[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78458-78460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30641]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[DHS Docket No. USCIS-2014-0014]


Immigration Policy

AGENCY: Department of State; Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice of Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: On November 21, 2014, the President issued a memorandum for 
the heads of executive departments and agencies on the subject of 
modernizing and streamlining the U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visa 
system for the 21st century. The Memorandum directs the Secretaries of 
State and Homeland Security, in consultation with various other Cabinet 
secretaries and the White House, to make recommendations to streamline 
and improve the Nation's legal immigration system. Such efforts should 
focus on reducing Government costs, improving services for applicants, 
reducing burdens on employers, and combatting waste, fraud, and abuse 
in the system, while safeguarding the interests of American workers. 
This notice solicits public input to inform the development of those 
recommendations.

DATES: Responses must be received by January 29, 2015 to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#580d0b1b110b1e0a1b3735353d362c182d2b3b312b763c302b763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b0e5e3f3f9e3f6e2f3dfddddd5dec4f0c5c3d3d9c39ed4d8c39ed7dfc6">[email protected]</span></a>. Include Visa 
Modernization in the subject line of the message.
    <bullet> Online: You may access the Federal Register Notice and 
submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site by visiting 
www.regulations.gov. In the search box either copy and paste, or type 
in, the e-Docket ID number USCIS-2014-0014. Click on the link titled 
Open Docket Folder for the appropriate Notice and supporting documents, 
and click the Comment Now tab to submit a comment;
    <bullet> Mail: Attn: Laura Dawkins, Chief of the Regulatory 
Coordination Division, USCIS Office of Policy and Strategy, 20 
Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20529-2140.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Responses 
exceeding 30 pages will not be considered. Respondents need not reply 
to all questions listed below; however,

[[Page 78459]]

respondents should clearly indicate the number of each question to 
which they are responding. The Department of Homeland Security and the 
Department of State request that no business proprietary information, 
copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information be 
submitted in response to this RFI. Please note that the U.S. Government 
will not pay for response preparation, or for the use of any 
information contained in the response.
    The full text of the November 21 Memorandum is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/21/presidential-memorandum-modernizing-and-streamlining-us-immigrant-visa-s.
    The White House Fact Sheet describing the President's Immigration 
Accountability Executive Actions of November 20 is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/20/fact-sheet-immigration-accountability-executive-action.
    Note that the November 21 Presidential Memorandum, and this RFI, 
are not focused on potential Federal Government actions that were 
announced as part of the President's Immigration Accountability 
Executive Actions of November 20. Rather, this RFI seeks 
recommendations on improving and modernizing the legal immigration 
system in other ways. Federal agencies responsible for implementing the 
previously announced executive actions are establishing stakeholder 
engagement plans separate from this RFI. Do not submit responses 
detailing recommendations directly related to the actions announced on 
November 20, as separate processes exist to engage regarding those 
actions where necessary. For more information, see:

http://www.dhs.gov/immigration-action
http://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction
http://www.dol.gov/dol/fact-sheet/immigration/perm.htm.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Dawkins, Chief of the Regulatory 
Coordination Division, USCIS Office of Policy and Strategy, 20 
Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20529-2140; Telephone number 
202-272-8377.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On November 21, 2014, President Obama 
issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretaries of State and 
Homeland Security to lead an interagency effort, in consultation with 
private and nonfederal public stakeholders, to develop within 120 days 
recommendations on streamlining and reforming the Nation's legal 
immigration system, while safeguarding the interests of American 
workers, including recommendations to:
    (i) Streamline and improve the legal immigration system--including 
immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing--with a focus on reforms 
that reduce Government costs, improve services for applicants, reduce 
burdens on employers, and combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the system;
    (ii) ensure that administrative policies, practices, and systems 
use all of the immigrant visa numbers that Congress provides for and 
intends to be issued, consistent with demand; and
    (iii) modernize the information technology infrastructure 
underlying the visa processing system, with a goal of reducing 
redundant systems, improving the experience of applicants, and enabling 
better public and congressional oversight of the system.
    The Memorandum further directs the Secretaries of State and 
Homeland Security to establish metrics for measuring progress in 
implementing these recommendations and in achieving service-level 
improvements, taking into account the Federal Government's 
responsibility to protect the integrity of U.S. borders and promote 
economic opportunity for all workers.
    Along with general comments and suggestions, the Departments of 
State and Homeland Security are also specifically seeking input on the 
following questions. To the extent possible and wherever appropriate, 
responses to this RFI should indicate the question number(s) and 
include, for each recommended action, (a) clear prioritization of which 
actions are most important and consequential; (b) estimates of the 
number of individuals affected, time saved, private and public costs 
saved, general economic benefit, or other impact metrics as 
appropriate; (c) legal authorities under existing statutes and case 
law; and (d) suggested government performance metrics as described 
above. Concrete recommendations are more useful than general 
observations. Such proposals need not be limited to the activities of 
the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security, as the 
Memorandum also contemplates roles for the Departments of Agriculture, 
Commerce, Justice, Labor, and Education, and other departments and 
agencies as relevant. Note that responses should not include the 
modernization of the PERM labor certification program, as the 
Department of Labor has provided for a separate process to engage 
stakeholders on modernized recruitment and application requirements in 
this program, which applies to permanent workers; for more details, 
see: http://www.dol.gov/dol/fact-sheet/immigration/perm.htm.

