CFR Part 286

CFR Part 286
in effect

8 C.F.R. § 286.1 Definitions.

The following definitions apply to the following terms in this part: (a) The term adjacent islands means Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Miquelon, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Christopher, Saint Eustatius, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarten, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and other British, French and Netherlands territory or possessions bordering on the Caribbean Sea. (b) The term collector means an air or sea carrier, travel agent, tour wholesaler, or other entity which collects, but may or may not be required to remit, fees pursuant to this part. (c) The term commercial aircraft means any civilian aircraft being used to transport persons or property for compensation or hire. (d) The term commercial vessel means any civilian vessel being used to transport persons or property for compensation or hire. (e) The term Assistant Commissioner, Office of Financial Management means the Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Financial Management, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Room 6307, 425 I Street NW., Washington, DC 20536. (f) The term fee means the immigration user fee. (g) The term port of entry means a port or place designated by the Commissioner at which a person may apply for admission into the United States. (h) The term remitter means an air or sea carrier, travel agent, tour wholesaler, or other entity which collects, including receipt of fees collected by collectors which are not required to remit fees, and remits fees pursuant to this part. (i) Territories or possessions of the United States means American Samoa, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway, Swains Island, Palmyra Island, and Wake Island. (j) The term document for transportation means any document accepted by a carrier in return for transportation. (k) United States, when used in a geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

8 C.F.R. § 286.2 Fee for arrival of passengers aboard commercial aircraft or commercial vessels.

(a) A fee, in the amount prescribed in section 286(d) of the Act, per individual is charged and collected by the Commissioner for the immigration inspection of each passenger aboard a commercial aircraft or commercial vessel, arriving at a port-of-entry in the United States, or for the preinspection of a passenger in a place outside the United States prior to such arrival, except as provided in § 286.3. (b) A fee, in the amount prescribed in section 286(e)(3) of the Act, per individual, is charged and collected by the Commissioner for the immigration inspection at a port-of-entry in the United States, or for the preinspection in a place outside the United States of each commercial vessel passenger whose journey originated in the United States, Canada, Mexico, territories or possessions of the United States, or adjacent islands, except as provided in § 286.3. All tickets or documents for transportation on voyages that are booked on or after February 27, 2003, will be subject to this immigration user fee. (c) Each commercial aircraft and vessel carrier or ticket-selling agent whose monthly collections in any month exceed $50,000 shall submit a summary statement showing the amount of user fees collected that month. The summary statement is due on the last business day of the following month. This information shall be forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Chief, Analysis and Formulation Branch, 425 I Street, NW., Room 6307, Washington, DC 20536. For the months of December, March, June, and August, the quarterly remittance and statement required by § 286.5 will serve as the monthly report for those months. Therefore, a monthly report is required for all other months in which monthly collections exceed $50,000.

8 C.F.R. § 286.3 Exceptions.

The fees set forth in §§ 286.2(a) and 286.2(b) shall not be charged or collected from passengers who fall within any one of the following categories: (a) Persons arriving at designated ports-of-entry by the following vessels, when operating on a regular schedule: Great Lakes international ferries or Great Lakes vessels on the Great Lakes and connecting waterways; (b) Persons directly connected with the operation, navigation, or business of the commercial aircraft or commercial vessel including working crew, deadheading crew, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration inspectors, sky marshals, and commercial airline or commercial vessel employees on official business; (c) Persons who are listed as foreign diplomats on the accreditation list maintained by the U.S. Department of State or who are in possession of a diplomatic visa (A-1 and 2, G-1 thru 4) valid for entry into the United States; (d) Persons who are passengers on any commercial aircraft or commercial vessel owned or operated exclusively by the Government of the United States or a foreign government, including any agency or political subdivision thereof, so long as that aircraft or vessel is not transporting any persons or property for commercial purposes. (e) Persons who are passengers on commercial aircraft or commercial vessels under contract to the U.S. Department of Defense, if they have been preinspected outside of the United States under a joint Service and U.S. Department of Defense military inspection program; (f) Persons arriving on an aircraft or vessel due to an emergency or forced landing when the original destination of the aircraft or vessel was not the United States; and (g) Persons transiting the United States who are not inspected by the Service. Transit without visa passengers who are inspected by the Service are not excepted from payment of the fee under this section.

