[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 154 (Friday, August 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54635-54639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17344]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[CIS No. 2754-23; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2014-0013]
RIN 1615-ZC03


Implementation of Changes to the Haitian Family Reunification 
Parole Process

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: Notice of changes to Haitian Family Reunification Parole.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security 
(Secretary) has authorized updates to modernize Haitian Family 
Reunification Parole (HFRP). HFRP provides a lawful, safe, and orderly 
pathway for certain Haitians to seek parole into the United States, 
allowing them to reunite with family as they wait for their immigrant 
visas to become available so they may apply to adjust status to lawful 
permanent resident (LPR). The Secretary has authorized these updates to 
HFRP in light of technological advancements and process efficiencies 
created since the HFRP's inception in 2014. Every step of the updated 
process will be completed online with the exception of a medical exam 
by a panel physician and the parole determination made upon arrival at 
an interior U.S. port of entry (POE).

DATES: DHS will begin using the Form I-134A, Online Request to be a 
Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, for this process on 
August 11, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ren[aacute] Cutlip-Mason, Chief, 
Humanitarian Affairs Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 
by mail at 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20746, or by 
phone at 800-375-5283.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched 
HFRP to expedite family reunification through lawful, safe, and orderly 
channels of migration to the United States, increase existing avenues 
for lawful migration from Haiti, and help Haiti in its recovery from 
the long-term impacts of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that 
devastated the country.\1\ Under HFRP, the U.S. Government (USG) 
invites certain eligible United States citizen (U.S.C.) and LPR 
petitioners to file a request and initiate consideration for parole for 
certain family members in Haiti who are the beneficiaries of an 
approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Since it was 
established in 2014, HFRP has allowed certain beneficiaries of family-
based immigrant petitions that were approved on or before December 18, 
2014 to request a discretionary grant of parole to enter the United 
States up to approximately two years before their immigrant visas 
become available,

[[Page 54636]]

