[Federal Register: December 24, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 247)]
[Page 67431-67432]
UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Exchange Visitor Program
AGENCY: United States Information Agency.
ACTION: Amendment to delete the Czech Republic from the
Exchange Visitor Skills List. Retroactive release from Skills
List obligation for all countries without skills lists.
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SUMMARY: The Exchange Visitor Skills List is amended by
deleting the fields of specialization for the Czech Republic at the
request of the Government of the Czech Republic. Also, in the case
of all governments which have requested removal from the skills
list, their citizens are retroactively no longer required, on the basis
of the skills list, to comply with the two-year home residence
requirement of 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
DATES: This amendment shall become effective upon publication
in the Federal Register.
AMENDMENT: Comments and requests for further information
should be addressed to: Patricia B. Gribben, Chief, Waiver Review
Branch, Exchange Visitor Program Services, USIA, 301 Fourth
Street, SW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20547, telephone (202)
401-9800.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the provisions
of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as
amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(E), The Secretary of State designated on
April 25, 1972, a list of fields of specialized knowledge or skill
(referred to as the Exchange Visitor Skills List) and those countries
which clearly required the services of persons engaged in one or
more of such fields. Any alien who was a national or resident of one
of those countries and obtained an exchange visitor visa and/or
became a participant in an Exchange Visitor Program involving a
designated field of specialized knowledge or skill after the effective
date of that notice was subject to the two-year home country
physical presence requirement of section 212(e) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act and 22 CFR 41.65(b).
Pursuant to the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of
1977, section 217 of the United States Information Agency
Authorization Act of August 24, 1982 (Pub. L. 97-241) and
Executive Order Nos. 12048 (March 27, 1978) and 12388
(October 14, 1982) the Director, United States Information
Agency, on June 12, 1984 further amended the 1972
Exchange Visitor Skills list, as revised in 1978, to increase
the designated fields of specialized knowledge of skills. The
1984 amendment gave notice of the addition of China and
the deletion of Cambodia, Iran and Viet-Nam from the skills
list as well as the indefinite suspension of Afghanistan. In
September, 1986 an amendment reflected the deletion of
South Africa, addition of Iraq and changes in Group 4 for
the People's Republic of China. It also clarifies that the
skills list for the People's Republic of China is not applicable
to exchange visitors from Taiwan. A February 1987
amendment gave notice of the indefinite suspension of Libya
and the addition of two fields to Group (1) of the skills list
for the People's Republic of China.
Amendments in March and April, 1987, contained date
corrections. An amendment in December, 1988 added
additional fields to the skills list for the People's Republic of
China and in July, 1993 an amendment removed Spain
from the skills list.
A comprehensive revised Skills List was published in the
Federal Register on January 16, 1997. This list became
effective March 17, 1997.
This notice amends FR Vol. 62, Doc. 97-677, January 16,
1997.
Accordingly, the Exchange Visitor Skills List, is further
amended by deleting the Czech Republic from said list. It
also provides retroactive release from the skills list
obligation for citizens of countries which are not listed on
the Exchange Visitor Skills List.
Dated: December 18, 1997.
Les Jin,
General Counsel.
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