[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6051-6052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3070]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Provision of Aviation Training to Certain Alien Trainees, 
Additional Categories of Provisional Advance Consent

AGENCY: Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice of advance consent for providing aviation training to 
certain alien trainees.

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SUMMARY: Under section 113 of the Aviation and Transportation Security 
Act (ATSA), training providers subject to regulation by the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) are prohibited from providing training to 
aliens in the operation of aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff 
weight of 12,500 pounds or more, unless they provide prior notification 
to the Attorney General. This notice temporarily grants advance consent 
for the training of certain categories of aliens, without requiring 
that they provide identifying information to the Attorney General, 
based on a provisional finding that they do not constitute a risk to 
aviation or national security at this time.

DATES: This notice is effective February 8, 2002, and remains in effect 
until further notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven C. McCraw, Director, Foreign 
Terrorist Tracking Task Force, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530, Telephone (703) 414-
9535.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 19, 2001, Congress enacted the 
Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), Pub. L. 107-71. Upon 
enactment, section 113 of the ATSA imposed new constrictions on persons 
subject to regulation under Title 49 subtitle VII part A, United States 
Code, with respect to providing aviation training to aliens. Persons 
subject to regulation under Title 49 subtitle VII Part A, United States 
Code, include individual training providers, certificated carriers, and 
flight schools (hereinafter collectively referred to as ``training 
providers''). Pursuant to section 113, training providers must provide 
the Attorney General with the alien's identification in such form as 
the Attorney General may require in order to initiate a security risk 
assessment by the Department of Justice. After notification, the 
Attorney General then has 45 days to inform the training provider that 
the alien should not be given the requested training because he or she 
presents a risk to aviation or national security. If the Attorney 
General does not indicate that the person is a risk within this 45-day 
review period, then the training provider may proceed with training. 
The ATSA, however, permits the Attorney General to interrupt training 
if he later determines that the alien poses a risk to aviation or 
national security. The Attorney General has delegated his authority 
under section 113 to the Director of the Foreign Terrorist Tracking 
Task Force. The Department plans to publish implementation procedures 
shortly to provide a means by which training providers may notify the 
Attorney General with respect to covered individuals seeking aviation 
instruction who are not eligible for advance consent in order to 
initiate the Department of Justice's 45-day review period.
    On January 16, 2002, the Department published a notice in which it 
granted advance consent for certain categories of aliens to begin 
aviation training (the ``First Advance Consent Notice''). 67 FR 2238 
(Jan. 16, 2002). As discussed in that notice, the Department recognized 
that section 113 of the ATSA became immediately effective, and that 
training providers have been forced to suspend the training of aliens 
covered by the ATSA pending the implementation of the process for 
notification to the Attorney General. Because the suspension of 
training imposed a substantial economic burden on regulated training 
providers, the Department granted provisional advance consent, 
effective January 15, 2002, for training providers to resume aviation 
training for certain categories of aliens who appeared to pose a risk 
to aviation and national security which was sufficiently minimal that 
the Department would not deny them training. This notice supercedes the 
notice published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2002. 67 FR 
2238 (Jan. 16, 2002). Any training commenced in compliance with that 
notice, however, remains valid and may continue.

Provisional Advance Consent for the Training of Certain Aliens

    Since publication of the First Advance Consent Notice, the 
Department has continued to analyze the types of aliens seeking 
aviation training. The Department continues to believe that the primary 
intent of Congress regarding the enactment of this statute was to 
prevent potentially dangerous aliens from being taught how to pilot 
aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or 
more. Based on that standard, it appears that certain categories of 
aliens pose little such risk. For example, currently licensed pilots 
who seek recurrent training already know how to fly the aircraft for 
which they wish to maintain proficiency. Denying such retraining would 
appear to offer no benefit to aviation or national security. Indeed, 
the purpose behind recurrent training is to make flying safer for the 
public.
    The Department has determined that advance consent for aviation 
training could be granted to additional categories of aliens who appear 
not to pose the risk to aviation or national security contemplated by 
Congress in section 113 of the ATSA. The new categories of aliens 
identified by the Department have some overlap with respect to the 
three categories previously identified in the First Advance Consent 
Notice. Therefore, in order to prevent confusion, this notice 
supercedes the First Advance Consent Notice. Any training commenced in 
compliance with the First Advance Consent Notice, however, remains 
valid and may