rather than remain in Haiti awaiting availability of their immigrant 
visas.\2\
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    \1\ Implementation of Haitian Family Reunification Parole 
Program, 79 FR 75581 (Dec. 18, 2014). Note that, consistent with 
other processes described in this notice, DHS now refers to HFRP as 
a process rather than a program.
    \2\ Id.; see also USCIS, The Haitian Family Reunification Parole 
Program (June 22, 2022), https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian-parole/the-haitian-family-reunification-parole-hfrp-program. To participate in HFRP, beneficiaries must have a 
petitioner who filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on 
behalf of a principal beneficiary, and was invited to participate in 
the HFRP process after the Form I-130 was approved. The principal 
beneficiary of that petitioner's approved Form I-130 must be a 
Haitian national.
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    If travel is authorized for the beneficiaries, these family members 
are allowed to travel to the United States before their immigrant visas 
become available and seek parole on a case-by-case basis upon arrival 
at a port of entry (POE) in the United States.\3\ If granted parole 
into the United States, HFRP parolees may apply for employment 
authorization while they wait for their immigrant visas to become 
available so they may apply to adjust to LPR status.\4\
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    \3\ See Implementation of Haitian Family Reunification Parole 
Program, 79 FR 75581 (Dec. 18, 2014). See also USCIS, The Haitian 
Family Reunification Parole Program (June 22, 2022), https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian-parole/the-haitian-family-reunification-parole-hfrp-program.
    \4\ 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(11).
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    As launched in 2014, USCIS required invited petitioners to file a 
completed Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, and submit the 
required fee(s) or fee waiver request for consideration of parole for 
each beneficiary. USCIS also required that USCIS officers interview 
beneficiaries in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to verify their eligibility for 
HFRP. The National Visa Center (NVC) at the U.S. Department of State 
(State) first issued invitations to eligible petitioners to apply for 
HFRP in March 2015. Due to several factors, including anticipated 
policy changes,\5\ a change in Administrations, the permanent closure 
of USCIS's field office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on December 20, 2019, 
extremely limited visa processing due to COVID-19,\6\ and severe 
insecurity in the country,\7\ new invitations to the HFRP process have 
not issued since June 2016 and interviews have not taken place since 
December 2019.
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    \5\ In August 2019, USCIS announced an intention to terminate 
HFRP, although USCIS never formally terminated the process. See 
USCIS to End Certain Categorical Parole Programs (Aug. 2, 2019), 
https://www.uscis.gov/archive/uscis-to-end-certain-categorical-parole-programs. In June 2022, USCIS reversed its 2019 announcement. 
See also The Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program: 
Alert (June 22, 2022), https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian-parole/the-haitian-family-reunification-parole-hfrp-program.
    \6\ On March 19, 2020, the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 
issued a Health Alert and suspended all non-emergency consular 
services. See Health Alert--U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti 
(March 19, 2020), https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-january-8-2020-4-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-4-3-2-2-2-2-5-2-2-2/.
    \7\ The assassination of Haiti's late President Jovenel 
Mo[iuml]se exacerbated political and economic instability in Haiti, 
undermining state institutions and generating a power vacuum that 
has since been occupied by gangs. See Implementation of a Parole 
Process for Haitians, 88 FR 1243, 1246-47 (Jan. 9, 2023) (discussing 
conditions in Haiti). Due to the lawlessness in the country, the 
U.S. Embassy in Haiti temporarily suspended visa processing and 
continues to operate at a limited capacity. See Security Alert: U.S. 
Embassy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Feb. 5, 2023), https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-80. 
To further complicate matters, on August 14, 2021, a 7.2 magnitude 
earthquake hit Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring over 
12,000 more, destroying tens of thousands of homes, and crippling 
Haiti's already fragile infrastructure. See UNICEF, Massive 
earthquake leaves devastation in Haiti: UNICEF and partners are on 
the ground providing emergency assistance for children and their 
families (Oct. 4, 2021), https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/massive-earthquake-devastation-haiti.
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    In the meantime, technology has evolved since the launch of HFRP in 
2014. DHS is now able to electronically collect biographic information 
and evidentiary documents to facilitate identity verification, national 
security checks, and public safety vetting. DHS has expanded capacity 
to intake forms through online processes and allow individuals to 
upload supporting documentation directly online as part of the 
application process. The updated process for HFRP utilizes these 
technological developments to make the advance travel authorization and 
parole process more efficient and accessible while maintaining national 
security and public safety vetting measures as well as other measures 
for case-by-case adjudication.
    In addition, DHS has recently implemented parole processes that are 
similar to HFRP but that follow different procedures, which utilize 
these recent technological developments. These include the filing of a 
Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of 
Financial Support, the use of a fully electronic request for advance 
travel authorization (as opposed to the petitioner's use of the Form I-
131 under the 2014 HFRP procedures), and processing without a 
requirement for an in-person interview abroad. Most recently, on July 
10, 2023, DHS implemented family reunification parole (FRP) processes 
for certain Colombians,\8\ Guatemalans,\9\ Hondurans,\10\ and 
Salvadorans \11\ along these lines. DHS is now conforming the HFRP 
process to these recently announced processes.
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    \8\ See Implementation of a Family Reunification Parole Process 
for Colombians, 88 FR 43591 (July 10, 2023).
    \9\ See Implementation of a Family Reunification Parole Process 
for Guatemalans, 88 FR 43581 (July 10, 2023).
    \10\ See Implementation of a Family Reunification Parole Process 
for Hondurans, 88 FR 43601 (July 10, 2023).
    \11\ See Implementation of a Family Reunification Parole Process 
for Salvadorans, 88 FR 43611 (July 10, 2023).
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II. Modernized Process

