[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 13, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17976-17977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9163]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

22 CFR Part 514


Exchange Visitor Program

AGENCY: United States Information Agency.

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Agency is adopting specific regulations governing 
participation in summer work travel programs conducted by Agency-
designated sponsors pursuant to Public Law 105-277. These regulations 
are adopted to assist designated Summer Work Travel sponsors with their 
administration of program placements for the upcoming summer program 
season.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These regulations are effective April 13, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanley S. Colvin, Assistant General 
Counsel, United States Information Agency, 301 4th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20547, Telephone, (202) 619-4979.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Since publication of the General Accounting 
Office report entitled ``Inappropriate Uses of the Exchange Visitor 
Visa'' in 1990, the status of Summer Work Travel programs administered 
by the Agency has been under a cloud of uncertainty. This uncertainty 
was due to the GAO report suggestion that the Agency was without 
adequate statutory authority to administer and oversee Summer Work 
Travel program activities. In light of this GAO determination, the 
Agency has pursued several approaches to bring the Summer Work Travel 
programs under the umbrella of authority to conduct international 
exchange activities provided by the Fulbright-Hayes Act. Sponsors of 
these programs have also sought to resolve the question of Agency 
authority. After years of uncertainty, the Congress, in passage of 
Public Law 105-277, vested the Director of USIA with clear statutory 
authority to administer and oversee Summer Work Travel programs. This 
legislation also granted discretionary authority to the director to 
conduct these programs without regard to a requirement that 
participants have an offer of employment in place prior to their 
departure from their home country.
    Accordingly, the Agency is adopting the following regulations on an 
interim final basis in order to assist designated Summer Work Travel 
sponsors with their administration of program placements for the 
upcoming summer program season. These regulations supersede program 
guidelines promulgated by the Agency and published at 61 FR 13760 
(March 28, 1996) and existing regulations set forth at Subpart G of 22 
CFR part 514. These regulations permit program sponsors to facilitate 
the entry into the United States of program participants for whom prior 
employment positions have not been arranged. However, a limitation on 
the number of participants that may enter the United States without a 
prearranged employment position is imposed. Sponsors must arrange prior 
employment positions for at least fifty percent of their program 
participants.

Public Comment

    The Agency invites comments regarding this interim final rule 
notwithstanding the fact that it is under no legal requirement to do 
so. The oversight and administration of the Exchange Visitor Program 
are deemed to be foreign affairs functions of the United States 
Government. The Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. 553 (a)(1), 
(1989), specifically exempts foreign affairs functions from the 
rulemaking requirements of the Act.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Agency certifies that this 
rule does not have a significant adverse economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. This rule is not considered to be 
a major rule within the meaning of section 1(b) of E.O. 12291, nor does 
it have federal implications warranting the preparation of a Federalism 
Assessment in accordance with E.O. 12612.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 514

    Cultural exchange programs.

    Dated March 24, 1999.
Les Jin,
General Counsel.
    Accordingly, 22 CFR part 514 is amended as follows:

PART 514--EXCHANGE VISITOR PROGRAM

    1. The authority citation for part 514 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J), 1182, 1258; 22 U.S.C. 1431-
1442, 2451-2460; Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1997, 42 FR 62461, 3 
CFR, 1977 Comp. p. 200; E.O. 12048 43 FR 13361, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 
168; USIA Delegation Order No. 85-5 (50 FR 27393).

Subpart G--[Removed]

    2. Subpart G is removed and reserved, and subpart B is amended by 
adding a new Sec. 514.32 to read as follows:


Sec. 514.32   Summer work travel.

    (a) Introduction. These regulations govern program participation in 
summer work travel programs conducted by Agency-designated sponsors 
pursuant to the authority granted the Agency by Public Law 105-277. 
These programs provide foreign post-secondary students the opportunity 
to work and travel in the United States for a four month period during 
their summer vacations. Extensions of program participation are not 
permitted.
    (b) Participant selection and screening. In addition to satisfying 
the requirements set forth at Sec. 514.10(a), sponsors shall adequately 
screen all program participants and at a minimum shall:
    (1) Conduct an in-person interview;
    (2) Ensure that the participant is a bona fide post-secondary 
school student in his or her home country; and
    (3) Ensure that not more than ten percent of selected program 
participants have previously participated in a summer work travel 
program.
    (c) Participant orientation. Sponsors shall provide program 
participants, prior to their departure from the home country, 
information regarding:
    (1) The name and location of their employer, if prior employment 
has been arranged; and
    (2) Any contractual obligations related to their acceptance of paid 
employment in the United States, if prior employment has been arranged.
    (d) Participant placement. Sponsors shall ensure that not less than 
50 percent of their program participants have pre-arranged employment 
with a U.S. employer. For all program participants for whom pre-
arranged employment has not been secured sponsors shall:
    (1) Ensure that the participant has sufficient financial resources 
to support him or herself during his or her search for employment;
    (2) Provide the participant with pre-departure information that 
explains how

[[Page 17977]]

to seek employment and how to secure lodging in the United States;
    (3) Prepare and provide to program participants a roster of bona 
fide job listings equal to or greater than the number of participants 
for whom pre-arranged employment has not been secured; and,
    (4) Undertake reasonable efforts to secure suitable employment for 
any participant who has not found suitable employment within one week 
of commencing his or her job search.
    (e) Participant compensation. Sponsors shall advise program 
participants regarding Federal Minimum Wage requirements and shall 
ensure that participants receive pay and benefits commensurate with 
those offered to their American counterparts.
    (f) Monitoring. Sponsors shall provide:
    (1) All participants with a telephone number which allows 24-hour 
immediate contact with the sponsor; and
    (2) Appropriate assistance to program participants on an as-needed 
emergency basis.
    (g) Use of third parties. Program sponsors are responsible for full 
compliance with all Exchange Visitor Program regulations. If a program 
sponsor elects to utilize a third-party to provide U.S. hosting, 
orientation, placement, or other support services to participants for 
whom they have facilitated entry into the United States, such sponsor 
shall closely oversee the provision of these services by the third-
party and ensure that the provision of these services satisfies all 
regulatory obligations.
    (h) Placement report. In lieu of listing the name and address of 
the participant's pre-arranged employer on the form IAP-66, sponsors 
shall submit to the Agency a report of all participant placements. 
Sponsors shall report the name, place of employment, and the number of 
times each participant has participated in a summer work travel 
program. In addition, for participants for whom employment was not pre-
arranged, the sponsor shall also list the length of time it took for 
such participant to find employment. Such report shall be submitted 
semi-annually on January 30th and July 31st of each year and shall 
reflect placements made in the preceding six month period.
    (i) Unauthorized activities. Program participants may not be 
employed as domestic employees in United States households or in 
positions that require the participant to invest his or her own monies 
to provide themselves with inventory for the purpose of door-to-door 
sales.

[FR Doc. 99-9163 Filed 4-12-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-M