Refusal Procedures for Visas

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of State 22 CFR Parts 41 and 42 [Public Notice 10481] RIN 1400-AE64 AGENCY: Department of State. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule is largely technical in nature and conforms a narrow aspect of the Department's visa regulations to the law. The current regulation requires consular officers either to grant or deny every visa application; however, the law requires consular officers to take a different action, i.e., discontinue granting visas, when a country has been sanctioned for denying or delaying accepting one or more of its nationals subject to a final order of removal from the United States. This rule will modify the current regulation to reflect this option for consular officers to discontinue granting visas to individuals in sanctioned countries. DATES: This rule is effective on April 22, 2019. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Beaumont, Acting Chief, Legislation and Regulations Division, Office of Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State, 600 19th St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 485-8910, VisaRegs@state.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Why is the Department promulgating this rule? The Department of State is promulgating this rule to provide guidance to consular officers implementing section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, codified at 8 U.S.C. 1253(d) (hereinafter INA 243(d)), which is a tool for the U.S. government to use to stop the growth of an alien population in the United States that the U.S…