A. Petitioners

    Invitations to participate in the HFRP process will continue to 
issue to certain petitioners who have an approved Form I-130 filed on 
behalf of a Haitian principal beneficiary. Invitations will continue to 
issue at the USG's discretion, based on operational capacity, the 
expected period of time until the principal beneficiary's immigrant 
visa becomes available and in a manner calibrated to best achieve the 
foreign policy aims of this process.
    Petitioners who have an approved \12\ Form I-130 filed on behalf of 
a Haitian principal beneficiary outside the United States should ensure 
that their mailing address and other contact information are up to date 
with State's NVC as this is the information that will be used to issue 
invitations. The invitations will provide information about how the 
petitioner may file a request to be a supporter with USCIS to initiate 
this process on behalf of a Haitian principal beneficiary of an 
approved Form I-130 and how to file separate requests for any immediate 
family members \13\ of the principal beneficiary.
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    \12\ In certain circumstances, such as if the beneficiary is no 
longer eligible for the Form I-130 (e.g., the petitioner is no 
longer an LPR or U.S.C.), parole would be denied, and the Form I-130 
approval would be revoked. If DHS revokes Form I-130 approval, the 
beneficiary will no longer be eligible for an immigrant visa. DHS 
will make these determinations on a case-by-case basis and will 
provide a written notice of the revocation of the approved Form I-
130.
    \13\ Throughout this notice ``immediate family members'' is used 
as a shorthand for the derivative beneficiary spouse and children of 
a principal beneficiary. See the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(INA), sec. 203(d), 8 U.S.C. 1153(d); see also INA sec. 101(b)(1), 8 
U.S.C. 1101(b)(1) (defining ``child'' in general, as meaning ``an 
unmarried person under twenty-one years of age'').
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    As part of the request process, the petitioner will be required to 
provide evidence of their income and assets and commit to provide 
financial support to the beneficiary named in the request for the 
period of parole. Petitioners will also be required to provide evidence 
to verify the familial relationship between the principal beneficiary 
of the Form I-130 and all immediate family members of the principal 
beneficiary for whom the petitioner will be filing a request to be a 
supporter under this process. As

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part of the review process, the petitioner must also pass security and 
background vetting, including for public safety, national security, 
human trafficking, and exploitation concerns.

