This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

30188

Vol. 61, No. 116

Friday, June 14, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

8 CFR Part 214

[INS No. 1732–95]

RIN 1115–AE17

Conditions on Nonimmigrant Status:

Disclosure of Information

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Justice.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This rule proposes to amend

the Immigration and Naturalization

Service (‘‘the Service’’) regulations by

removing the current regulatory

language conditioning an alien’s

nonimmigrant status on his or her

providing full and truthful information

requested by the Service, regardless of

the requested information’s materiality.

This proposed regulation would clarify

that a nonimmigrant’s maintenance of

status is conditioned on, among other

things, the provision of all information

deemed necessary to ensure that the

alien has acquired, and is maintaining,

lawful nonimmigrant status during the

entire period of his or her stay, or that

the alien is eligible to receive a benefit

under the Immigration and Nationality

Act (‘‘the Act’’). This rule addresses the

concern expressed by the court in

Romero v. I.N.S., 39 F.3d 977 (9th Cir.

1994), that, under the current wording

of the regulations, the Service may elicit

information unrelated to that required to

ensure the alien’s continued eligibility

for nonimmigrant status or benefits

under the Act.

DATES: Written comment must be

submitted on or before August 13, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written

comments, in triplicate, to the Director,

Policy Directives and Instructions,

Immigration and Naturalization Service,

425 I Street, NW., Room 5307,

Washington, DC 20536, Attention:

Public Comment Clerk. To ensure

proper handling, please reference INS

Number 1732–95 on your

correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Miriam Jawitz Hetfield, Senior

Adjudications Officer, Nonimmigrant

Branch, Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Room 3214, 425 I Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20536, telephone: (202)

514–5014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

214(a)(1) of the Act provides that the

Attorney General may by regulation

prescribe the length and the conditions

of a nonimmigrant alien’s stay, in order

to ensure that the nonimmigrant will

depart from the United States at the

expiration of the period of admission or

upon failure of the nonimmigrant to

maintain nonimmigrant status. Under

section 241(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Act, a

nonimmigrant who fails to maintain

nonimmigrant status, or to comply with

the conditions of such status, is

deportable.

Under current 8 CFR 214.1(f), a

condition of an alien’s nonimmigrant

status is that he or she provide full and

truthful information requested by the

Service, ‘‘regardless of whether or not

the information requested was

material.’’ The Service promulgated this

regulation to ensure that it is furnished

with the information necessary to

perform its statutory function of

regulating the admission and control of

nonimmigrants, to ensure compliance

with the Act, and to locate and deport

those nonimmigrant aliens who have

violated their status. 44 FR 65726–

65727. It was the opinion of the Service,

in promulgating this regulation, that, to

meet this responsibility, it is necessary

to have information which ‘‘possibly

may not be considered material in the

strict legal connotation of the term.’’ Id.

at 44 FR 65727. Despite such broad

language, the current regulation was

intended to require the provision of

only information bearing a reasonable

relationship to the Service’s abovedescribed responsibility in prescribing

the conditions of a nonimmigrant’s stay.

Id.

On November 3, 1994, the court in

Romero v. I.N.S., 39 F.3d 977 (9th Cir.

1994), invalidated the parenthetical

phrase in current 8 CFR 214.1(f),

‘‘(regardless of whether or not the

information requested was material).’’ In

Romero, the Service charged the

plaintiff with violating section

241(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Act for failing to

maintain nonimmigrant status,

contending that she had not disclosed

certain information requested by a

Service officer. Specifically, in response

to a question by a Service officer, the

plaintiff stated that she had not

informed another alien that someone

could help that alien obtain an

extension of nonimmigrant status for

money. The Service officer sought this

information in connection with an

investigation of alleged corruption

among customs officers. The

immigration court found that, in making

this statement, the plaintiff had

provided a Service officer with false

information in violation of 8 CFR

214.1(f), and therefore was deportable

under section 241(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Act.

In ordering that the case be remanded

for withdrawal of the order of

deportation, the Romero court found

that the statement the plaintiff made to

the Service officer was not material in

any way to the alien’s immigration

status, but related only to a criminal

investigation of other persons. The court

held that, as currently worded, the

disclosure requirement of 8 CFR 214.1(f)

is inconsistent with the purpose of the

enabling statute, section 214(a)(1) of the

Act, which is to ensure that the alien is

eligible for nonimmigrant status or

immigration benefits.

This proposed regulatory change

would clarify that a nonimmigrant’s

maintenance of status and/or continued

receipt of immigration benefits is

conditioned on the alien fully and

truthfully disclosing all information he

or she possesses, or reasonably should

have knowledge of, which the Service

deems material in order to ensure that

the alien is eligible for nonimmigrant

status and/or immigration benefits

under the Act. This regulation does not

give the Service the authority to require

disclosure of information in the hope

that it might uncover information to be

used for another purpose, such as an

investigation of another person or

persons. For information to be deemed

‘‘material’’ for purposes of this

regulation, there must exist a reasonable

connection between the information

sought and the determination of

whether an alien is eligible under the

Act for nonimmigrant status or

immigration benefits. In this regard.