8 C.F.R. § 286.4 Fee collection responsibility.

(a) It is the responsibility of the air or sea carriers, travel agents, tour wholesalers, or other parties, which issue tickets or documents for transportation on or after December 1, 1986, to collect the fee set forth in § 286.2 of this part from all passengers transported to the United States who are not excepted under § 286.3 of this part. (b) Tickets and documents for transportation shall be marked by the collector of the fee to indicate that the required fee has been collected. Such markings shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in the ARC Industry Agents Handbook, the SATO Ticketing Handbook, or compatible procedures set forth in the operations manual of individual collectors. (c) It is the responsibility of the carrier transporting a passenger from the United States to collect the fee upon departure, if the passenger was not excepted under § 286.3 of this part and tickets or documents for transportation of the passenger do not reflect collection of the fee at the time of issuance. If at the time of departure such a passenger refuses to pay the fee, the carrier shall record the full name, complete address, nationality, passport number, and alien file number, if any, of the passenger and immediately notify the Associate Commissioner, Finance.

8 C.F.R. § 286.5 Remittance and statement procedures.

(a) The air or sea carrier whose ticket stock or document for transportation reflects collection of the fee is responsible for remittance of the fee to the Service. The travel agent, tour wholesaler, or other entity, which issues their own non-carrier related ticket or document for transportation to an air or sea passenger who is not excepted from the fee pursuant to § 286.3 of this part, is responsible for remittance of the fee to the Service, unless by contract the carrier will remit the fee. (b)(1) Fee remittances shall be sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, at a designated Treasury depository, for receipt no later than 31 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which the fees are collected, except the fourth quarter payment for fees collected shall be made on the date that is 10 days before the end of the U.S. Government's fiscal year, and the first quarter payment shall include any collections made in the preceding quarter that were not remitted with the previous payment. The fourth quarter payment shall include collections for the months of July and August. The fiscal year referenced is the U.S. Government's fiscal year which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. (2) Late payments will be subject to interest, penalty, and handling charges as provided in the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (31 U.S.C. 3717). Refunds by a remitter of fees collected in conjunction with unused tickets or documents for transportation shall be netted against the next subsequent remittance. (c) Along with the remittance, as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, each remitter making such remittance shall attach a statement which sets forth the following: (1) Name and address; (2) Taxpayer identification number; (3) Calendar quarter covered by the payment; (4) Interest and penalty charges; and (5) Total amount collected and remitted. (d) Remittances shall be made in U.S. dollars by check or money order through a U.S. bank, to Assistant Commissioner, Office of Financial Management, INS. (e) Annually, each U.S. based remitter, which retains an independent accountant and which remits $10,000 or more in fees in any one calendar quarter, shall submit to the Assistant Commissioner, Financial Management a report from the independent accountant in accordance with the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements on the application of Passenger User Fee Collection and Remittance Procedures established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Service, to the Assistant Commissioner, Financial Management. Each foreign-based remitter, which retains an independent accountant and which remits $10,000 or more in fees in any one calendar quarter, shall submit a similar report to the Assistant Commissioner, Financial Management from the independent accountant in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles of their respective countries. These reports from the independent accountants are to be submitted for receipt by the Assistant Commissioner, Financial Management no later than ninety (90) days after the close of the fiscal year of each remitter. Each remitter, which does not retain an independent accountant or which does not remit $10,000 or more in any one calendar quarter, shall certify under oath on each statement submitted pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section that they have complied with the applicable statutes and regulations. (f) The Commissioner reserves the right to conduct an independent audit of any collector or remitter not providing the report or certification required pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section or based upon other information indicating non-compliance in order to assure the accuracy of the remittances of fees collected and remitted and compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations. (g) In order to enforce compliance with the provisions of this part, the Commissioner may issue a subpoena requiring the production of records, evidence, and witnesses pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 287.4 of this chapter. The authority to issue a subpoena pursuant to this section is limited to the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Associate Commissioner for Management, Director for Program Inspection, all Regional Commissioners; and all District Directors.