B. Beneficiaries

    Previously, the HFRP process limited eligibility to Haitian 
principal beneficiaries of Forms I-130 and their immediate family 
members that were approved by USCIS on or before December 18, 2014 and 
for whom an immigrant visa was not currently available. The volume of 
invitations issued was limited based on operational capacity and other 
factors, as described above. The revised process is open to all Haitian 
principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-130 and their immediate 
family members who have not yet received an immigrant visa regardless 
of the date on which USCIS approved the Form I-130. However, as 
mentioned above, the process will still be available on an invitation-
only basis.
    In addition, individuals whose immigrant visas were not available 
but were expected to become available within a specific time range were 
previously sent invitations to participate in the HFRP process. USCIS 
will no longer apply a time limit for expected immigrant visa 
availability. However, USCIS will consider when a beneficiary's 
immigrant visa is expected to become available when determining which 
petitioners will receive invitations to initiate this process on behalf 
of the beneficiary of their approved Form I-130.
    To be eligible to be considered under this process, a beneficiary 
must not have been issued an immigrant visa at the time the invitation 
issues to the petitioner and, if authorized to travel, must now travel 
by commercial air with sufficient documentation (e.g., international 
passport) to an interior POE.
    In addition, as with the 2014 HFRP process, each beneficiary must 
undergo and pass national security and public safety vetting and must 
demonstrate that they otherwise merit a favorable exercise of 
discretion by DHS. Under this updated process, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) will consider a beneficiary's previous immigration 
history, encounters with USG entities, and the results of national 
security and public safety vetting when determining a beneficiary's 
eligibility to be issued advance authorization to travel to the United 
States. CBP will determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether to 
exercise discretion to grant parole to the beneficiary at an interior 
POE upon their arrival. CBP also will consider other factors in making 
discretionary determinations consistent with long-standing policy and 
practice.
    Upon arrival at an interior POE, each beneficiary must demonstrate 
to CBP that a grant of parole is warranted based on a significant 
public benefit or for urgent humanitarian reasons and that the 
beneficiary merits a favorable exercise of discretion. Each beneficiary 
must also comply with all additional requirements, including 
vaccination requirements and other public health guidelines, prior to 
traveling to the United States.
    Participation in this process is not limited to beneficiaries 
currently living in Haiti. However, as noted above, beneficiaries must 
be outside the United States to participate in the process, and the 
principal beneficiaries must be Haitian nationals.
    A beneficiary of this process who enters the United States between 
POEs rather than being considered for parole under this process will be 
processed under Title 8 of the U.S. Code and face appropriate 
consequences. For example, they may be subject to potential criminal 
prosecution,\14\ expedited removal proceedings,\15\ or removal 
proceedings under section 240 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1229a. In addition, 
beneficiaries who enter the United States between POEs rather than 
being considered for parole under this process may already be, or may 
become, ineligible for adjustment of status \16\ or for an immigrant 
visa \17\ as a result of entering without inspection and not having 
been admitted or paroled.\18\
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    \14\ 8 U.S.C. 1325, 1326 (for illegal entry and reentry, 
respectively).
    \15\ INA sec. 235(b)(1)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)(i).
    \16\ INA sec. 245(a), 8 U.S.C. 1255(a) (requiring adjustment of 
status applicants to be inspected and admitted or inspected and 
paroled, as well as be admissible); INA sec. 245(c), 8 U.S.C. 
1255(c)(2) (adjustment of status applicants are ineligible if they 
are in unlawful immigration status on the date of filing the 
application for adjustment of status or fail to maintain 
continuously a lawful status since entry into the United States); 
INA sec. 212(a), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) (grounds of inadmissibility that 
render applicants for adjustment of status ineligible).
    \17\ INA sec. 221(g), 8 U.S.C. 1201(g) (immigrant visa 
applicants are ineligible for immigrant visas if inadmissible under 
INA sec. 212(a), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); INA sec. 212(a), 8 U.S.C. 
1182(a) (grounds of inadmissibility that render applicants for 
immigrant visas ineligible).
    \18\ For example, an applicant for adjustment of status who 
previously accrued more than one year of unlawful presence, 
departed, and thereafter reentered the United States without 
admission or parole is inadmissible and ineligible for adjustment 
unless they apply for and obtain consent to reapply for admission 
from outside the United States after waiting ten years after their 
last departure from the United States. See INA sec. 
212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(C)(i)(I). In addition, an 
applicant for an immigrant visa who accrued more than 180 days of 
unlawful presence in the United States, departed (or is removed, as 
applicable), and again seeks admission (by filing an immigrant visa 
application) within 3 or 10 years of departure (or removal) is 
inadmissible and ineligible for an immigrant visa unless they apply 
for and obtain a waiver of inadmissibility. See INA sec. 
212(a)(9)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B). Additionally, an applicant for 
an immigrant visa who was ordered removed, departed, and again seeks 
admission within certain periods of time thereafter is inadmissible 
and therefore ineligible for an immigrant visa unless they apply for 
and obtain consent to reapply for admission. See INA sec. 
212(a)(9)(A), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(A).
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C. Description of Updated Process for HFRP

