Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/03/07/E7-3870/passports
Timestamp: 2017-08-22 08:18:44
Document Index: 511737192

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A Proposed Rule by the State Department on 03/07/2007
The Department will accept comments on this proposed regulation until May 7, 2007.
10095-10105 (11 pages)
Public Notice 5712
Subpart E—Denial, Revocation and Restriction of Passports
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E7-3870 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E7-3870
The proposed rule would reorganize, restructure, and update the passport regulations contained in 22 CFR part 51 in order to make them easier for the users to access the information, to better reflect current practices and changes in statutory authority, and to remove outdated provisions.
You may submit comments, identified by the following methods (no duplicates, please):
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/​index.cfm. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Electronically: You may submit electronic comments to: Comments.22.CFR.Part_51.update@state.gov. Attachments must be in Microsoft Word.
Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): Comments by mail should be addressed to: Director, Office of Passport Policy, Planning and Advisory Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20037, fax (202) 663-2654.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Regulatory Identification Number (RIN).
Consuelo Pachon, Office of Passport Policy, (202) 663-2662. Hearing or speech-impaired persons may use the Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD) by contacting the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
The Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs is proposing to update and amend its passport regulations in 22 CFR Part 51. Most of the current passport regulations in Part 51 of 22 CFR were issued in 1966, although significant modifications have been made as needed. For example, in recent years the passport regulations have been amended to improve our ability to combat international parental child abduction by requiring that both parents consent to passport issuance to minors under age 14 (with specified exceptions) and to enhance the security of the passport by introducing the electronic passport and eliminating passport amendments. Still, many of the current provisions in Part 51 have not been revised in many years, and the Department believes it useful for them to be modernized and restructured in their entirety.
Accordingly, this proposed rule reorganizes and updates existing passport regulations in order to make them easier for users to access the information, to better reflect current practice and changes in statutory authority, and to remove outdated provisions. In general, the proposed revisions do not mark a departure from current policy. Rather the Department's intent is to bring greater clarity to Start Printed Page 10096current passport policy and practice and to present it in a less cumbersome way. The more notable changes are discussed below.
Passport Agents and Passport Acceptance Agents. Proposed §§ 51.1(e), 51.1(f), and 51.22 include new provisions regarding passport agents and passport acceptance agents. They are intended to codify the definition of passport agents and passport acceptance agents and to clarify their qualifications and responsibilities, including the requirement that they be U.S. citizens.
Change of Names on Passports. The revised § 51.25 (currently § 51.24) is intended to clarify what is required of an applicant whose name has changed and to reflect more accurately Department practice in this regard.
Minors. The proposed rule in new § 51.28 makes a number of changes to the current provisions in § 51.27 on Minors. The Department revised its passport regulations in 2001 to implement the provisions of 22 U.S.C. 213n, requiring that both parents consent to the issuance of a passport to minor children under age 14. The Department further amended the regulations in 2004 to require that children under age 14 appear personally when applying for a passport. The proposed rule in § 51.28(a) would extend the two-parent consent and personal appearance requirements to minors under the age of 16. Raising the age requirement for parental consent to passport issuance to minors under 16 is intended to address the troubling issue of runaway children as well as abduction. The change is also consistent with the age requirements in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and current passport regulations permitting issuance of a ten-year passport to minors age 16 and above.
A proposed new § 51.28(a)(5)(ii) would amend the “special family circumstances” exceptions to the two-parent consent requirement to include situations in which return of a minor to the jurisdiction of his or her home state or habitual residence is necessary to permit a court of competent jurisdiction to determine custody matters. This change is intended to address the issue of children habitually resident in the United States who are, in effect, wrongfully stranded abroad when an abducting parent or his/her family holds current passports and/or refuses permission for issuance of replacements. The revision would also amend “special family circumstances” to include compelling humanitarian circumstances involving the health, safety or welfare of the minor and ease slightly the standard for “special family circumstances,” from the current very stringent “impossible” to “exceptionally difficult.”
To further deal with the issue of runaway minors, proposed § 51.28(b) seeks to reaffirm in clearer language the authority of a passport authorizing officer to require a parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis to consent to the issuance of a passport for minors age 16 and above. The proposed new § 51.28(c)(4) clarifies the question of access by parents or guardians to passport records of minors.