I. Streamlining the Legal Immigration System

    1. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would streamline and improve the processing of immigrant visas at U.S. 
Embassies and Consulates, for both family-sponsored and employment-
based immigrant visas?
    2. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would streamline and improve the processing of nonimmigrant visas at 
U.S. Embassies and Consulates, including visitor, student, temporary 
worker and other nonimmigrant visas?
    3. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would streamline and improve U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
(USCIS) processing of the following types of immigrant and nonimmigrant 
visa petitions?

a. Family-sponsored immigrant visa petitions
b. Employment-based immigrant visa petitions
c. Nonimmigrant petitions
d. Humanitarian petitions and applications (such as U nonimmigrant 
status petitions, T nonimmigrant status applications, and VAWA self-
petitions)
e. H-1B temporary worker visa petitions, specifically, ways to reduce 
burdens on employers and workers engaging in the H-1B petition process, 
consistent with protections for U.S. and temporary foreign workers. 
(Note that employment authorization for certain H-4 dependent spouses 
of H-1 B nonimmigrants was a part of the President's November 20 
announcement described above, and recommendations regarding that topic 
should not be submitted here.)

    4. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would streamline and improve the process of changing from one 
nonimmigrant status to another nonimmigrant status?
    5. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would streamline and improve the process of applying for adjustment of 
status to that of a lawful permanent resident while in the United 
States?
    6. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would streamline and improve the inspection of arriving immigrants and 
nonimmigrants at U.S. ports of entry?

[[Page 78460]]

    7. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would attract the world's most talented researchers to U.S. 
universities, national laboratories, and other research institutions? 
(Do not submit responses directly related to the actions announced on 
November 20, including the strengthening and extending of the Optional 
Practical Training program for foreign students. Separate processes 
exist to engage regarding those actions where necessary; see details 
above.)
    8. What are the most important policy and operational changes that 
would attract the world's most talented entrepreneurs who want to start 
and grow their business in the United States? (Do not submit responses 
directly related to the actions announced on November 20, including the 
``national interest waiver'' and ``significant public benefit'' parole 
pathways for entrepreneurs. Separate processes exist to engage 
regarding those actions where necessary; see details above.)
    9. What are the policy or operational changes that could assist in 
creating additional immigration opportunities for high-demand 
professions, such as physicians?
    10. Focusing on the EB-5 immigrant investor visa, what policy or 
operational changes would (a) reduce existing burdens and uncertainties 
on the part of petitioners, Regional Centers, and other participants in 
the program; (b) ensure that this program is achieving the greatest 
impact in terms of U.S. job creation, economic growth, and investment 
in national priority projects that the capital markets would not 
otherwise competitively finance; and (c) enhance protections against 
fraud, abuse, and criminal misuse of the program by petitioners or 
Regional Centers?
    11. How can labor market related requirements for temporary workers 
be best tailored to meaningfully protect both U.S. and temporary 
foreign workers while achieving operational efficiency for both 
employers and relevant Federal agencies?
    12. How should relevant occupational categories, descriptors, and/
or data, such as the Department of Labor's O*NET system (http://www.onetonline.org) be refined and updated to better align the 
prevailing wage determination process for visas with the evolving job 
market?
    13. Focusing on the diversity visa program, what are the most 
important policy and operational changes that would streamline and 
improve the diversity visa process, including enhancing protections 
against fraud?
    14. What other policy and operational changes would most 
effectively combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the legal immigration 
system?

II. Ensuring Use of All Immigrant Visa Numbers

    15. What are the most important policy and operational changes, if 
any, available within the existing statutory framework to ensure that 
administrative policies, practices, and systems fully and fairly 
allocate all of the immigrant visa numbers that Congress provides for 
and intends to be issued each year going forward?
    16. What are the most important policy and operational changes, if 
any, available within the existing statutory framework to ensure that 
administrative policies, practices, and systems fully and fairly 
allocate all of the immigrant visa numbers that Congress provided for 
and intended to be issued, but were not issued in past years?

III. Modernizing IT Infrastructure

    17. From the perspective of petitioners and applicants, which 
elements of the current legal immigration system (both immigrant and 
nonimmigrant systems) are most in need of modernized information 
technology (IT) solutions, and what changes would result in the most 
significant improvements to the user experience?
    18. Which existing government-collected data and metrics would be 
most valuable to make available to the public, consistent with privacy 
protections and national security, in order to improve oversight and 
understanding of the legal immigration system?

Karin M. King,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services, Department of 
State.
Esther Olavarria,
Senior Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2014-30641 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
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