[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46556-46557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19024]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

RIN 1601-AA91


Designation of REAL ID Identity Documents for Citizens of the 
Freely Associated States; Unexpired Foreign Passport With an Approved 
Form I-94, Documenting the Applicant's Most Recent Admission to the 
United States

AGENCY: Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS).

ACTION: Notice designating identity documents for citizens of the 
Freely Associated States applying for a REAL ID driver's license or 
identification card.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) is designating an unexpired foreign passport and valid Form I-94 
(Arrival-Departure Record) as acceptable identity documentation for 
purposes of obtaining a REAL ID driver's license or identification card 
for eligible citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the 
Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands 
(collectively known as the Freely Associated States, or FAS).

DATES: This designation takes effect September 4, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Yonkers, Director, Biometrics 
and Credentialing/REAL ID Program, Department of Homeland Security, 
Washington, DC 20528, telephone (202) 282-9708; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

A. The REAL ID Act

    The REAL ID Act (the Act) was enacted in 2005 in response to a 
recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to improve the security of 
forms of identification such as state-issued driver's licenses and 
identification cards.\1\ The Act sets minimum standards for the 
issuance and production of state driver's licenses and identification 
cards in order for federal agencies to accept those documents for 
official purposes, which include accessing Federal facilities, boarding 
federally regulated commercial aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, 
and any other purposes the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
determine.
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    \1\ The REAL ID Act of 2005--title II of division B of the 
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global 
War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005, Public Law 109-13, 119 
Stat. 231, 302 (May 11, 2005) (codified at 49 U.S.C. 30301 note).
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B. The Compacts of Free Association

    The Compacts of Free Association (COFAs) between the United States 
and the Freely Associated States allow most citizens of the Federated 
States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of 
the Marshall Islands (RMI) to be admitted to the United States as 
nonimmigrants without having to obtain a visa, and to indefinitely 
reside, work and study in the United States.\2\
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    \2\ See Public Law 108-188 (48 U.S.C. 1921 note) (Republic of 
the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia); Public Law 
99-658 (48 U.S.C. 1931 and 1931 note) (Palau).
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C. REAL ID Act Modification for Freely Associated States Act

    In December 2018, President Trump signed the REAL ID Act 
Modification for Freely Associated States Act (REAL ID Modification 
Act).\3\ The REAL ID Modification Act authorizes states to issue full-
term REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses and identification cards

[[Page 46557]]

to FAS citizens admitted under the COFAs. Prior to the enactment of the 
REAL ID Modification Act, FAS citizens were only eligible for temporary 
REAL ID driver's licenses and identification cards, valid during the 
period of the applicant's authorized stay in the United States or for 
one year where there is no definite end to the period of authorized 
stay, which is the case for FAS citizens.\4\ The REAL ID Modification 
Act amended the REAL ID Act to create a separate lawful status category 
for FAS citizens to make them eligible for full-term driver's licenses 
and identification cards. It did not, however, address the regulatory 
requirements regarding acceptable documentation to establish identity 
for purposes of obtaining a REAL ID compliant license or identification 
card.
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    \3\ Public Law 115-323.
    \4\ REAL ID Act Sec.  202(c)(2)(C)(ii).
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D. REAL ID Identity Documents for FAS Citizens

    The REAL ID regulations require applicants for REAL ID compliant 
licenses or identification cards to present at least one of several 
listed documents for purposes of establishing identity.\5\ For 
nonimmigrants, these documents could be either an unexpired foreign 
passport with a valid unexpired U.S. visa affixed, and an approved I-94 
form; or an unexpired employment authorization document (EAD) issued by 
DHS.\6\
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    \5\ 6 CFR 37(c)(1).
    \6\ The source documents listed in 6 CFR 37.11(c)(1) are all 
acceptable, but most nonimmigrants do not have access to the other 
source documents listed. They are limited to the options of an 
unexpired EAD, or an unexpired foreign passport with a valid U.S. 
visa affixed with an approved Form I-94, per 6 CFR 37.11(c)(1)(v)-
(vi). Most nonimmigrants are not eligible for an EAD (because either 
they are not eligible to be employed in the United States, or 
because they are authorized for employment with a specific employer 
incident to status and are not issued an EAD), but FAS nonimmigrants 
under the COFAs may apply for an EAD as evidence of their work 
authorization in the United States.
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    Under the Compacts of Free Association between the United States 
and the FAS, most FAS citizens are eligible to be admitted to the 
United States as nonimmigrants without a visa, and live and work in the 
United States indefinitely. As such, FAS citizens who are lawfully 
living and working in the United States under the terms of the Compacts 
may not have a visa or EAD, which would be necessary to satisfy the 
identity requirements in order to obtain a REAL ID compliant license or 
identification card.\7\
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    \7\ Citizens of all three FAS nations admitted under the 
Compacts are authorized to work incident to that status, i.e., they 
can obtain an EAD as evidence of work authorization but do not need 
to obtain one in order to be authorized to work. Under the amended 
Compacts with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of 
the Marshall Islands, an unexpired passport and I-94 combination is 
acceptable evidence of identity and employment authorization. As a 
result, many FAS citizens do not find it necessary to obtain an EAD 
in order to exercise their right to work in the United States, 
although some may still find it more convenient to obtain and use an 
EAD for this purpose, since many employers are much more familiar 
with the EAD and/or the individual's passport may have expired. The 
Palau compact does not include this provision, so as a practical 
matter, Palau citizens are more likely to need to obtain an EAD in 
order to exercise their right to work in the United States.
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II. Designation of Identity Documents for FAS Citizens

    The REAL ID regulations, at 6 CFR 37.11(c)(1)(x), authorize DHS to 
designate additional identity documents through a Federal Register 
notice. Pursuant to that authority, DHS is designating the following 
documentation as acceptable evidence of identity for purposes of 6 CFR 
37.11(c)(1):
    A valid unexpired passport issued by the Republic of the Marshall 
Islands, the Republic of Palau, or the Federated States of Micronesia 
with an approved Form I-94,\8\ documenting the applicant's most recent 
admission to the United States under the Compact of Free Association 
between the United States and the nation that issued the passport.
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    \8\ See 8 CFR 1.4 for a definition of Form I-94.
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    DHS believes it is appropriate to designate this identity 
documentation for FAS citizens given the unique relationship between 
the United States and the FAS and considering that to live and work for 
indefinite periods, FAS citizens are not required to obtain a visa or 
EAD, which are documents currently required to establish identity for 
REAL ID purposes. DHS also believes the designation is consistent with 
the intent of Congress to facilitate the issuance of REAL ID licenses 
and identification cards to FAS citizens as demonstrated by enactment 
of the REAL ID Modification Act. This accommodation for FAS citizens 
also is consistent with the spirit of the COFAs, although it is not 
required under any provision of the COFAs.

David Pekoske,
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-19024 Filed 9-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-9M-P