    DHS announces these updates to the HFRP process in light of lessons 
learned, technological advancements made, and efficiencies created in 
parole processes developed and implemented since HFRP's inception in 
2014. Except for the medical exam by a panel physician and the ultimate 
parole determination made in person, on a case-by-case basis, by CBP at 
an interior POE, all steps of the updated HFRP process will generally 
be completed online. As a result, the process will no longer require an 
in-country interview for each beneficiary.
Step 1: Invitation Sent to Petitioner
    An invitation may be sent to a petitioner who has filed an approved 
Form I-130 on behalf of the principal beneficiary and any derivative 
beneficiaries listed on the Form I-130. The decision whether to send 
the invitation is based on multiple discretionary factors. Such factors 
may include operational capacity considerations, the expected period of 
time until the beneficiary's immigrant visa becomes available, as well 
as other measures calibrated to best achieve the policy aims of this 
process as described in this notice.
    Only after receiving an invitation may the petitioner file a Form 
I-134A request to initiate consideration under this HFRP process. 
Participation in the process will continue to be voluntary. The 
invitation will instruct the petitioner on next steps to initiate this 
process on behalf of the beneficiaries, including instructions on 
documentation to include in their Form I-134A filing. Each invitation 
will include an identifying number that the petitioner must include in 
the Form I-134A for each beneficiary on whose behalf they wish to 
request to be a supporter.
Step 2: Petitioner Files Form I-134A Online
    After receiving an invitation to initiate this process, the U.S. 
citizen

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(U.S.C.) or LPR petitioner who filed the approved Form I-130 on behalf 
of the beneficiaries will submit a Form I-134A for each beneficiary 
with USCIS through the USCIS online web portal. The petitioner must 
submit a separate Form I-134A for each beneficiary, including 
derivatives of the principal beneficiary. The petitioner will not be 
required to pay a fee to file Form I-134A. The Form I-134A identifies 
and collects information on both the petitioner and the beneficiary.
    The petitioner must submit evidence establishing their income and 
assets and commit to provide financial support to the beneficiary for 
the duration of parole. The petitioner must also submit evidence 
establishing the family relationships between the principal beneficiary 
and all derivative beneficiaries.
    USCIS will perform background checks on the petitioner and verify 
their financial information to ensure that the petitioner is able to 
financially support the beneficiary. If the petitioner's Form I-134A is 
confirmed, the request proceeds to the next step.
Step 3: Beneficiary Electronically Provides Information To Support the 
Request
    If a petitioner's Form I-134A is confirmed by USCIS, the 
beneficiary named in the Form I-134A will receive an email from USCIS 
with instructions to create a USCIS online account and next steps for 
completing the request. The beneficiary will be required to confirm 
their biographic information in their online account and attest to 
meeting eligibility requirements.
    As part of confirming eligibility in their USCIS online account, a 
beneficiary who seeks advance authorization to travel to the United 
States will need to confirm that they meet public health requirements, 
including certain vaccination requirements.
Step 4: Beneficiary Submits Request in CBP One Mobile Application
    After confirming biographic information in their USCIS online 
account and completing required eligibility attestations, the 
beneficiary will receive instructions through their USCIS online 
account for accessing the CBP One mobile application. The beneficiary 
must enter certain biographic and biometric information--including a 
``live'' facial photograph--into CBP One.
Step 5: Approval To Travel to the United States
    A beneficiary who establishes eligibility for this process, passes 
all the requisite vetting, and demonstrates that they otherwise warrant 
a favorable exercise of discretion, may receive an electronic advance 
authorization from CBP to travel to the United States. This will 
facilitate their ability to travel to the United States to seek a 
