22 CFR - Foreign Relations

The Department of State (Department) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on September 8, 2016, proposing to amend its regulations implementing the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000. 81 FR 62322. The Department hereby withdraws that action. The comments provided in response to the NPRM will be considered in drafting a new rule, which is expected to be published later this year.

The U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) is revising its regulations on the availability of records in accordance with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, Public Law 114-185, and to make minor technical amendments and corrections.

The departments and agencies listed in this document announce revisions to modernize, strengthen, and make more effective the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects that was originally promulgated as a Common Rule in 1991. This final rule is intended to better protect human subjects involved in research, while facilitating valuable research and reducing burden, delay, and ambiguity for investigators. These revisions are an effort to modernize, simplify, and enhance the current system of oversight.

The Department of State requests comments from the public regarding recent revisions to Category XII of the United States Munitions List (USML). In light of the ongoing transition of the USML to a more “positive list” pursuant to the President's Export Control Reform (ECR) initiative, the Department requests that the public comment on (1) alternatives to controls on certain items when “specially designed for a military end user,” (2) the scope of the control in paragraph (b)(1), and (3) certain technical parameters that the Department is evaluating to replace “specially designed” controls.

The U.S. Department of State (Department) proposes to amend existing regulations to provide new program requirements for the Summer Work Travel category of the Exchange Visitor Program. This rulemaking strategy is informed by the Department's comprehensive and ongoing review of the Summer Work Travel program that began in mid-2010. With this proposed rulemaking, the Department proposes to: Specify general program administration requirements for sponsors and their third parties; enhance transparency in the recruitment of exchange visitors; limit exchange visitor repeat participation to a total of three visits; require all exchange visitors to be placed in advance of the exchange visitor's arrival in the United States; outline additional sponsor responsibilities for use and vetting of host entities; and specify host entity requirements for program participation. In addition, the proposed rule limits the number of late night and early morning hours during which exchange visitors may work; adds a section regulating placements in door-to-door sales; explains new processes for exchange visitor housing; and introduces Form DS-7007 (Host Placement Certification). The proposed rule also specifies more exactly pre-departure orientation and documentation requirements, including with respect to bicycle safety; ensures that sponsors and host entities provide exchange visitors with cross-cultural activities; and outlines processes for sponsor use and vetting of domestic and foreign third parties.

This final rule is issued to adjust the civil monetary penalties (CMP) for regulatory provisions maintained and enforced by the Department of State. The revised CMP adjusts the amount of civil monetary penalties assessed by the Department of State based on the December 2016 guidance from the Office of Management and Budget. The new amounts will apply only to those penalties assessed on or after the effective date of this rule, regardless of the date on which the underlying facts or violations occurred.

As part of the President's Export Control Reform (ECR) initiative, the Department published an interim final rule on May 13, 2014 that revised Category XV (Spacecraft and Related Articles) of the U.S. Munitions List (USML). After reviewing comments to the interim final rule, the Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to further revise Category XV of the USML to describe more precisely the articles warranting control in that category.

This regulation prescribes the procedures and standard terms and conditions applicable to loan guarantees to be issued for the benefit of the Republic of Iraq pursuant to the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017.

The Peace Corps issues this final rule to restate and update the requirements for eligibility for Peace Corps Volunteer service, and the factors considered in the assessment and selection of eligible applicants for training and service. The requirements and factors for eligibility and selection were last published in 1984. A revision of the regulation is necessary to conform to changes in Federal laws and regulations, particularly with respect to those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, and to reflect policy changes made by the Peace Corps.

The Department of State amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement the International Trade Data System (ITDS), which will allow businesses to electronically submit the data required to import or export cargo, as provided by Executive Order 13659 and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 (SAFE Port Act).

The U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) is revising its regulations on collection of claims in accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), as implemented by the Department of Justice (Justice) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) in the revised Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS). The FCCS prescribes the standards that Federal agencies must use in the administrative collection, offset, compromise, and suspension or termination of collection activity for civil claims of money, funds, or property as defined by law.