8 C.F.R. § 286.6 Maintenance of records.

Each collector and remitter shall maintain records necessary for the Service to verify the accuracy of fees collected and remitted and to otherwise determine compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations. Such records shall be maintained for a period of two years from the date of fee collection. Each remitter shall advise the Assistant Commissioner, Office of Financial Management of the name, address, and telephone number of a responsible officer who shall have the authority to verify and produce any records required to be maintained under this part. The Assistant Commissioner, Office of Financial Management shall be promptly notified of any changes of the responsible officer.

8 C.F.R. § 286.7 Penalties.

Failure of any air or sea carrier to comply with the provisions of section 286 of the Act and this part shall subject it to one or more of the following: (a) Termination of existing agreements under the provisions of section 238 of the Act; and (b) Suspension of enroute inspections or preinspections.

8 C.F.R. § 286.8 Establishment of pilot programs for the charging of a land border fee for inspection services.

Under the provisions of section 286(q) of the Act, the Service may establish pilot programs at one or more land border ports-of-entry to charge fees for immigration inspection services to be collected by the Commissioner. Individual ports-of-entry selected by the Commissioner to participate in such pilot programs may charge a fee to enhance inspection services and to recover the cost of: (a) Hiring additional immigration inspectors, including all associated personnel costs such as salary, benefits, and overtime; (b) Expansion, operation, and maintenance of information systems for nonimmigrant control; (c) Construction costs, including those associated with adding new primary traffic lanes (with the concurrence of the General Services Administration); (d) Procuring detection devices and conducting training to identify fraudulent documents used by applicants for entry to the United States; (e) Other administrative costs associated with the PORTPASS Program; and (f) Costs associated with the administration of the Land Border Inspection Fee account.

8 C.F.R. § 286.9 Fee for processing applications and issuing documentation at land border Ports-of-Entry.

(a) General. A fee may be charged and collected by the Commissioner for the processing and issuance of specified Service documents at land border Ports-of-Entry. These fees, as specified in 8 CFR 103.7(d), shall be dedicated to funding the cost of providing application-processing services at land border ports. (b) Forms for which a fee may be charged. (1) A nonimmigrant alien who is required to be issued, or requests to be issued, Form I-94 (see § 1.4), Arrival/Departure Record, for admission at a land border Port-of-Entry must remit the required fee for issuance of Form I-94 upon determination of admissibility. (2) A nonimmigrant alien applying for admission at a land border Port-of-Entry as a Visa Waiver Program applicant pursuant to § 217.2(c) or § 217.3(c) of this chapter must remit the required fee for issuance of Form I-94W, as prescribed in § 103.7(d)(5) of this chapter, upon determination of admissibility. (3) A Mexican national in possession of a valid Form DSP-150, B-1/B-2 Visa and Border Crossing Card, issued by the DOS, or a passport and combined B-1/B-2 visa and non-biometric BCC (or similar stamp in a passport) issued by the DOS, who is required to be issued Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, pursuant to § 235.1(f) of this chapter, must remit the required fee for issuance of Form I-94 upon determination of admissibility. (4) A citizen or lawful permanent resident alien of the United States or a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada who is a national of a designated Visa Waiver Program country listed in § 217.2(a) of this chapter who requests Form I-68, Canadian Border Boat Landing Permit, pursuant to § 235.1(e) of this chapter, for entry to the United States from Canada as an eligible pleasure boater on a designated body of water, must remit the required fee at the time of application for Form I-68.

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