discretionary grant of parole, on a case-by-case basis, at an interior 
POE.
    The beneficiary will receive a notice in their USCIS online account 
confirming whether CBP has, in its discretion, provided the beneficiary 
with advance authorization to travel to the United States. If approved, 
the beneficiary is responsible for securing their own travel via 
commercial air to an interior POE inside a U.S. airport.\19\
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    \19\ Air carriers can validate an approved and valid travel 
authorization submission using the same mechanisms that are 
currently in place to validate that a traveler has a valid visa or 
other documentation to facilitate issuance of a boarding pass for 
air travel.
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    Approval of advance authorization to travel does not guarantee a 
beneficiary will be paroled into the United States upon inspection at 
the POE. Whether to parole the beneficiary is a discretionary, case-by-
case determination made by CBP at the time the beneficiary arrives at 
the interior POE.
Step 6: Beneficiary Seeks Parole at the POE
    To use the advance authorization to travel to the United States, 
the beneficiary must have sufficient documentation (e.g., international 
passport) to travel on a commercial airline. Beneficiaries under the 
age of 18 to whom CBP issues advance authorization to travel under this 
process may be subject to additional screening and/or travel parameters 
in coordination with U.S. authorities to ensure appropriate travel 
arrangements and coordination with their parent(s) or legal 
guardian(s). This FRP process does not affect CBP's legal obligations 
regarding the identification and processing of unaccompanied 
children.\20\
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    \20\ See 6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2) (defining ``unaccompanied alien 
child'').
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    CBP will inspect each beneficiary arriving at an interior POE under 
this process and consider each individual, on a case-by-case basis, for 
a grant of discretionary parole for a period of up to three years. Upon 
arrival at an interior POE, the beneficiary will be required to submit 
additional biometrics to DHS, including another photograph and 
fingerprints. This biometric information will support additional 
vetting against available databases to inform an independent 
determination by CBP officers as to whether parole is warranted on a 
case-by-case basis and whether the beneficiary merits a favorable 
exercise of discretion.
    A beneficiary who is determined to pose a national security or 
public safety threat will be denied parole. A beneficiary who otherwise 
does not warrant parole pursuant to section 212(d)(5)(A) of the INA, 8 
U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A), as a matter of discretion upon inspection, will 
be processed under an appropriate disposition and may be referred to 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detention.
Step 7: Parole
    If granted parole at the POE, on a case-by-case basis, parole will 
generally be granted for a period of up to three years, subject to 
satisfying applicable health and vetting requirements, and the parolee 
will be eligible to apply for employment authorization for the duration 
of the parole period.\21\
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    \21\ 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(11).
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    Parole may be terminated upon notice at DHS's discretion, and the 
noncitizen may be placed into removal proceedings and/or detained if, 
for example, the parolee fails to maintain the conditions for the 
parole or other derogatory information emerges during the parole 
period. A noncitizen paroled into the United States under this process 
may request additional periods of parole. DHS will determine whether an 
additional period is warranted, on a case-by-case basis, for urgent 
humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. All of the steps in 
this process, including the decision to confirm or non-confirm the Form 
I-134A, as well as the decision whether to issue advance authorization 
to travel and make the parole decision at the interior POE, are 
entirely discretionary and not subject to appeal on any grounds.

