67318 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 249 / Friday, December 28, 2001 / Notices

[FR Doc. 01–31794 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7020–02–C

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

[INS No. 2150–01]

Extension of Memorandum of

Understanding for Fines Mitigation

Under Section 273 of the Immigration

and Nationality Act

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Air and sea transportation

companies (carriers) may enter into a

memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

with the Immigration and Naturalization

Service (Service). This MOU provides

for mitigation of fines imposed under

section 273 of the Immigration and

Nationality Act (Act) related to

transporting passengers without

passports or visas. By signing the MOU,

the carrier agrees to perform certain

measures aimed at intercepting

improperly documented aliens at

foreign ports-of-embarkation. These

MOUs expired on September 30, 2001.

This notice services to extend the

expiration date until September 30,

2002.

DATES: This notice is effective December

28, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Una

Brien, National Fines Office,

Immigration and Naturalization Service,

1525 Wilson Blvd., Suite 425, Arlington,

VA 22209, telephone (202) 305–7018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under What Authority Can the Service

Reduce Fines?

Pursuant to section 273(e) of the Act,

a violation for section 273(1) of the Act

may be reduced, refunded, or waived in

cases in which a carrier demonstrates

that it screened all passengers on the

vessel or aircraft in accordance with

procedures prescribed by the Attorney

General, or circumstances exist that the

Attorney General determines would

justify such reduction, refund, or

waiver.

The Service published a final rule in

the Federal Register at 63 FR 23643

(April 30, 1998) establishing procedures

that carriers must undertake for the

proper screening of passengers at the

ports-of-embarkation to become eligible

for a reduction, refund, or waiver of a

fine imposed under section 273 of the

Act.

The final rule provided that carriers

that voluntarily signed at MOU with the

Service would receive an automatic

reduction, refund, or waiver of fines

imposed under section 273 of the Act.

By signing the MOU, the carrier agrees

in writing to meet passenger screening

standards stated in 8 CFR 273.3, to train

employees in documentary

requirements, and to pay fines and user

fees promptly. The Service agrees to

provide document training and

information guides to carriers and to

mitigate fines as appropriate.

How Does the Service Measure the

Carrier’s Screening Performance?

The numerical standard, or

Acceptable Performance Level (APL), is

calculated by adding the total number of

section 273(a)(1) violations involving

nonimmigrants for all carriers, divided

by the total number of nonimmigrants

transported by all carriers, multiplied by

1,000. Each carrier is then rated against

the APL using individual Performance

Levels (PL). A carrier’s individual PL is

calculated by applying the same formula

used to calculate the APL.

Carriers that meet or exceed the APL

may be eligible for automatic fines

reductions if the carrier entered into an

MOU with the Service.

If a carrier’s PL is not at or better than

the APL, the carrier may still receive an

automatic fine reduction of 25 percent

if it is signatory to and in compliance

with the MOU.

In order to provide carriers with

additional incentives to screen

documents, a second reduction factor

(APL2) was developed. The APL2 uses

the same formula but only uses the

number of violations and total passenger

counts for carriers who PL falls between

0 and the APL. These carriers will

automatically receive an additional 25

percent reduction.

Why Is the Service Extending the

Expiration Date for MOUs?

The Service is not contemplating any

amendments to the current MOU before

September 30, 2002. In this light, an

extension of all existing MOUs will

benefit both the Service and the carriers

by avoiding the administrative costs that

would result had the Service required

that a new MOU be executed for each

carrier. Carriers will remain eligible for

automatic fine reductions during the

extended period of the MOUs validity as

long as the signatory carrier is in

compliance with screening standards,

training requirements, and payment

requirements enumerated in the MOUs.

Will the Measurements for Screening

Performance Be Changed?

The measurement for screening

performance set forth in the Federal

Register at 63 FR 23643 (April 30, 1998)

will continue to remain in effect. The

Service will inform carriers of any plans

to change the methods used to calculate

a carrier’s screening performance by

publishing a notice in the Federal

Register.

Can a Carrier Sign Up For the MOU

After September 30, 2001?

A carrier can apply to be signatory to

the MOU at any time. A carrier must

meet all requirements before its MOU

will be approved. Generally, a carrier

must have a PL either at or better than

the Service’s APL and must be current

in its payment of all administrative

fines, liquidated damages, and user fees.

If a carrier does not have a PL or does

not have a PL that meets the Service’s

APL, the carrier must submit evidence

to demonstrate that it has screening

procedures in place to prevent

transporting improperly documented

aliens to the United States. Once an

MOU is approved, violations that

occurred on or after the date of the MOU

signing will receive the automatic

reductions.

How Does a Carrier or the Service

Terminate an Existing MOU?

Either party may terminate an MOU

upon 30 days via written notice.

Dated: September 28, 2001.

James W. Ziglar,

Commissioner, Immigration and

Naturalization Service.

[FR Doc. 01–31913 Filed 12–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment Standards Administration

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request; Correction

ACTION: Correction.

SUMMARY: In Federal Register Volume

66, Number 244, beginning on page

65513 in the issue of Wednesday,

December 19, 2001, under Current

Actions, under Average hours per

response, make the following

corrections: On page 65513,

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION,

Background, third sentence, reads ‘‘This

information collection contains all

recordkeeping and reporting

requirements which are derived from

the implementing regulations found at

Title 41 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, Chapter 60.’’ Strike the

word ‘‘all’’. On page 65514, the Average

hours per response for the Standard

Form 100 was previously listed as 3.8