Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 248 / Friday, December 27, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 105391 

1All references to ‘‘country’’ or ‘‘countries’’ in the 

laws authorizing the VWP are read to include 

Taiwan. See Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Public 

Law 96–8, section 4(b)(1) (codified at 22 U.S.C. 

3303(b)(1)) (providing that ‘‘[w]henever the laws of 

the United States refer or relate to foreign countries, 

nations, states, governments, or similar entities, 

such terms shall include and such laws shall apply 

with respect to Taiwan’’). This is consistent with 

the United States’ one-China policy, under which 

the United States has maintained unofficial 

relations with Taiwan since 1979. 

J. Executive Order 13045 (Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks) 

Executive Order 13045 requires 

agencies to consider the impacts of 

environmental health risks or safety 

risks that may disproportionately affect 

children. The Departments have 

reviewed this rule and have determined 

that this rule is not a covered regulatory 

action under Executive Order 13045. 

The rule is not considered economically 

significant and does not create an 

environmental risk to health or a risk to 

safety that might disproportionately 

affect children. 

K. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not promulgate new, or 

revise existing, ‘‘collection[s] of 

information’’ as that term is defined 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13, 109 Stat. 163, 

44 U.S.C. chapter 35, and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 

1320. 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas, 

Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security. 

Dated: December 17, 2024. 

Merrick B. Garland, 

Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30774 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–97–P; 4410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

8 CFR Part 217 

Update to Procedures for Listing 

Designated Countries and Location of 

List 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS). 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: This rule updates the DHS 

practice for notifying the public of 

countries designated for participation in 

the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). It 

amends the definition of ‘‘designated 

country’’ by referring to countries that 

the Secretary of Homeland Security 

(Secretary) has designated for VWP 

participation and noting that a list of 

such countries is available on the 

public-facing DHS VWP website. This 

rule does not alter which countries have 

been designated for the VWP or the 

criteria for initial and continued 

designation as a program country. This 

update refers the public to the 

applicable website www.dhs.gov/visawaiver-program and will allow DHS to 

update designations more efficiently 

and expeditiously. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

December 23, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anjum Agarwala, U.S. Department of 

Homeland Security; Office of Strategy, 

Policy, and Plans; VWP Office (202) 

790–5207. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Pursuant to section 217 of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 

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

consultation with the Secretary of State, 

may designate certain countries as VWP 

countries if certain requirements are 

met.1 Once a country has met the 

requirements and been designated by 

the Secretary as a program country, 

eligible citizens and nationals of a 

program country 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. 

II. List of Designated Countries 

As noted above, the Secretary, in 

consultation with the Secretary of State, 

may designate a country for 

participation in the VWP, or suspend or 

terminate such participation, consistent 

with section 217 of the INA. The 

regulations currently define ‘‘designated 

country’’ as a country listed explicitly in 

8 CFR 217.2(a). 

Historically, DHS, and before DHS the 

legacy Immigration and Naturalization 

Service (INS), have maintained a list in 

the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

of currently designated countries 

participating in the VWP. This practice 

started with the designation of the 

United Kingdom as the first VWP 

country. See 53 FR 24898 (June 30, 

1988). Subsequent designations or 

terminations have been the subject of a 

rule in the Federal Register. Such rules 

update the list of countries in the CFR. 

See, e.g., 73 FR 79597 (Dec. 30, 2008) 

(Malta); 75 FR 15992 (Mar. 31, 2010) 

(Greece); 77 FR 64411 (Oct. 22, 2012) 

(Taiwan); 79 FR 17854 (Mar. 31, 2014) 

(Chile); 84 FR 60318 (Nov. 8, 2019) 

(Poland); 86 FR 54031 (Sept. 30, 2021) 

(Croatia); 88 FR 67065 (Sept. 29, 2023) 

(Israel); and 89 FR 78785 (Sept. 26, 

2024) (Qatar). 

Through this final rule, DHS is 

amending 8 CFR 217.2(a) to remove 

references to specific countries in the 

regulations. Instead, DHS will define 

‘‘designated country’’ as ‘‘any country 

currently designated by the Secretary for 

participation in the Visa Waiver 

Program.’’ The updated definition will 

also point readers to the list of currently 

designated countries on the DHS VWP 

website, https://www.dhs.gov/visawaiver-program. 

With this change, DHS will continue 

to update the list of designated 

countries on the DHS VWP website. In 

addition, DHS will continue its outreach 

to stakeholders and the public, such as 

through press releases, directly 

notifying air carriers, and updating the 

Electronic System for Travel 

Authorization (ESTA) to account for 

future changes to the list of designated 

countries participating in the VWP. 

Following this change, however, DHS 

will no longer pursue the separate 

administrative step of publishing a 

technical amendment in the Federal 

Register for each new designation. This 

change removes an unnecessary 

administrative burden and allows for 

more expedient updates to the list of 

designated countries participating in the 

VWP. It will also reduce any risk of 

confusion by the public or international 

partners due to a time lag between the 

Secretary’s designation and the 

publication of a technical amendment in 

the Federal Register. 

This rule does not change which 

countries are designated to participate 

in the VWP. 

III. Administrative Procedure Act 

Under the Administrative Procedure 

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

waive notice and comment 

requirements if it finds, for good cause, 

that the requirements are impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest. This rule reflects an 

administrative change that merely 

removes the list of designated countries 

participating in the VWP from the CFR 

and adds a reference to the DHS VWP 

website. This rule does not alter which 

countries have been designated or the 

criteria for initial and continued 

designation as a program country. 

