[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 177 (Thursday, September 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 52395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18051]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

September 10, 2007.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission the 
following public information collection request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35). A copy of the ICR, with applicable supporting documentation; 
including among other things a description of the likely respondents, 
proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be 
obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or by contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is 
not a toll-free number)/e-mail: [email protected].
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: Katherine Astrich, OMB Desk 
Officer for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 
202-395-7316 / Fax: 202-395-6974 (these are not a toll-free numbers), 
E-mail: [email protected] within 30 days from the date of 
this publication in the Federal Register. In order to ensure the 
appropriate consideration, comments should reference the OMB Control 
Number (see below).
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: Employment and Training Administration.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement without change of a previously 
approved collection.
    Title: Attestations by Facilities Temporarily Employing H-1C 
Nonimmigrant Aliens as Registered Nurses.
    OMB Number: 1205-0415.
    Affected Public: Private Sector: Business or other for-profit and 
Not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 14.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 172.
    Estimated Total Annual Costs Burden: $0.
    Description: On November 12, 1999, the Nursing Relief for 
Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999 (NRDAA), Public Law 106-95, amended the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish the H-1C program to 
reduce the shortage of qualified nurses in Health Professional Shortage 
Areas (HPSAs). The ETA and Employment Standards Administration (ESA) 
promulgated regulations at 20 CFR part 655, subparts L and M, governing 
the filing and enforcement of attestations by facilities seeking to 
employ aliens as registered nurses in HPSAs on a temporary basis. (See 
65 FR 51149, Aug. 22, 2000.)
    The NRDAA allows qualified hospitals to employ temporary foreign 
workers as registered nurses for up to three (3) years under the H-1C 
visas. Facilities seeking H-1C visas are required to file attestations 
with the Secretary of Labor. Each facility must attest that (1) It 
meets the definition of ``facility'' based on the Social Security Act 
and the Public Health Service Act, (2) it did not and will not lay off 
a registered nurse in the period between 90 days before and 90 days 
after the filing of any H-1C petition, (3) it will not employ a number 
of H-1C nurses that exceeds 33 percent of the total number of 
registered nurses employed at the facility, and (4) it will not 
authorize the H-1C nurse to perform nursing services at any worksite 
other than a worksite controlled by the facility or transfer the H-1C 
nurse's place of employment from one work place to another.
    The NRDAA expired on June 13, 2005. However, on December 20, 2006, 
with the enactment of Public Law 109-423, Congress reauthorized the H-
1C program for an additional three (3) years. The key provisions of the 
program remain unaffected and take effect immediately. The mechanism 
for employers or facilities to make attestations to the Secretary of 
Labor is the ETA Form 9081, and to expedite implementation of the 
reauthorized statute, the ETA is requesting a reinstatement, without 
modifications, to this information collection.

Darrin A. King,
Acting Departmental Clearance Officer.
 [FR Doc. E7-18051 Filed 9-12-07; 8:45 am]
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