[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55915-55916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25441]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 10203]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Request for 
Approval To Travel to a Restricted Country or Area

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State is seeking Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) approval for the information collection described below. 
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 60 days for 
public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: The Department will accept comments from the public up to 
January 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Web: Persons with access to the Internet may comment on 
this notice by going to www.Regulations.gov. You can search for the 
document by entering ``Docket Number: DOS-2017-0042'' in the Search 
field. Then click the ``Comment Now'' button and complete the comment 
form.
     Email: [email protected].
     Regular Mail: Send written comments to: PPT Forms Officer, 
U.S. Department of State, CA/PPT/S/L/LA 44132 Mercure Cir, P.O. Box 
1227 Sterling, VA 20166-1227.
    You must include the DS form number (if applicable), information 
collection title, and the OMB control number in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional 
information regarding the collection 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, by 
phone at (202) 485-6507, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
     Title of Information Collection: Request for Approval to 
Travel to a Restricted Country or Area.

[[Page 55916]]

     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. 2l1a 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: 187.5 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 
validations requests individuals will submit who wish to use their U.S. 
passport to travel to the DPRK, 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. 2017-25441 Filed 11-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4710-06-P