62196 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 203 / Monday, October 20, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

filed. The Board shall grant or deny the 

petition for reconsideration and issue 

such orders as it deems appropriate. 

§ 501.8 Clerk of the Office of the Appellate 

Boards; docket of proceedings; records. 

(a) Location and business hours. The 

Office of the Clerk of the Appellate 

Boards is located at 200 Constitution 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. 

The Office of the Clerk is open during 

business hours on all days except 

Saturdays, Sundays and Federal 

holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

(b) Docket. The Clerk will maintain a 

docket containing a record of all 

proceedings before the Board. Each 

docketed appeal will be assigned a 

number in chronological order based 

upon the date on which the notice of 

appeal is received. While the Board 

generally hears appeals in the order 

docketed, the Board retains discretion to 

change the order in which a particular 

appeal will be considered. The Clerk 

will prepare a calendar of cases 

submitted or awaiting oral argument 

and such other records as may be 

required by the Board. 

(c) Publication of decisions. Final 

decisions of the Board will be published 

in such form as to be readily available 

for inspection by the general public. 

§ 501.9 Representation; Appearances and 

Fee. 

(a) Representation. In any proceeding 

before the Board, an Appellant may 

appear in person or by appointing a 

duly authorized individual as his or her 

Representative. 

(1) Counsel. The designated 

Representative may be an attorney who 

has been admitted to practice and who 

is in good standing with any court of 

competent jurisdiction. 

(2) Lay representative. A non-attorney 

Representative may represent an 

Appellant before the Board. He or she 

may be an accredited Representative of 

an employee organization. 

(3) Former members of the Board and 

other employees of the Department of 

Labor. A former judge of the Board is 

not allowed to participate as counsel or 

other Representative before the Board in 

any proceeding until two years from the 

termination of his or her status as a 

judge of the Board. The practice of a 

former judge or other former employee 

of the Department of Labor is governed 

by 29 CFR Part 0, Subpart B. 

(b) Appearance. No individual may 

appear as a Representative in a 

proceeding before the Board without 

first filing with the Clerk a written 

authorization signed by the Appellant to 

be represented. When accepted by the 

Board, such Representative will 

continue to be recognized unless the 

Representative withdraws or abandons 

such capacity or the Appellant directs 

otherwise. 

(c) Change of address. Each Appellant 

and Representative authorized to appear 

before the Board must give the Clerk 

written notice of any change to the 

address or telephone number of the 

Appellant or Representative. Such 

notice must identify the docket number 

and name of each pending appeal for 

that Appellant, or, in the case of a 

Representative, in which he or she is a 

Representative before the Board. Absent 

such notice, the mailing of documents 

to the address most recently provided to 

the Board will be fully effective. 

(d) Debarment of Counsel or 

Representative. In any proceeding, 

whenever the Board finds that a person 

acting as counsel or other 

Representative for the Appellant or the 

Director, is guilty of unethical or 

unprofessional conduct, the Board may 

order that such person be excluded from 

further acting as counsel or 

Representative in such proceeding. 

Such order may be appealed to the 

Secretary of Labor or his or her 

designee, but proceedings before the 

Board will not be delayed or suspended 

pending disposition of such appeal. 

However, the Board may suspend the 

proceeding of an appeal for a reasonable 

time for the purpose of enabling 

Appellant or the Director to obtain 

different counsel or other 

Representative. Whenever the Board has 

issued an order precluding a person 

from further acting as counsel or 

Representative in a proceeding, the 

Board will, within a reasonable time, 

submit to the Secretary of Labor or his 

or her designee a report of the facts and 

circumstances surrounding the issuance 

of such order. The Board will 

recommend what action the Secretary of 

Labor should take in regard to the 

appearance of such person as counsel or 

Representative in other proceedings 

before the Board. Before any action is 

taken debarring a person as counsel or 

Representative from other proceedings, 

he or she will be furnished notice and 

the opportunity to be heard on the 

matter. 

(e) Fees for attorney, Representative, 

or other services. No claim for a fee for 

legal or other service performed on 

appeal before the Board is valid unless 

approved by the Board. Under 18 U.S.C. 

292, collecting a fee without the 

approval of the Board may constitute a 

misdemeanor, subject to fine or 

imprisonment for up to a year or both. 

No contract for a stipulated fee or on a 

contingent fee basis will be approved by 

the Board. No fee for service will be 

approved except upon written 

application to the Clerk, supported by a 

statement of the extent and nature of the 

necessary work performed before the 

Board on behalf of the Appellant. The 

fee application will be served by the 

Clerk on the Appellant and a time set in 

which a response may be filed. Except 

where such fee is de minimis, the fee 

request will be evaluated with 

consideration of the following factors: 

(1) Usefulness of the Representative’s 

services; 

(2) The nature and complexity of the 

appeal; 

(3) The capacity in which the 

Representative has appeared; 

(4) The actual time spent in 

connection with the Board appeal; and 

(5) Customary local charges for 

similar services. 