Because the VWP country list is readily 

available online, the update would not 

affect the public’s rights, interests, or 

access to information. Therefore, notice 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with RULES
105392 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 248 / Friday, December 27, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

and comment for this rule is 

unnecessary. 

This rule is further excepted from the 

notice and comment requirement as a 

procedural rule. For the same reasons 

previously stated, the rule has no 

substantive impact or effect on public 

interest. In removing the list of VWP 

participating countries from the CFR, 

while including a reference to another 

location where a list can be found, the 

rule is technical in nature and relates 

only to organization, procedure, and 

practice. This rule only changes 

whether a list of designated countries is 

available in the CFR, making it a 

procedural rule exempt from notice and 

comment. 

For the reasons above, DHS also finds 

that the 30-day delayed effective date 

requirement for substantive rules does 

not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 553(d). Good 

cause exists to make this technical 

amendment effective immediately under 

5 U.S.C. 553(d)(2) and (d)(3). 

Finally, this rule is also excluded 

from the rulemaking provisions of 5 

U.S.C. 553 as a foreign affairs function 

of the United States. Designating VWP 

countries advances the President’s 

foreign policy goals and directly 

involves relationships between the 

United States and its noncitizen visitors. 

Accordingly, DHS is not required to 

provide public notice and an 

opportunity to comment before 

implementing this final rule. 

List of Subjects in 8 CFR Part 217 

Air carriers, aliens, maritime carriers, 

passports, and visas. 

Amendments to the Regulations 

For the reasons set forth 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 authority citation for part 217 

continues to read as follows: 

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

2. 

■ 2. In § 217.2(a), revise the definition of 

‘‘Designated country’’ to read as follows: 

§ 217.2 Eligibility. 

(a) * * * 

Designated country refers to any 

country currently designated by the 

Secretary for participation in the Visa 

Waiver Program. DHS maintains a list of 

designated countries at https://

www.dhs.gov/visa-waiver-program. 

* * * * * 

Alejandro N. Mayorkas 

Secretary of Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31210 Filed 12–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–9M–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Executive Office for Immigration 

Review 

8 CFR Parts 1003 and 1208 

[EOIR Docket No. 025–0910; A.G. Order No. 

6107–2024] 

RIN 1125–AB33 

Clarification Regarding Bars to 

Eligibility During Credible Fear and 

Reasonable Fear Review 

AGENCY: Executive Office for 

Immigration Review, Department of 

Justice. 

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: This interim final rule (‘‘IFR’’) 

makes a technical amendment to 

Department of Justice (‘‘Department’’) 

regulations to clarify that immigration 

judges’ de novo review of asylum 

officers’ credible fear and reasonable 

fear determinations shall, where 

relevant, include review of the asylum 

officer’s application of any bars to 

asylum or withholding of removal under 

Department of Homeland Security 

(‘‘DHS’’) regulations, as well as other 

clarifying technical changes related to 

credible fear and reasonable fear 

processes. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This interim final rule 

is effective December 27, 2024. 

Comments: Electronic comments must 

be submitted, and written comments 

must be postmarked or otherwise 

indicate a shipping date on or before 

January 27, 2025. The electronic Federal 

Docket Management System (FDMS) at 

https://www.regulations.gov will accept 

electronic comments until 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern Time on that date. 

ADDRESSES: If you wish to provide 

comments regarding this rulemaking, 

you must submit comments, identified 

by the agency name and reference RIN 

1125–AB33 or EOIR Docket No. 025– 

0910, by one of the two methods below. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

website instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Paper comments that 

duplicate an electronic submission are 

unnecessary. If you wish to submit a 

paper comment in lieu of electronic 

submission, please direct the mail/ 

shipment to: Sarah Flinn, Acting 

Assistant Director for Policy, Office of 

Policy, Executive Office for Immigration 

Review, Department of Justice, 5107 

Leesburg Pike, Suite 1800, Falls Church, 

VA 22041. To ensure proper handling, 

please reference the agency name and 

RIN 1125–AB33 or EOIR Docket No. 

025–0910 on your correspondence. 

Mailed items must be postmarked or 

otherwise indicate a shipping date on or 

before the submission deadline. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Flinn, Acting Assistant Director 

for Policy, Office of Policy, Executive 

Office for Immigration Review, 

Department of Justice, 5107 Leesburg 

Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; telephone 

(703) 305–0289 (not a toll-free call). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in this rulemaking by 

submitting written data, views, or 

arguments on all aspects of this IFR via 

one of the methods and by the deadline 

stated above. The Department also 

invites comments that relate to the 

economic, environmental, or federalism 

effects that might result from this IFR. 

Comments that will provide the most 

assistance to the Department will 

reference a specific portion of the IFR; 

explain the reason for any 

recommended change; and include data, 

information, or authority that support 

such recommended change. 

Please note that all comments 

received are considered part of the 

public record and made available for 

public inspection at 

www.regulations.gov. Such information 

includes personally identifying 

information (such as your name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter. 

If you want to submit personally 

identifying information (such as your 

name, address, etc.) as part of your 

comment, but do not want it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment and identify what 

information you want redacted. 

If you want to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment, but do not want it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You also must 

prominently identify the confidential 

business information to be redacted 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with RULES