Denial, Revocation and Restriction of Passports: Proposed new § 51.60(b)(9) revises provisions on denial, revocation, and restriction of passports (currently § 51.70) to permit the Department to deny a passport to applicants who are the subject of outstanding state or local warrants of arrest for a felony. Similarly, new § 51.60(d) would permit the Department to deny passport issuance when the Department has been informed by an appropriate foreign government authority or international organization that the applicant is the subject of a warrant of arrest for a felony. Providing the Department with such authority will enhance U.S. border security and law enforcement cooperation. Proposed new § 51.60(c) clarifies the Department's authority to deny passport issuance to applicants who have not repaid repatriation and other emergency loans extended to them and/or members of their immediate family in a foreign country. This provision is intended to improve the Department's ability to collect unpaid debts to the U.S. Government and to address the problem of dependents of U.S. citizens who are abandoned abroad. Proposed new § 51.60(e) would permit the Department to refuse to issue a passport to a wrongfully removed or retained minor, except a passport limited for direct return to the United States, when return of the minor to the jurisdiction of his or her home state or habitual residence is necessary to permit a court of competent jurisdiction to determine custody matters. This provision would enhance the Department's efforts to protect children against international child abduction and to meet its treaty obligations in that regard.
Because the Department is proposing to reorganize and renumber Part 51 in its entirety, including sections which have already been commented upon, we are inviting comments only on those changes which are new and for which an opportunity to comment has not been previously offered. For example, an opportunity to comment has been previously provided on provisions pertaining to the two-parent consent requirement, the requirement that minors appear personally to apply for a passport, the introduction of the electronic passport, the elimination of amendments to passports, and the security surcharge. Comments on these settled issues are not being solicited, except for the extension of the parental consent and personal appearance requirements to minors under age 16 from the current age 14.
On 10-17-2006, the Department published for comment a separate rulemaking to amend Part 51 to introduce the passport card in order to implement the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The Department will fully consider the comments to the passport card proposal in the context of that separate rulemaking. The final rule pertaining to the passport card will be incorporated into this overall updating of Part 51.
The Department is publishing this rule as a proposed rule, with 60 days for public comments and review.
These proposed 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. 301-612, and Executive Order 13272, section 3(b).
This proposed rule is not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804, for purposes of congressional review of agency rulemaking under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, Public Law 104-121. This rule would not result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices; or adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of United States-based companies to compete with foreign based companies in domestic and export markets.
Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UFMA), Public Law 104-4, 109 Stat. 48, 2 U.S.C. 1532 generally requires agencies to prepare a statement before proposing any rule that may result in an annual expenditure of $120 million or more by Start Printed Page 10097State, local, or tribal governments, or by the private sector. This rule would not result in any such expenditure nor would it significantly or uniquely affect small governments.
This regulation would not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Nor would the rule have federalism implications warranting the application of Executive Orders No. 12372 and No. 13132.
The Department of State has reviewed this proposed rule to ensure its consistency with the regulatory philosophy and principles set forth in Executive Order 12866 and has determined that the benefits of the proposed regulation justify its costs. The Department does not consider the proposed rule to be an economically significant regulatory action within the scope of section 3(f)(1) of the Executive Order since it is not likely to have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or to adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local or tribal governments or communities.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, 22 CFR Part 51 is proposed to be revised to read as follows:
Exemption for payment of passport fees.
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1504; 22 U.S.C. 211a, 212, 213, 213n (Pub. L. 106-113 Div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(7) [Div. A, Title II, Sec. 236], 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-430); 214, 214a, 217a, 218, 2651a, 2671(d)(3), 2705, 2714, 2721; 26 U.S.C. 6039E; 31 U.S.C. 7701, 7901; 42 U.S.C. 652(k) Div. B, Title V of Pub. L. 103-317, 108 Stat. 1760; E.O. 11295, Aug. 6, 1966, FR 10603; Sec. 1 of Pub. L. 109-210, 120 Stat. 319; Sec. 2 of Pub. L. 109-167, 119 Stat. 3578; Sec. 5 of Pub. L. 109-472, 120 Stat. 3554.
(e) Passport acceptance agent means a U.S. citizen designated by the Department to accept passport applications and to administer oaths and affirmations in connection with such applications.
(f) Passport agent means a U.S. citizen employee of the Department of State, including consular officers, diplomatic officers and consular agents abroad and such U.S. citizen Department of State employees as the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs may designate for the purpose of administering oaths and affirmations for passport applications.
(h) Passport authorizing officer means a U.S. citizen employee who is authorized by the Department to approve the issuance of passports,
(i) Secretary means the Secretary of State. Start Printed Page 10098
(j) United States when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
(b) Period of validity of a regular passport.
(1) A regular passport issued to an applicant 16 years of age or older is valid for 10 years from date of issue unless the Department limits the validity period to a shorter period.
(3) The Department has sent a written notice to the bearer that the passport has been invalidated because the Department has not received the applicable fees; or
(4) The Department determines that the passport is no longer valid because it has been materially changed in physical appearance or composition, or contains a damaged, defective or otherwise nonfunctioning chip, or includes unauthorized changes, obliterations, entries or photographs, or has observable wear or tear that renders it unfit for use as a travel document and either takes possession of the passport or sends a written notice to the bearer.
