30 Day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 27, 2023 / Notices
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.24
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–20962 Filed 9–26–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 12195]

30-Day Notice of Proposed Information
Collection: Welcome Corps
Application
Notice of request for public
comment and submission to OMB of
proposed collection of information.

ACTION:

The Department of State has
submitted the information collection
described below to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
approval. In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we
are requesting comments on this
collection from all interested
individuals and organizations. The
purpose of this Notice is to allow 30
days for public comment.
DATES: Submit comments up to October
27, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this information
collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under
30-day Review—Open for Public
Comments’’ or by using the search
function.
SUMMARY:

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Direct requests for additional
information regarding the collection
listed in this notice, including requests
for copies of the proposed collection
instrument and supporting documents
to Cassie Le, who may be reached on
202–805–9291 or at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
• Title of Information Collection:
Welcome Corps Application.
• OMB Control Number: 1405–0256.
• Type of Request: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
• Originating Office: PRM/A.
• Form Number: No form.
• Respondents: Respondents: Private
Sponsor Groups (PSGs), groups of at
least five or more individual American
citizens or permanent residents who
will be able to apply to sponsor the
resettlement of refugees, and Private
Sponsor Organizations (PSOs),
established and/or incorporated

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organizations who will be able to apply
to mobilize, organize, oversee, and/or
offer support to Private Sponsor Groups.
• Estimated Number of Respondents:
2,020.
• Estimated Number of Responses:
2,020.
• Average Time per Response: 5.5
hours.
• Total Estimated Burden Time: 8,908
hours total.
• Frequency: Once per respondent.
• Obligation to Respond: Voluntary.
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department to:
• Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department.
• Evaluate the accuracy of our
estimate of the time and cost burden for
this proposed collection, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected.
• Minimize the reporting burden on
those who are to respond, including the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Please note that comments submitted
in response to this Notice are a public
record. Before including any detailed
personal information, you should be
aware that your comments as submitted,
including your personal information,
will be available for public review.
Abstract of Proposed Collection
In Executive Order 14013 on
‘‘Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to
Resettle Refugees and Planning for the
Impact of Climate Change on Migration’’
issued in February 2021, President
Biden directed the Department of State
and Department of Health and Human
Services to ‘‘capitalize on . . . private
sponsorship of refugees’’ as part of
efforts to ‘‘meet the challenges of
restoring and expanding the [U.S.
Refugee Admissions Program].’’ To
fulfill this directive, the Department of
State is rolling out a program for private
sponsorship of refugees approved for
admission to the United States through
the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
(USRAP), named ‘‘the Welcome Corps.’’
Through the Welcome Corps
application process, private sponsors
accept primary responsibility to
welcome arriving refugees and to
provide core services/assistance to
support their initial resettlement
equivalent to what is provided by
nonprofit resettlement agency partners
through the U.S. Government-funded
Reception and Placement (R&P)
program. When private sponsors apply

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through the program, sponsors have the
option to be matched with a refugee
case already being processed through
the USRAP or to refer specific
individuals to access the USRAP
through the P–4 Privately Sponsored
Refugees category. The P–4 category,
along with the other categories of cases
that have access to the USRAP, is
outlined in the annual Proposed
Refugee Admissions—Report to
Congress, which is submitted on behalf
of the President in fulfillment of the
requirements of section 207(d) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1157) and authorized by the
annual Presidential Determination for
Refugee Admissions.
Private sponsor entities include
Private Sponsor Groups (groups of at
least five or more individual American
citizens or permanent residents who can
apply to sponsor the resettlement of
refugees) and Private Sponsor
Organizations (established and/or
incorporated organizations who can
apply to mobilize, organize, oversee,
and/or offer support to Private Sponsor
Groups).
As part of the Welcome Corps
application process for private sponsors,
biographic information is collected from
Private Sponsor Groups (PSGs) and
Private Sponsor Organizations (PSOs) to
facilitate the placement of approved
refugee applicants with private sponsors
and to plan for refugee applicants to
travel to the appropriate location of
private sponsors within the United
States. In instances where private
sponsors are seeking to refer specific
individuals to access the USRAP
through the P–4 category, additional
information is collected on refugee
applicants, including biographic
information, to assess whether refugee
applicants meet the eligibility criteria to
access the USRAP through the P–4
category. The information collected on
refugee applicants will also assist
Department of Homeland Security’s U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) officials in conducting
adjudications of applicants’ refugee
status.
Methodology
The Department of State’s Bureau of
Population, Refugees, and Migration
(PRM) has entered into a cooperative
agreement with the Community
Sponsorship Hub (CSH), which is
managing a consortium of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to
establish and oversee an online
application process to intake
applications from PSGs and PSOs and
screen their applications for approval
for participation in the Welcome Corps.