This rule amends the definition of immediate family for purposes of A, C-3, G, and NATO visa classifications in two ways: It revises the eligibility requirements for unmarried adult sons and daughters age 21 or older for these visa classifications, and clarifies for purposes of G-4 visa classification that the international organization employing the principal alien must recognize an individual as immediate family to be eligible for derivative U.S. visa status. Furthermore, this rule permits qualified immediate family members of A-1, A-2, G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 nonimmigrants to be independently classified as NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, and NATO-6.

The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to clarify recent revisions made pursuant to the President's Export Control Reform (ECR) initiative. This rule clarifies the scope of disclosure of information submitted to the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), clarifies the policies and procedures regarding statutory debarments, and corrects administrative and typographical errors.

As part of the President's Export Control Reform (ECR) initiative, the Department of State amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to revise Categories VIII (aircraft and related articles) and XIX (gas turbine engines and associated equipment) of the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to describe more precisely the articles warranting control on the USML. The revisions contained in this rule are part of the Department of State's retrospective plan under E.O. 13563.

The Department of State (the Department) is extending the period of time by 15 days for the public to submit comments on the Proposed Intercountry Adoption rule, in order to give the public more time to respond.

The Department of State is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security on instituting a requirement for nonimmigrant aliens who hold a passport issued by an identified country containing a U.S. nonimmigrant visa of a designated category to provide required information to DHS after the receipt of his or her visa of a designated category.

As part of the President's Export Control Reform effort, the Department of State amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by revising Category XII (fire control, laser, imaging, and guidance equipment) of the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to remove certain items from control on the USML and to describe more precisely the articles continuing to warrant control on the USML. The Department also amends USML Categories VIII, XIII, and XV to reflect that items previously described in those Categories are now controlled under the revised Category XII or Commerce Control List. Further, the Department revises USML Category XI to move items to the CCL as a result of changes to related control in USML Category XII.

This rule amends a regulation that establishes the different types of passports issued by the Department of State. A definition for special issuance passports is added. Amendments establish a new service passport, which may be approved for certain non-personal services contractors who travel abroad in support of and pursuant to a contract with the U.S. government, and make corresponding changes regarding official and diplomatic passports. The service passport will demonstrate a contractual relationship between the bearer's employer and the U.S. government as the reason for travel, thereby continuing to demonstrate the individual's support function on behalf of the U.S. government, but nevertheless signaling a more attenuated relationship with the U.S. government than that enjoyed by direct hire employees. The U.S. government incurs significant additional cost annually in delays and fees because foreign governments do not recognize contractors as doing work for the U.S. government. By more clearly demonstrating the attenuated relationship, the Department will eliminate such waste. The regulation is amended to establish the validity of the new service passport and clarify the grounds for invalidity of a special issuance passport.

The Department of State is amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to designate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA); reorganize the content in several paragraphs to clarify the intent of the ITAR; update defense trade policy regarding Eritrea, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire to reflect resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council; update defense trade policy regarding Sri Lanka to reflect the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016; and update defense trade policy regarding Vietnam to reflect a determination made by the Secretary of State.

This regulation prescribes the procedures and standard terms and conditions applicable to loan guarantees to be issued for the benefit of Ukraine.

The Department of State proposes an adjustment to the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services of the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs (“Schedule of Fees” or “Schedule”) for the execution fee for passport books and cards. The Department is adjusting this fee in light of the findings of the most recent annual update to the Cost of Service Model to better align the fees for consular services with the costs of providing those services.

This final rule is promulgated to clarify that photographs submitted as part of a diversity visa lottery entry package must have been taken no more than six months before the date the entry is made and prohibit applicants from wearing eyeglasses in photographs.

This final rule provides various changes and updates to the Department of State passport rules as a result of the passage of two laws: International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders (IML); and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). The final rule incorporates statutory passport denial and revocation requirements for certain covered sex offenders under the IML, those persons with a seriously delinquent tax debt as defined by the FAST Act, and/or those persons who submit a passport application without a correct and valid Social Security number.

The purpose of these regulations is to implement statutes which authorize the collection of debts owed to the Federal government, by persons, organizations, or entities including by salary offset, administrative offset, or tax refund offset. Generally, however, a debt may not be collected by such means if it has been outstanding for more than ten years after the agency's right to collect the debt first accrued. These regulations are consistent with the Office of Personnel Management regulations on salary offset, and with regulations on administrative offset. Persons with access to the internet may also view this document by going to the regulations.gov Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/index.cfm.