[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8087-8088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02866]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice:11035]


Notice of Intent To Request Emergency Processing of Information 
Collection: Public Charge Questionnaire

ACTION: Public notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State intends to seek emergency processing 
of proposed form DS-5540, Public Charge Questionnaire from the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB). The Department will seek OMB approval 
of the form by February 24, 2020, so that the Department can implement 
its interim final rule on the public charge ground of visa 
ineligibility on this date. The Department also intends to respond, in 
the supporting statement drafted in support of the request for OMB 
approval, to public comments that it received in response to its 
request for public comments on the same form DS-5540 that was published 
in the Federal Register on October 24. The Department will publish 
another notice in the Federal Register once it has requested emergency 
processing from OMB.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional 
information regarding the collection listed in this notice, including 
requests

[[Page 8088]]

for copies of the proposed collection instrument and supporting 
documents to Taylor Beaumont, Acting Chief, Legislation and Regulations 
Division, Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of 
State, 600 19th St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 485-8910, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Abstract

    On October 24, 2019, the Department published a notice in the 
Federal Register to announce that it was seeking OMB approval of the 
DS-5540, Public Charge Questionnaire, and invited public comment for a 
60-day period. The 60-day comment period ended on December 23, 2019, 
and the Department received 92 comments. Approval of this form will 
permit the Department to implement the Department's interim final rule 
on public charge published on October 11, 2019.
    The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will 
begin implementation of its final rule on the public charge ground of 
inadmissibility on February 24, 2020, in all states other than 
Illinois. The Department now intends to seek emergency processing of 
the DS-5540 pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.13, because there is insufficient 
time to complete the ongoing process for OMB form approval under 5 CFR 
1320.10 prior to February 24, 2020. The Department seeks to align the 
Department's standards with those of the Department of Homeland 
Security, to avoid situations where a consular officer will evaluate an 
alien's circumstances and conclude that the alien is not likely at any 
time to become a public charge, only for the Department of Homeland 
Security to evaluate the same alien when he seeks admission to the 
United States on the visa issued by the Department of State and find 
the alien inadmissible on public charge grounds under the same facts.

Carl C. Risch,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2020-02866 Filed 2-11-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4710-06-P