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 27, 2023 / Notices

CSH and the NGO consortium it is
managing will also screen referrals
submitted by PSGs and PSOs of refugee
applicants before sharing referrals with
PRM for consideration of whether
referred refugee applicants meet the
eligibility criteria to be granted access to
the USRAP through the P–4 category.
As part of the online application
process for PSGs, the NGO consortium
will collect information on PSGs as part
of completed applications submitted
electronically by prospective private
sponsors through the program website
that is being built and managed by the
consortium (www.welcomecorps.org).
This will include biographic
information on each member of the PSG,
evidence that each member of the PSG
has completed the required background
checks through a third-party identified
by the consortium, evidence that at least
one member of the PSG has completed
required online training developed by
the consortium, and details on how
PSGs will plan to provide initial
resettlement support to the refugees
who are matched to them through the
Welcome Corps.
In addition, the NGO consortium will
also oversee a separate application
process for PSOs and collect
information from PSOs accordingly.
This will include biographic
information for a key point of contact at
the PSO, background information on the
organizational structure of the PSO, and
information on the PSO’s organizational
resources and staffing capacity to
mobilize, support, and oversee PSGs.
The NGO consortium will also collect
information on refugee applicants
referred by PSGs and PSOs for access to
the USRAP through the P–4 category
that will be submitted electronically by
PSGs and PSOs through the program
website. This will include biographic
information on each refugee applicant
being referred, claimed relationships of
the principal refugee applicant to all
derivatives on the referral, their
immigration status in the country of
asylum, a narrative of the principal
applicant’s refugee claim, and
supporting documentation.
To support PRM’s operational
requirements to facilitate placements of
refugee cases with PSGs (including
those supported by specific PSOs), the
consortium will share key biographic
information of PSGs and PSOs with
PRM. This will include points of contact
of PSGs and PSOs, such as the name of
the designated point of contact along
with that private sponsor group
member’s address, phone number, email
address, and other relevant contact
information. Information collected by
the NGO consortium on referred refugee

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applicants will also be shared with PRM
to enable PRM to determine whether
applicants meet the eligibility criteria
for access to the USRAP through the P–
4 category.
The consortium will electronically
transmit biographic information on
PSGs and PSOs, along with information
on refugee applicants, to PRM’s Refugee
Processing Center (RPC) through secure
means. Biographic information on PSGs
and PSOs will enable PRM to facilitate
the matching of approved refugee
applicants with approved PSGs or PSOs
and to track the placement of refugee
applicants, similarly to how PRM
facilitates and tracks placement of
refugee applicants supported by PRM’s
funded resettlement agency partners
through the R&P Program. This will
enable PRM to have a record of the
relevant point of contact for each
resettled refugee case supported by a
PSG or PSO through the Welcome
Corps.
The information on refugee applicants
will enable PRM to assess the eligibility
of referred applicants to access the
USRAP through the P–4 category. Those
meeting the eligibility criteria will be
granted access to the USRAP for further
processing. Referred refugee applicants
approved for resettlement in the United
States will be served by the private
sponsors who referred them.
Kevin E. Bryant,
Deputy Director, Office of Directives
Management, U.S. Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2023–21042 Filed 9–26–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–33–P

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36717]

OmniTRAX SBVR, LLC d/b/a South
Branch Valley Railroad—Operation
Exemption—Railroad Line of West
Virginia State Rail Authority in
Hampshire, Hardy, and Grant Counties,
W. Va.
OmniTRAX SBVR, LLC d/b/a South
Branch Valley Railroad (OSL), a
noncarrier controlled by short line
holding company OmniTRAX Holdings
Combined, Inc. (OmniTRAX), has filed
a verified notice of exemption under 49
CFR 1150.31 to assume operations over
approximately 52.4 miles of rail line,
extending from milepost 0.0 at Green
Spring, W. Va., to milepost 52.4 at
Petersburg, W. Va., located in
Hampshire, Hardy, and Grant Counties,
W. Va. (the Line).1
1 OSL initially filed its verified notice on August
14, 2023. By order served September 8, 2023, the

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The Line is owned and currently
operated by the West Virginia State Rail
Authority (Rail Authority). OSL states
that it has reached an agreement with
the Rail Authority (Agreement) under
which OSL will replace the Rail
Authority as the operator on the Line.
OSL states that the Rail Authority will
retain ownership of, and a residual
common carrier obligation over, the
Line post-transaction.
This transaction is related to the
verified notice of exemption filed in
OmniTRAX Holdings Combined, Inc.—
Continuance in Control Exemption—
OmniTRAX SBVR, LLC, Docket No. FD
36716, in which OmniTRAX and HGS
Railway Holdings, Inc., seek to continue
in control of OSL upon OSL’s becoming
a Class III rail carrier.
OSL certifies that its projected annual
revenues will not exceed $5 million and
will not result in OSL’s becoming a
Class I or Class II rail carrier. OSL
further certifies that it is not
contractually limited in its ability to
interchange traffic with any third-party
connecting carrier.
The effective date of this exemption is
October 11, 2023. If the verified notice
contains false or misleading
information, the exemption is void ab
initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption
under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed
at any time. The filing of a petition to
revoke will not automatically stay the
effectiveness of the exemption. Petitions
for stay must be filed no later than
October 4, 2023 (at least seven days
before the exemption becomes
effective).
All pleadings, referring to Docket No.
FD 36717, must be filed with the
Surface Transportation Board either via
e-filing on the Board’s website or in
writing addressed to 395 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20423–0001. In
addition, a copy of each pleading must
be served on OSL’s representative,
Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel
LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 800,
Chicago, IL 60606–3208.
According to OSL, this action is
categorically excluded from
environmental review under 49 CFR
1105.6(c)(2), and from historic
preservation reporting requirements
under 49 CFR 1105.8(b)(1).
Board decisions and notices are
available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: September 21, 2023.
effective dates of the exemptions in this docket and
in the related Docket No. FD 36716 were postponed
pending further Board order to allow for further
briefing and consideration of certain issues. On
September 13, 2023, OSL filed an amended verified
notice of exemption in Docket No. FD 36717
addressing the issues raised in the September 8
order.

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