D. Termination, No Private Rights, and Severability

    The Secretary retains the sole discretion to terminate this HFRP 
process at any point. This process is being implemented as a matter of 
the Secretary's discretion. It is not intended to and does not create 
any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable by any party in any 
matter, civil or criminal. The 2014 decision to implement this process 
remains unchanged and is severable from the

[[Page 54639]]

procedural updates announced in this notice.

III. Regulatory Requirements

A. Administrative Procedure Act

    The changes to the HFRP process announced in this notice are exempt 
from notice-and-comment rulemaking and delayed effective date 
requirements on multiple grounds and are therefore amenable to 
immediate issuance and implementation.
    First, the HFRP process, and these updates to that process, 
constitute a general statement of policy,\22\ i.e., a ``statement 
issued by an agency to advise the public prospectively of the manner in 
which the agency proposes to exercise a discretionary power.'' \23\ As 
section 212(d)(5)(A) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A), provides, 
parole decisions are made by the Secretary ``in his discretion.'' This 
policy creates a process for making discretionary, case-by-case parole 
decisions. The updates to the process do not change the nature of the 
policy and fall under the exception for general statements of policy. 
Additionally, this falls under the separate exception for rules of 
agency organization, procedure, or practice \24\ because it sets forth 
updates to how agencies will implement the HFRP process.
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    \22\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
    \23\ See Lincoln v. Vigil, 508 U.S. 182, 197 (1993) (quoting 
Chrysler Corp. v. Brown, 441 U.S. 281, 302 n.31 (1979)).
    \24\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
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    Second, even if the updates to this process were considered to be a 
legislative rule that will normally be subject to requirements for 
notice-and-comment rulemaking and a delayed effective date, the updates 
are exempt from such requirements because they involve a foreign 
affairs function of the United States.\25\ As discussed in the July 10, 
2023 notices announcing four new family reunification processes,\26\ 
the United States continues to engage hemispheric partners to increase 
their efforts to collaboratively manage irregular migration.\27\ 
Improving the efficiency and accessibility of HFRP is necessary to 
ensure our foreign partners' continued collaboration on migration 
issues, including the ability of the United States to meet other 
immigration-management priorities such as the implementation of the 
initial phases of Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) in Guatemala, Costa 
Rica, and Colombia.\28\ Also, as with the four new processes, delays in 
implementing these procedural changes would complicate broader ongoing 
and future discussions and negotiations with key foreign partners about 
migration management. As such, foreign partners have requested that the 
United States ensure that functional, efficient lawful pathways exist 
for Haitian nationals.
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    \25\ 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1).
    \26\ See footnotes 8, 9, 10, and 11; see also DHS press release 
``DHS Announces Family Reunification Parole Processes for Colombia, 
El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras'' (July 7, 2023), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/07/07/dhs-announces-family-reunification-parole-processes-colombia-el-salvador-guatemala.
    \27\ See The White House, Joint Statement from the United States 
and Guatemala on Migration (Jun 1, 2023), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/01/joint-statement-from-the-united-states-and-guatemala-on-migration/ 
and https://www.state.gov/u-s-colombia-joint-commitment-to-address-the-hemispheric-challenge-of-irregular-migration/; see United States 
Department of State, U.S.-Colombia Joint Commitment to Address the 
Hemispheric Challenge of Irregular Migration (June 4, 2023), https://www.state.gov/u-s-colombia-joint-commitment-to-address-the-hemispheric-challenge-of-irregular-migration/; see The White House, 
Readout of Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer's 
Meeting with Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva (June 11, 
2023), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/11/readout-of-principal-deputy-national-security-advisor-jon-finers-meeting-with-colombian-foreign-minister-alvaro-leyva/; 
see United States Department of State, U.S.-Costa Rica Joint 
Commitment to Address the Hemispheric Challenge of Irregular 
Migration (June 12, 2023), https://www.state.gov/u-s-costa-rica-joint-commitment-to-address-the-hemispheric-challenge-of-irregular-migration/.
    \28\ See DHS, Fact Sheet: U.S. Government Announces Sweeping New 
Actions to Manage Regional Migration (April 27, 2023), https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/04/27/fact-sheet-us-government-announces-sweeping-new-actions-manage-regional-migration. DHS has previously 
announced the intention to establish Regional Processing Centers 
(RPCs) but will now refer to them as Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) 
following the launch of the MovilidadSegura.org website and the 
announcements with hosting countries.
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B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, all 
Departments are required to submit to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), for review and approval, any new reporting requirements 
they impose. The updates to the HFRP process announced by this notice 
require changes to the collection of information on Form I-134A, Online 
Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support (OMB 
control number 1615-0157), and the collection of information on Form I-
131, Application for Travel Document (OMB control number 1615-0013), 
which will be used for this HFRP process and are being revised in 
connection with this notice by adjusting the burden estimate. The 
updates to this process also require changes to the collection of 
information for Advance Travel Authorization (ATA) (OMB Control Number 
1651-0143). USCIS and CBP have submitted, and OMB has approved, 
requests for emergency authorization of the required changes (under 5 
CFR 1320.13) to Form I-134A, Form I-131, and ATA for a period of six 
(6) months. USCIS and CBP will issue respective 60-day Federal Register 
notices seeking comment on these changes on or before August 25, 
2023.\29\
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    \29\ Per the normal clearance procedures at 5 CFR 1320.10(e).

Alejandro N. Mayorkas,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2023-17344 Filed 8-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P ; 9111-14-P