certification that it issues 

machine-readable passports that comply 

with internationally accepted standards; 

(3) a U.S. government determination 

that the country’s designation would not 

negatively affect U.S. law enforcement 

and security interests; (4) an agreement 

to report, or make available through 

other designated means, to the U.S. 

government information about the theft 

or loss of passports; (5) government 

acceptance for repatriation any citizen, 

former citizen, or national not later than 

three weeks after the issuance of a final 

order of removal; and (6) an agreement 

with the United States to share 

information regarding whether citizens 

or nationals of the country represent a 

threat to the security or welfare of the 

United States or its citizens. 

The INA also sets forth requirements 

for continued eligibility and, where 

appropriate, probation and/or 

termination of program countries. 

The designated countries in the VWP 

include Andorra, Australia, Austria, 

Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, 

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, 

Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, 

Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, 

Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, 

the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, 

Portugal, Republic of Korea, San 

Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, 

Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, 

and the United Kingdom.1 See 8 CFR 

217.2(a). 

Citizens and eligible nationals of VWP 

countries may apply for admission to 

the United States at U.S. ports of entry 

as nonimmigrant visitors for a period of 

ninety days or less for business or 

pleasure without first obtaining a 

nonimmigrant visa, provided that they 

are otherwise eligible for admission 

under applicable statutory and 

regulatory requirements. To travel to the 

United States under the VWP, an alien 

must be from a participating country 

and must satisfy the following: 

(1) Be seeking entry as a tourist for 

ninety days or less; 

(2) Be a national of a program country; 

(3) Present an electronic passport or a 

machine-readable passport issued by a 

designated VWP participant country to 

the air or vessel carrier before 

departure; 2

(4) Execute the required immigration 

forms; 

(5) If arriving by air or sea, arrive on 

an authorized carrier; 

(6) Not represent a threat to the 

welfare, health, safety or security of the 

United States; 

(7) Have not violated U.S. 

immigration law during a previous 

admission under the VWP; 

(8) Possess a round-trip ticket; 

(9) Waive the right to review or appeal 

a decision regarding admissibility or to 

contest, other than on the basis of an 

application for asylum, any action for 

removal; and 

(10) Obtain an approved travel 

authorization via the Electronic System 

for Travel Authorization (ESTA) in 

advance of travel. For more information 

about the ESTA, please see the interim 

final rule at 73 FR 32440 (June 9, 2008), 

and implementing notice at 73 FR 67354 

(November 13, 2008). See Sections 

217(a) and 217(b) of the Immigration 

and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 

1187(a)–(b). See also 8 CFR part 217. 

DHS, in consultation with the 

Department of State, has evaluated the 

country of Greece for VWP designation 

to ensure that it meets the requirements 

set forth in section 217 of the INA, as 

amended by section 711 of the 

Implementing Recommendations of the 

9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 

Act). The Secretary has determined that 

Greece has satisfied the statutory 

requirements to be a VWP country; 

therefore, the Secretary, in consultation 

with the Secretary of State, has 

designated Greece as a program 

country.3

This final rule adds Greece to the list 

of countries authorized to participate in 


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15992 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 61 / Wednesday, March 31, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

the VWP. Accordingly, beginning April 

5, 2010, citizens and eligible nationals 

from Greece may apply for admission to 

the United States at U.S. ports of entry 

as nonimmigrant visitors for a period of 

ninety days or less for business or 

pleasure without first obtaining a 

nonimmigrant visa, provided that they 

are otherwise eligible for admission 

under applicable statutory and 

regulatory requirements. 

III. Statutory and Regulatory 

Requirements 

A. Administrative Procedure Act 

Under the Administrative Procedure 

Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)), an agency may 

waive the normal notice and comment 

requirements if it finds, for good cause, 

that they are impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest. The final rule merely lists a 

country that the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, in consultation with the 

Secretary of State, has designated as a 

VWP eligible country in accordance 

with 8 U.S.C. 1187(c). This amendment 

is a technical change simply updating 

the list of VWP eligible countries. 

Therefore, notice and comment for this 

rule are unnecessary and contrary to the 

public interest because the rule has no 

substantive impact, is technical in 

nature, and relates only to management, 

organization, procedure, and practice. 

For the same reasons, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3), a delayed effective date 

is not required. 

This final rule is also excluded from 

the rulemaking provisions of 5 U.S.C. 

553 as a foreign affairs function of the 

United States, because it advances the 

President’s foreign policy goals, 

involves a bilateral agreement that the 

United States has entered into with 

Greece, and directly involves 

relationships between the United States 

and its alien visitors. Accordingly, DHS 

is not required to provide public notice 

and an opportunity to comment before 

implementing the requirements under 

this final rule. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

(5 U.S.C. 603(b)), as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

and Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 

requires an agency to prepare and make 

available to the public a regulatory 

flexibility analysis that describes the 

effect of a proposed rule on small 

entities (i.e., small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions) when the agency is 

required ‘‘to publish a general notice of 

proposed rulemaking for any proposed 

rule.’’ Because this rule is being issued 

as a final rule, on the grounds set forth 

above, a regulatory flexibility analysis is 

not required under the RFA. 

DHS has considered the impact of this 

rule on small entities and has 

determined that this rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The individual aliens to whom this rule 

applies are not small entities as that 

term is defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6). 

Accordingly, there is no change 

expected in any process as a result of 

this rule that would have a direct effect, 

either positive or negative, on a small 

entity. 

C. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This rule will not result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any one 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. 

D. Executive Order 12866 

This amendment does not meet the 

criteria for a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as specified in Executive Order 

12866. 

E. Executive Order 13132 

The rule 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 section 6 of Executive 

Order 13132, DHS has determined that 

this final rule does not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement. 

F. Executive Order 12988 Civil Justice 

Reform 

This rule meets the applicable 

standards set forth in sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988. 

List of Subjects in 8 CFR Part 217 

Air carriers, Aliens, Maritime carriers, 

Passports and visas. 

Amendments to the Regulations 

■ For the reasons stated in the preamble, 

DHS amends part 217 of title 8 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR part 

217), as set forth below. 

PART 217—VISA WAIVER PROGRAM 

■ 1. The general authority citation for 

part 217 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1103, 1187; 8 CFR part 

2. 

* * * * * 

■ 2. In section 217.2 the definition of 

the term ‘‘Designated country’’ in 

paragraph (a) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 217.2 Eligibility. 

(a) * * * 

Designated country refers to Andorra, 

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, 

Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, 

Finland, France, Germany, Greece, 

Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, 

Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, 

Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the 

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, 

Portugal, Republic of Korea, San 

Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, 

Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, 

and the United Kingdom. The United 

Kingdom refers only to British citizens 

who have the unrestricted right of 

permanent abode in the United 

Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, 

Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands 

and the Isle of Man); it does not refer to 

British overseas citizens, British 

dependent territories’ citizens, or 

citizens of British Commonwealth 

countries. After May 15, 2003, citizens 

of Belgium must present a machinereadable passport in order to be granted 

admission under the Visa Waiver 

Program. 

* * * * * 

Janet Napolitano, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2010–7211 Filed 3–30–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 73 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0921; Airspace 

Docket No. 09–AWA–3] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Revision of Prohibited Area P–49; 

Crawford, TX 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action amends 

Prohibited Area 49 (P–49) Crawford, TX. 

While the United States Secret Service 

(USSS) recognizes the ongoing security 


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