[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8314-8315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03801]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10317]
30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Request for
Approval To Travel to a Restricted Country or Area
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of State has submitted the information
collection described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for approval. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 we
are requesting comments on this collection from all interested
individuals and organizations. The purpose of this Notice is to allow
30 days for public comment.
DATES: Submit comments directly to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) up to March 28, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Direct comments to the Department of State Desk Officer in
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). You may submit comments by the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. You must include the
DS form number, information collection title, and the OMB control
number in the subject line of your message.
Fax: 202-395-5806. Attention: Desk Officer for Department
of State.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional
information regarding the collection
[[Page 8315]]
listed in this notice, including requests for copies of the proposed
collection instrument and supporting documents, to Anita Mody, U.S.
Department of State, CA/PPT/S/L/LA, 44132 Mercure Cir, P.O. Box 1227,
Sterling, VA 20166-1227, who may be reached on (202) 485-6400 or at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Information Collection: Request for Approval to
Travel to a Restricted Country or Area.
OMB Control Number: 1405-0228.
Type of Request: Extension of a Currently Approved
Collection.
Originating Office: Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport
Services, Office of Legal Affairs, CA/PPT/S/L/LA.
Form Number: No form.
Respondents: Individuals requesting they be granted a
special validation, in accordance with 22 CFR 51.64, to use a U.S.
passport to travel to, in, or through a country or area as to which
U.S. passports have been declared invalid for such travel pursuant to
22 U.S.C. 211a and Executive Order 11295 (August 5, 1966) and in
accordance with 22 CFR 51.63(a).
Estimated Number of Respondents: 250.
Estimated Number of Responses: 250.
Average Time per Response: 45 minutes.
Total Estimated Burden Time: 188 annual hours.
Frequency: Each time the individual wishes to travel to
the restricted country or area.
Obligation to Respond: Required to Obtain or Retain a
Benefit.
We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department to:
Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper functions of the Department.
Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost
burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used.
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected.
Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond,
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Please note that comments submitted in response to this Notice are
public record. Before including any detailed personal information, you
should be aware that your comments as submitted, including your
personal information, will be available for public review.
Abstract of Proposed Collection
The Secretary of State may exercise authority, under 22 U.S.C.
211a, Executive Order 11295 (August 5, 1966), and 22 CFR 51.63, to
invalidate all U.S. passports for travel to a country or area if he
determines that any of three conditions exist: The country is at war
with the United States; armed hostilities are in progress in the
country or area; or there is imminent danger to the public health or
physical safety of U.S. travelers in the country or area. The
regulations of the Department of State provide that an individual's
passport may be considered for validation for travel to, in, or through
a country or area despite such restriction if the individual's travel
is determined to fall within one of several categories established by
the regulations. 22 CFR 51.64. Without the requisite validation, use of
a U.S. passport for travel to, in, or through a restricted country or
area may justify revocation of the passport for misuse under 22 CFR
51.62(a)(2) and subject the traveler to felony prosecution under 18
U.S.C. 1544 for misuse of a passport or other applicable laws.
The categories of persons specified in 22 CFR 51.64(b) as being
eligible for consideration for passport validation are as follows:
(a) An applicant who is a professional reporter and journalist
whose trip is for the purpose of collecting and making available to the
public information about the restricted country or area;
(b) An applicant who is a representative of the American Red Cross
or the International Committee of the Red Cross on an officially
sponsored Red Cross mission;
(c) An applicant whose trip to the restricted country or area is
justified by compelling humanitarian considerations; or
(d) An applicant whose trip to the restricted country or area is
otherwise in the national interest.
The proposed information collection solicits data necessary for the
Passport Services Directorate to determine whether an applicant is
eligible to receive a special validation in his or her U.S. passport
book permitting the applicant to make one round-trip to a restricted
country or area. The information requested consists of the applicant's
name; a copy of the front and back of the applicant's valid government-
issued photo identification card with the applicant's date of birth and
signature; current contact information, including telephone number and
mailing address; and a statement explaining the reason that the
applicant thinks his or her trip is in the national interest, supported
by documentary evidence. Failure to provide the requested information
may result in denial of a special validation to use a U.S. passport to
travel to, in, or through a restricted country or area.
Effective September 1, 2017, upon determining that there is
imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of U.S.
travelers in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the
Secretary of State imposed a passport restriction with respect to
travel to the DPRK. The estimated number of recipients represents the
Department of State's estimate of the annual number of special
validation requests individuals who wish to use their U.S. passport to
travel to the DPRK will submit, based on the current number of requests
following the implementation of the Secretary of State's passport
restriction. At this time, there are no other countries or areas that
are the subject of passport restrictions pursuant to 22 CFR 51.63.
Methodology
Instructions for individuals seeking to apply for a special
validation to use a U.S. passport to travel to, in, or through a
restricted country or area is posted on a web page maintained by the
Department (travel.state.gov). The web page directs applicants to
submit the requested information via email to the Passport Services
Directorate ([email protected]) or by mail to Special
Validations, U.S. Department of State, CA/PPT/L/LA, 44132 Mercure
Circle, P.O. Box 1227, Sterling, VA 20166-1227.
Information collected in this manner will be used to facilitate the
granting of special validations to U.S. nationals who are eligible. The
primary purpose of soliciting the information is to establish whether
an applicant is within one of the categories specified in the
regulations of the Department of State codified at 22 CFR 51.64(b) and
therefore eligible to be issued a U.S. passport containing a special
validation enabling him or her to make one round-trip to a restricted
country or area, and to facilitate the application for a passport of
such applicants.
Brenda S. Sprague,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services, Consular Affairs,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2018-03801 Filed 2-23-18; 8:45 am]
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