175.57 Procedure in formulating advisory opinions. (a) Form BC, when properly executed and received in the Depart ment of State, shall be considered by an inter-departmental com mittee, together with all the documents attached thereto and all other information which may be available concerning the applicant for a permit to enter, his sponsors, and their references. The inter-departmental committee shall be composed of one representative of each of the State, War, and Navy Departments, and of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Immigration and. Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice. Each member of the inter-departmental committee shall be permitted to: express his opinion concerning the eligibility of the applicant to receive a permit to enter. Such opinions shall be recorded and shall be considered confidential. A majority opinion shall constitute the opinion of the committee. (b) If the committee's opinion is that a permit to enter may be granted, and if such opinion is acceptable to the Secretary of State, it may be transmitted to the permit-issuing authority, thereby becoming the advisory opinion of the Department of State. (c) If the committee's opinion is not acceptable to the Secretary of State, or if the opinion is that a permit to enter should not be issued, or if any member of the committee so requests, the opinion of the committee shall be referred to a committee of review, together with the complete record in the case. The committee of review shall be composed of one representative of each of the agencies named in paragraph (a) of this section. The committee of review shall consider the record forwarded from the inter-departmental committee and may allot a limited time for the appearance of an alien's sponsors or other interested persons, who may submit statements. The committee may make rules and regulations governing the appearance before it of sponsors, attorneys, agents, or other intermediaries. Statements made by persons appearing before the committee of reviews shall be under oath. After being duly. sworn a sponsor shall answer any material interrogatories which may be addressed to him by the members of the committee. Confidential information in the possession of the committee shall not be disclosed to the sponsor or to his attorney, agent, or other intermediary. (d) If the opinion of the committee of review is that a permit to enter may be granted, and if such opinion is acceptable to the Secretary of State, it may be transmitted to the permit-issuing authority, thereby becoming the advisory opinion of the Department of State. (e) If the opinion of the committee of review is not acceptable to the Secretary of State, or if the opinion is that a permit to enter should not be issued, or if any member of the committee so requests, the opinion of the committee shall be referred to a board of appeals, together with the complete record in the case. The board shall be composed of two members appointed by the President. The board shall preserve the confidential character of any information in the record. Cases shall be considered and decided by the board of appeals solely upon the basis of the written record as made up in the committees. If the opinion of the board of appeals is not acceptable to the Secretary of State, or if the members of the board are unable to agree on any particular case, the Secretary of State may substitute his own opinion, which shall be final and shall be transmitted to the permit-issuing authority as the advisory opinion of the Department of State. (f) Each member of the inter-departmental committee, committee of review, or board of appeals, shall, while the case of an applicant for a permit to enter is under consideration by his committee or board, express his opinion of the applicant's eligibility for entry solely with reference to one of the categories set forth in § 175.47 of these regulations, and in the case of an adverse opinion the particular category involved shall be specified and recorded. The record thereof shall be confidential, and only the recommendation of the committee or board, without the reasons therefor, shall be disclosed. (g) The board of appeals may not reconsider any case until after the lapse of a period of six months from the date of the previous opinion of the board in the case concerned. The board shall have the power to remand any case to the committee of review or to the interdepartmental committee for investigation and reconsideration, without expressing an opinion concerning the case. (h) If a permit-issuing authority who shall have received an advisory opinion from the Department of State is in possession of information which indicates that the entry of the alien concerned would be prejudicial to the interests of the United States as provided in § 175.47 hereof, action shall be suspended on the case and a full report shall be submitted to the Secretary of State. The permit-issuing authority shall thereafter be guided by any further advisory opinion received from the Secretary of State regarding the question whether the entry of the particular applicant for a permit to enter would be prejudicial to the interests of the United States under these regulations.* 175.58 Effective date. These regulations shall become effective on December 1, 1941.* *For statutory citation, see note to § 175.41. Part 178-POSTING OF IMMIGRATION LAWS BY TRANSPORTATION 'COMPANIES § 178.1 Posting of immigration laws by transportation companies. Upon application by any transportation company, the Central Office will furnish a summary of all immigration laws, in English, a posting of which, in appropriate foreign languages, will be regarded as an observance of the spirit of section 8 of the Act of March 3, 1893 (27 Stat. 570; 8 U. S. C. 172). Certificates in relation to the posting of immigration laws and other matters which, under said law, transportation companies must file, shall be filed with the Central Office on January 1 and July 1 each year. (Sec. 23, 39 Stat. 892, sec. 24, 43 Stat. 166; 8 U. S. C. 102, 122) 925 |