[FR Doc. E8–24930 Filed 10–17–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–23–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

22 CFR Parts 7 and 50 

[Public Notice: 6398] 

Board of Appellate Review; Review of 

Loss of Nationality 

AGENCY: State Department. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule eliminates the 

Department’s Board of Appellate 

Review (L/BAR), which had been 

authorized to review certain Department 

determinations, in particular those 

related to loss of citizenship and 

passport denials. Because L/BAR’s 

jurisdiction has been superseded or 

made obsolete, and in large part 

replaced by review of loss of citizenship 

and passport matters by the Bureau of 

Consular Affairs, this rule eliminates L/ 

BAR and authorizes on a discretionary 

basis an alternative, less cumbersome 

review of loss of nationality 

determinations by the Bureau of 

Consular Affairs. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 20, 

2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Monica A. Gaw, Office of Policy Review 

and InterAgency Liaison, Overseas 

Citizens Services, who may be reached 

at (202) 736–9110, e-mail 

GAWMA@state.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department published an interim final 

rule, Public Notice 6298 at 73 FR 41256 

(July 18, 2008), with 60 days for postpromulgation comment, amending 22 

CFR by removing the regulations in Part 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 203 / Monday, October 20, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 62197 

7 that established the Board of 

Appellate Review (L/BAR) and revising 

§ 50.51 to provide for an alternative 

method of review of loss of nationality 

determinations on a discretionary basis. 

The rule was discussed in detail in 

Public Notice 6298, as were the 

Department’s reasons for making the 

changes to the regulations. There were 

no comments to the interim final rule 

published July 18, 2008. The 

Department is now promulgating a final 

rule with no changes. 

Regulatory Findings 

Administrative Procedure Act 

The Department published this rule as 

an interim final rule on July 18, 2008, 

with 60 days for post-promulgation 

comment, in accordance with the 

exemption contained in 5 U.S.C. 

553(a)(2) for matters relating to agency 

management or personnel. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Since this action is exempt from the 

notice and comment procedures 

contained in 5 U.S.C. 553, and no other 

statute mandates such procedures, no 

analysis under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is 

required. However, these changes to the 

regulations are hereby certified as not 

expected to have a significant impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612, and 

Executive Order 13272, section 3(b). 

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 

(adjusted annually for inflation) in any 

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 by section 804 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 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 

import markets. 

Executive Order 12866 

The Department does not consider 

this rule to be a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ within the scope of section 

3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866. In 

addition, the Department is exempt 

from Executive Order 12866 except to 

the extent that it is promulgating 

regulations in conjunction with a 

domestic agency that are significant 

regulatory actions. The Department has 

nevertheless reviewed the regulation to 

ensure its consistency with the 

regulatory philosophy and principles set 

forth in that Executive Order. 

Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform 

The Department has reviewed this 

regulation in light of sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order No. 12988 to 

eliminate ambiguity, minimize 

litigation, establish clear legal 

standards, and reduce burden. 

Executive Orders 12372 and 13132— 

Federalism 

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 section 6 of Executive 

Order 13132, it is determined that this 

rule does not have significant federalism 

implications warranting the application 

of Executive Orders No. 12372 and No. 

13132. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The Department has analyzed this 

regulation for the purpose of the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 through 4327) and 

has determined that it will not have any 

effect on the quality of the environment. 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This rule does not impose any new 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq. 

List of Subjects 

22 CFR Part 7 

Board of Appellate Review. 

22 CFR Part 50 

Citizenship, Nationality, Loss of 

Nationality. 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 22 CFR parts 7 and 50 

published at 73 FR 41256, July 18, 2008 

is adopted as final without change. 

Dated: October 7, 2008. 

Janice L. Jacobs, 

Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of 

Consular Affairs, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. E8–24472 Filed 10–17–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

22 CFR Part 40 

[Public Notice 6395] 

RIN 1400–AB68 

Uncertified Foreign Health-Care 

Workers 

AGENCY: Department of State. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule adopts as final 

without change the Department’s 

interim rule published on December 17, 

2002, at 67 FR 77158. The rule changes 

the requirements pertaining to the 

issuance of visas to certain health care 

workers. Certain foreign health care 

workers now need to present certificates 

establishing competency in a specific 

health care field. Certification is issued 

by the Commission on Graduates of 

Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) or 

other credentialing organizations that 

have been approved by the Secretary of 

Homeland Security (DHS) in 

consultation with the Secretary of 

Health and Human Services (HHS). This 

rule facilitates greater uniformity 

between the regulations of DHS and the 

Department of State. 

DATES: Effective Date: Effective October 

20, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Penafrancia D. Salas, Legislation and 

Regulations Division, Visa Services, 

Department of State, Washington, DC 

20520–0106. Phone: 202–663–1202. 

E-mail: (salaspd@state.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

What Is The Background of This Rule? 

An alien who seeks to enter the 

United States for the purpose of 

performing labor as a health care 

worker, other than as a physician, is 

ineligible for visa issuance and is 

inadmissible to the United States unless 

the alien presents to the consular officer 

a certificate from the CGFNS or a 

certificate from an equivalent 

independent credentialing organization 

approved by DHS in consultation with 

HHS that indicates the following: 

(a) The alien’s education, training, 

license, and experience: 

1. Meet all applicable statutory and 

regulatory requirements for admission 


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