[[Page 6052]]

continue. The Department will revisit this provisional advance consent 
when it promulgates any necessary implementing regulations to determine 
whether these pilots should continue to be granted advance consent.
    Effective immediately and until further notice, the Department is 
granting a provisional advance consent for the training of the 
following categories of aliens, based on a determination that they do 
not appear to pose a risk to aviation or national security:
    (1) Foreign nationals who are current and qualified as pilot in 
command, second in command, or flight engineer with respective 
certificates and ratings recognized by the United States for aircraft 
with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or more;
    (2) Military pilots or other crew members who are being provided 
training by a component of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Coast 
Guard, or pursuant to a contract awarded by a component of the 
Department of Defense or the U.S. Coast Guard;
    (3) Military pilots or other crew members who are being provided 
training pursuant to an export authorization of the Department of 
State, provided such authorization was issued prior to February 1, 2002 
and that the training was scheduled to commence prior to April 1, 2002; 
and
    (4) Commercial, governmental, corporate or military pilots of 
aircraft with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or 
more who must receive familiarization training on a particular aircraft 
in order to transport it to the purchaser or recipient, provided that 
the training provided be limited to familiarization and not basic 
flight instruction.
    The categories covering military pilots were devised after 
consulting with the Departments of Defense and State. Based on these 
consultations, the Department believes that military pilots training 
under the auspices of the Department of Defense or Coast Guard are 
thoroughly investigated prior to training and pose no risk to aviation 
or national security. Aliens being trained pursuant to export 
authorizations of the Department of State, however, are not always 
investigated to the same extent. As a result, the Department is 
limiting the advance consent for this category to certain aliens 
already scheduled for training, as these were not found to constitute a 
risk to aviation or national security.

Determination of Status as a U.S. Citizen or National or as an 
Alien

    Section 113 of the ATSA applies to all aliens as defined in section 
101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, but does not 
currently apply to citizens or nationals of the United States. 
Accordingly, training providers must make a determination as to whether 
or not a prospective trainee is an alien. If the prospective trainee 
establishes that he or she is a citizen or national of the United 
States, the restrictions of section 113 do not apply.
    Training providers should require appropriate proof of citizenship 
or nationality from all trainees who claim to be citizens or nationals 
of the United States, before commencing aviation training on aircraft 
with a maximum certificated takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or more. 
This requirement is necessary to prevent aliens from falsely claiming 
to be United States citizens or nationals in order to evade the 
Department's security risk assessment.
    The Department believes that the following documents are sufficient 
to establish proof of citizenship or nationality:
    (1) A valid, unexpired United States passport;
    (2) An original birth certificate with raised seal documenting 
birth in the United States or one of its territories;
    (3) An original U.S. naturalization certificate with raised seal, 
Form N-550 or Form N-570;
    (4) An original certification of birth abroad, Form FS-545 or Form 
DS-1350; or
    (5) An original certificate of U.S. citizenship, Form N-560 or Form 
N-561.
    (6) In the case of training provided to a federal employee pursuant 
to a contract between a U.S. Government agency and a training provider, 
the agency's written certification as to its employee's U.S. 
citizenship may be accepted as sufficient proof of such citizenship.
    If a training provider has questions about the documents above or 
any other documentation presented by a person who claims to be a 
citizen or national of the United States, the training provider may 
seek further guidance from the Department, the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service, or the appropriate federal agency.

Commencement of Aviation Training for Aliens Granted Advance 
Consent

    After a training provider reasonably determines that a prospective 
alien trainee falls within one of the four advance consent categories, 
the training provider may proceed with training the alien immediately 
and does not have to submit any identifying information to the 
Department. The training provider, however, should retain records to 
document how the training provider made the determination that the 
alien was eligible for advance consent. Appropriate measures will be 
taken by the Department with respect to any alien who is determined to 
pose a risk to aviation or national security. Available civil and/or 
criminal penalties will be pursued with respect to any training 
provider who knowingly or negligently provides training to aliens not 
covered by this notice.

    Dated: February 4, 2002.
Steven C. McCraw,
Director, Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force.
[FR Doc. 02-3070 Filed 2-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-19-P