(a) A passport authorizing officer may adjudicate applications or authorize the issuance of passports.
(b) If an applicant is unable to produce such a passport for cancellation, he or she must submit a signed statement in the form prescribed by the Department setting forth the circumstances regarding the disposition of the passport.
(a) Application by personal appearance. Except as provided in § 51.28, to assist in establishing identity, a minor, a person who has never been issued a passport in his or her own name, a person who has not been issued a passport for the full validity period of 10 years in his or her own name within 15 years of the date of a new application, or a person who is otherwise not eligible to apply for a passport by mail under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, must apply for a passport by appearing in person before a passport agent or passport acceptance agent (see § 51.22). The applicant must verify the application by oath or affirmation before the passport acceptance agent, sign the completed application, provide photographs as prescribed by the Department, provide any other information or documents requested and pay the applicable fees prescribed in the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (see 22 CFR 22.1).
(2) The application is made not more than 15 years following the issue date of the previous passport; and
(d) Nothing in this Part shall prohibit or limit the Department from authorizing an overseas post to accept a passport application or applications by mail from persons outside the country or outside the person's country of residence in circumstances which prevent provision of these services to the person where they are located or in other unusual circumstances as determined by the Department.
(1) Is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national;
(ii) Presented proper identification, as documented on the application; Start Printed Page 10100
(2) Safeguarding passport application information under the Privacy Act of 1974. Passport acceptance agents described in § 51.22(b) must not retain copies of executed applications, nor release passport application information to anyone other than the applicant and the Department.
(f) Documentation. Passport acceptance facilities within the United States must maintain a current listing of all passport acceptance agents designated under § 51.22(b). This list must be updated at least annually and a copy provided to the officer specified by the Department at the appropriate passport issuing office.
(b) The applicant must establish his or her identity by the submission of a previous passport, other state, local or federal government officially issued identification with photograph, or other identifying evidence which may include an affidavit of an identifying witness.
(1) Court order or decree. An applicant whose name has been changed by court order or decree must submit with his or her application a certified copy of the order or decree. Acceptable types of court orders and decrees include but are not limited to:
(4) Customary usage. An applicant who has adopted a new name without formal court proceedings or a marriage must submit evidence of public and exclusive use of the adopted name for a long period of time, in general five years, as prescribed by guidance issued by the Department. The evidence must include three or more public documents, including one government-issued identification with photograph and other acceptable public documents prescribed by the Department.
The applicant must submit with his or her application photographs as prescribed by the Department.
(a) Minors under age 16.
(1) Personal appearance. Minors under 16 years of age applying for a passport must appear in person, unless the personal appearance of the minor is specifically excused by a senior passport authorizing officer, pursuant to guidance issued by the Department. In cases where personal appearance is excused, the person(s) executing the passport application on behalf of the minor shall appear in person and verify the application by oath or affirmation before a person authorized by the Secretary to administer oaths or affirmations, unless these requirements are also excused by a senior passport authorizing officer pursuant to guidance issued by the Department.
(2) Execution of passport application by both parents or by each legal guardian. Except as specifically provided in this section, both parents or each of the minor's legal guardians, if any, whether applying for a passport for the first time or for a renewal, must execute the application on behalf of a minor under age 16 and provide documentary evidence of parentage or legal guardianship showing the minor's name, date and place of birth, and the names of the parent or parents.
(F) An order of a court of competent jurisdiction terminating the parental rights of the non-applying parent or Start Printed Page 10101declaring the non-applying parent or legal guardian to be incompetent.
(b) Minors 16 years of age and above.
(2) The passport issuing officer may at any time require a minor 16 years of age and above to submit the notarized consent of a parent, a legal guardian, or a person in loco parentis to the issuance of the passport.
(c) Rules applicable to all minors.
(1) Objections. At any time prior to the issuance of a passport to a minor, the application may be disapproved and a passport may be denied upon receipt of a written objection from a parent or legal guardian of the minor, or from another party claiming authority to object, so long as the objecting party provides sufficient documentation of his or her custodial rights or other authority to object.
(2) An order from a court of competent jurisdiction providing for joint legal custody or requiring the permission of both parents or the court for important decisions will be interpreted as requiring the permission of both parents.
(5) Access by parents and legal guardians to passport records for minors. Either parent or any legal guardian of a minor may upon written request obtain information regarding the application for and issuance of a passport to a minor, unless the requesting parent's parental rights have been terminated by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, a copy of which has been provided to the Department. The Department may deny such information to a parent or legal guardian if it determines that the minor objects to disclosure and the minor is 16 years of age or older.
(b) Secondary evidence of birth in the United States. If the applicant cannot submit a birth certificate that meets the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section, he or she must submit secondary evidence sufficient to establish to the satisfaction of the Department that he or she was born in the United States. Secondary evidence includes but is not limited to hospital birth certificates, baptismal certificates, medical and school records, certificates of circumcision, other documentary Start Printed Page 10102evidence created shortly after birth but not more than 5 years after birth, and/or affidavits of persons having personal knowledge of the facts of the birth.
