INS Immigration User Fee Review

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

8 CFR Part 286

[INS No. 1350-93]

RIN 1115-AD06

INS Immigration User Fee Review

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of user fee account status.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Attorney General is required to submit a report to the

Congress concerning the status of the Immigration User Fee Account

(IUFA), and to recommend any adjustment in the prescribed fee. The

report is to be submitted to the Congress following a public notice

with opportunity for comment. This document publishes the status of the

IUFA as of September 30, 1994, and presents the public the opportunity

to comment and propose regulatory changes.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments, in triplicate, to Director,

Policy Directives and Instructions Branch, Immigration and

Naturalization Service, Room 5307, 425 I Street, NW., Washington, DC

20536-0002. To ensure proper handling, please reference INS No. 1350-93

on your correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Natchuras, Budget Analyst, Fee Analysis and Operations Branch,

Office of Finance, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I

Street, NW., Room 6240, Washington, DC 20036-0002, telephone 202-616-

2754.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 286(d) of the Immigration and

Nationality Act (Act) directs the Attorney General to charge and

collect a user fee from each individual arriving in the United States

aboard a commercial aircraft or commercial vessel from foreign

locations effective December 1, 1986. Individuals arriving from Mexico,

Canada, and the adjacent islands by means other than commercial

aircraft are exempt from the fee. The 1994 Appropriations Act for the

Department of Justice, Public Law 103-121, changed the Immigration User

Fee from $5.00 to $6.00 per passenger inspected. Fee collections are

used to provide immigration inspection services for commercial aircraft

and commercial vessels; detect fraudulent documents used by air and sea

passengers travelling to the United States; detain and deport

excludable aliens arriving on commercial aircraft and commercial

vessels; expand and operate information systems for non-immigrant

control and debt collection; and provide necessary support for

operations to ensure that the objectives of the program are achieved.

The 1994 Appropriations Act authorized the use of the IUFA to provide

detention and deportation services for excludable aliens who have

attempted to enter the United States illegally through avoidance of

inspectoin at air and sea ports-of-entry, and to provide exclusion and

asylum proceedings at air and sea ports-of-entry for excludable aliens

arriving on commercial aircraft and vessels and for any excludable

aliens who have attempted to enter the United States illegally through

avoidance of inspection at air and sea ports-of-entry.

Section 286(h) of the Act requires the Attorney General to submit a

bi-yearly report to the Congress concerning the status of the IUFA.

Before the report is submitted, the Attorney General must present a

summary of the account's status for review and public comment.

As of September 30, 1994, the status of the account is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Financial summary ($000)

-----------------------------------------------

Fiscal year Fiscal year Fiscal year

1993 actual 1994 actual 1995 estimate

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Start of year balance........................................... $7,321 $27,460 $40,387

Collections..................................................... 228,298 270,090 295,900

Obligations..................................................... 211,094 264,530 321,600

Recovery of prior year obligations.............................. 2,935 7,367 ..............

End of year balance............................................. 27,460 40,387 14,667

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On February 15, 1994, INS published proposed changes in regulations

(59 FR 7227) to amend 8 CFR 286 to comply with 1991 and 1994 Department

of Justice Appropriations Acts. In addition, the proposed rule included

changes in [[Page 3108]] remittance and statement procedures and

proposed other amendments and technical corrections. Public comments

were received, evaluated, and considered, and a final rule was

published on September 28, 1994 (59 FR 49347). The rule was effective

on October 28, 1994. No other regulatory changes are contemplated.

By this notice, the public may provide any proposals to revise 8

CFR part 286 on matters which may be changed by regulation, and may

provide comments on the status of the IUFA before a report is submitted

to the Congress.

Dated: December 30, 1994.

Doris Meissner,

Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.

[FR Doc. 95-893 Filed 1-12-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410-10-M