‘‘material’’ information includes that

information which, if known to the

Service, would be predictably capable of
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 116 / Friday, June 14, 1996 / Proposed Rules 30189

affecting a decision regarding whether

an alien has violated a condition of his

or her nonimmigrant stay or eligibility

for benefits. See Kungys v. United

States, 485 U.S. 759, 771 (1988).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 605(b),

the Commissioner of the Immigration

and Naturalization Service certifies that

this rule will not, if promulgated, have

a significant adverse economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. This rule merely clarifies that a

nonimmigrant’s status in this country is

conditioned on, among other things, his

or her providing full and truthful

disclosure of all information deemed

necessary to ensure that the alien has

acquired, and is maintaining, lawful

nonimmigrant status during the entire

period of his or her stay, or to ensure

that the alien is eligible to receive any

other benefit under the Act. Any impact

this proposed regulation will have on

small business entities, therefore, will

be negligible.

Executive Order 12866

This proposed rule is not considered

by the Department of Justice,

Immigration and Naturalization Service,

to be a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

under Executive Order 12866, section

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

This regulation 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 Federal

Assessment.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule contains information

collection requirements which have

been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

the provisions of the Paperwork

Reduction Act. The OMB control

numbers for these collections are

contained in 8 CFR 299.5, Display of

control numbers.

List of Subjects in 8 CFR Part 214

Administrative practice and

procedure, Aliens, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Accordingly, part 214 of chapter I of

title 8 of the Code of Federal

Regulations is proposed to be amended

as follows:

PART 214—NONIMMIGRANT CLASSES

1. The authority citation for part 214

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101, 1103, 1182, 1184,

1186a, 1187, 1221, 1281, 1282; 8 CFR part 2.

2. In § 214.1, paragraph (f) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 214.1 Requirements for admission,

extension, and maintenance of status.

* * * * *

(f) Disclosure of information. (1) A

condition of a nonimmigrant’s

admission and maintenance of status in

the United States is that he or she fully

and truthfully disclose all information

deemed by the Service to be material in

determining whether the nonimmigrant:

(i) Is eligible for, and/or is

maintaining the nonimmigrant status in

which the alien was admitted or to

which the alien has changed under

section 248 of the Act, or

(ii) Is eligible to receive any benefit

under the Act.

(2) Willful failure by a nonimmigrant

to provide full and truthful disclosure of

such material information when

requested by a Service officer

constitutes a failure to maintain

nonimmigrant status under section

241(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Act.

* * * * *

Dated: March 4, 1996.

Doris Meissner,

Commissioner, Immigration and

Naturalization Service.

[FR Doc. 96–15169 Filed 6–13–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 95

[Docket No. 89–174–3]

Importation of Fetal Bovine Serum

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

SUMMARY: We are withdrawing a

proposed rule that would have allowed,

under certain conditions, the

importation of fetal bovine serum into

the United States from countries in

which foot-and-mouth disease or

rinderpest exists. We are taking this

action after considering the comments

we received following the publication of

the proposed rule.

DATES: This withdrawal is effective June

14, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

John H. Gray, Senior Staff Veterinarian,

Import/Export Products, National Center

for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700

River Road Unit 40, Riverdale, MD

20737, (301) 734–7837.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 95

govern importation into the United

States of certain animal byproducts,

including blood serum and other blood

products. Blood serum is that part of

blood that is left after the blood cells are

removed.

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is that part

of the blood from bovine fetuses that is

left after the blood cells are removed. It

is used in tissue culture media to

produce various pharmaceuticals and

biological products, such as vaccines,

and cannot be derived synthetically.

On February 25, 1994, we published

in the Federal Register (59 FR 9142–

9146, Docket No. 89–174–1) a proposed

rule that would have allowed, under

certain conditions, the importation of

FBS into the United States from

countries in which foot-and-mouth

disease (FMD) or rinderpest exists. The

proposed conditions included

certification of the origin of the donor

fetuses and treatment of the FBS with

gamma radiation.

We solicited comments on the

proposed rule for 60 days ending April

26, 1994. However, on April 15, 1994,

we published in the Federal Register

(59 FR 18003–18004, Docket No. 89–

174–2) a notice extending the comment

period on the proposed rule until June

27, 1994.

By the close of the comment period,

we received a total of 22 comments. One

commenter supported the proposed rule

as written. Several commenters

supported it with changes. The

remainder of the commenters either

opposed the proposed rule or expressed

reservations concerning it.

The commenters in opposition to the

proposal raised a number of issues,

including that of the efficacy of the

proposed required dosage of gamma

radiation in destroying FMD virus.

Several of the commenters stated that

the size and configuration of the

containers in which the FBS is

irradiated could influence the

effectiveness of the treatment. A number

of commenters stated that the potential

difficulties in adequately monitoring the

source of donor fetuses could create an