(a) Generally. A person born outside the United States must submit documentary evidence that he or she meets all the statutory requirements for acquisition of U.S. citizenship or non-citizen nationality under the provision of law or treaty under which the person is claiming U.S. citizenship or non-citizen nationality.
The Department will generally return to the applicant evidence submitted in connection with an application for a passport. The Department may, however, retain evidence when it deems it necessary.
(a) An application fee, which must be paid at the time of application, except as provided in § 51.52(a), and is not refundable, except as provided in § 51.53.
(b) An execution fee, except as provided in § 51.52(b), when the applicant is required to execute the application in person before a person authorized to administer oaths for passport purposes. The execution fee is collected at the time of application and is not refundable (see § 51.55). When execution services are provided by an official of a state or local government or of the United States Postal Service (USPS), the state or local government or USPS may retain the fee if authorized to do so by the Department.
(d) A surcharge of twelve dollars on the filing of each application for a passport in order to cover the costs of meeting the increased demand for passports as a result of actions taken to comply with section 7209(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (8 U.S.C. 1165 note). The surcharge will be recovered by the Department of State from within the passport fee reflected in Schedule of Consular Fees. The surcharge will be imposed until October 1, 2010.
(e) Any other fee that the Department is authorized or required by law to charge for passport services.
(f) The foregoing fees are applicable regardless of the validity period of the passport.
(b) The Department will refund an expedited passport processing fee if the Department fails to provide expedited passport processing as defined in 22 CFR 51.56.
(d) When a passport is retained by law enforcement or the judiciary for evidentiary purposes and the bearer is still eligible to have a passport.
(a) Within the United States, an applicant for passport service (including issuance, replacement or the addition of visa pages) may request expedited processing. The Department may decline to accept the request. Start Printed Page 10103
(b) Expedited passport processing means completing processing within the number of business days specified by law, beginning on the day when the application reaches a Passport Agency or Center or, if the application is already with a Passport Agency or Center, beginning when the request for expedited processing is approved. The processing is considered completed on the day when the passport is ready to be picked up by the applicant or is mailed to the applicant.
§ 51. 61
(b) A passport may be refused in any case in which the Department determines or is informed by competent authority that the applicant is subject to imprisonment or supervised release as the result of a misdemeanor conviction of a Federal or state drug offense if the individual used a U.S. passport or otherwise crossed an international border in committing the offense, other than a first conviction for possession of a controlled substance, including a misdemeanor conviction arising under: Start Printed Page 10104
The Department may revoke a passport when:
(a) The bearer of the passport would not be entitled to issuance of a passport under 22 CFR 51.60 or 51.61; or 51.28; or any other provision contained in this Part; or,
(b) The passport has been obtained illegally, fraudulently or erroneously; was created through illegality or fraud practiced upon the Department; or has been fraudulently altered or misused; or
(c) The Department has determined that the bearer of the passport is not a U.S. national, or the Department is on notice that the bearer's certificate of citizenship or certificate of naturalization has been canceled.
(a) The Department will notify in writing any person whose application for issuance of a passport has been denied, or whose passport has been revoked. The notification will set forth the specific reasons for the denial or revocation, and, if applicable, the procedures for review available under 22 CFR 51.70-51.76.
(b) An application for a passport will be denied if an applicant fails to meet his or her burden of proof under 22 CFR 51.23(a) and 51.40 or otherwise does not provide documentation sufficient to establish entitlement to passport issuance within ninety days of notification by the Department that additional information from the applicant is required. Thereafter, if an applicant wishes to pursue a claim to entitlement to passport issuance, he or she must submit a new application and supporting documents, photographs, and statements in support of the application, along with applicable application and execution fees.
(a) A person whose passport has been denied or revoked under 22 CFR 51.60(b)(1)-(10), 51.60(c), 51.60(d), 51.61(b), or 51.62(b) may request a hearing to review the basis for the denial or revocation to the Department within 60 days of receipt of the notice of the denial or revocation.
(b) If a timely request for a hearing is made, the Department will hold it within 60 days of the date the Department receives the request, unless the person requesting the hearing asks for a later date and the Department and the hearing officer agree.
(c) The Department will give the person requesting the hearing not less than 10 business days' written notice of the date and place of the hearing.
A qualified reporter will make a complete verbatim transcript of the hearing. The person requesting the hearing and/or his or her attorney may review and purchase a copy of the transcript. The hearing transcript and the documents received by the hearing Start Printed Page 10105officer will constitute the record of the hearing.
[FR Doc. E7-3870 Filed 3-6-07; 8:45 am]