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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 53 / Monday, March 22, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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interim rules, as well as extend such rules.25
DHS is publishing this extension as a temporary final rule because of the continuing COVID19 crisis and incorporates into this extension the discussion of good cause from the original temporary rule. Additionally, as discussed earlier in this preamble, on January 7, 2021, the Secretary of Health and Human Services renewed the determination that a COVID19 public health emergency exists.26 On February 26, 2021, President Biden published a notice on the continuation of the state of the National Emergency concerning the COVID19 outbreak.27
As of February 23, 2021, there have been approximately 110,763,898 cases of COVID19 identified globally, resulting in approximately 2,455,331
deaths; approximately 27,702,074 cases have been identified in the United States, with about 480,467 new cases being identified in the 7 days preceding February 23rd, and approximately 491,894 reported deaths due to the disease.28
Hospitalization may still be required in severe cases and mechanical respiratory support may be needed in the most severe cases. Additionally, several variants of the virus that causes COVID19 have been reported in the United States.29 Some evidence already suggests that at least one variant may be associated with an increased risk of death.30
Based on the continuing health emergency, DHS has concluded that the good cause exceptions in 5 U.S.C.
553bB and d3 apply to this temporary final rule extension. Delaying implementation of this rule until the conclusion of notice-and-comment procedures and the 30-day delayed effective date would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest due to the need to continue agency operations and reduce associated risk to claiming the good cause exception for suspending certain automatic registration requirements for nonimmigrants because without the regulation approximately 82,532 aliens would be subject to 30day or annual re-registration interviews over a sixmonth period.
25 See, e.g., Temporary Changes to Requirements Affecting H2A Nonimmigrants Due To the COVID
19 National Emergency: Partial Extension of Certain Flexibilities, 85 FR 51304 Aug. 20, 2020
temporary final rule extending April 20, 2020
temporary final rule.
26 HHS, Renewal of Determination that a Public Health Emergency exists.
27 86 FR 11599.
28 WHO, Weekly epidemiological update.
29 CDC, Emerging SARSCoV2 Variants Jan. 28, 2021, https www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
more/science-and-research/scientific-briefemerging-variants.html.
30 Id.

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asylum office staff, as well as the public, with the spread of COVID19.
As of March 10, 2021, USCIS had 397,451 asylum applications, on behalf of 625,220 noncitizens, pending final adjudication. Over 94% of these pending applications are awaiting an interview by an asylum officer. The USCIS backlog will continue to increase unless USCIS can safely and efficiently conduct asylum interviews.
This extension temporary final rule is promulgated as a response to COVID
19. It is temporary, limited in application to only those asylum applicants who cannot proceed with the interview in English, and narrowly tailored to mitigate the spread of COVID19. To not extend such a measure could cause serious and farreaching public safety and health effects.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, requires an agency to prepare and make available to the public a regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the effect of the rule on small entities i.e., small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. A
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required when a rule is exempt from notice-and-comment rulemaking.
C. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This temporary final rule extension will not result in the expenditure by state, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year, and it will not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
D. Congressional Review Act This temporary final rule extension is not a major rule as defined by section 804 of the Congressional Review Act. 5
U.S.C. 804. This rule will not result in an annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more; a major increase in costs or prices; or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises in domestic and export markets.

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E. Executive Order 12866 Executive Order 13563
Executive Orders E.O. 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity. E.O. 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. This rule is designated a significant regulatory action under E.O.
12866. Accordingly, the Office of Management and Budget OMB has reviewed this regulation. DHS, however, is proceeding under the emergency provision of Executive Order 12866
Section 6a3D based on the need to move expeditiously during the current public health emergency.
This extension of the original temporary rule will continue to help asylum applicants proceed with their interviews in a safe manner, while protecting agency staff. As a result of the original temporary rule, between September 23, 2020 and March 10, 2021, USCIS conducted 7,764 asylum interviews, with interpreters available telephonically. This extension of the original temporary rule is not expected to result in any additional costs to the applicant or to the government. As previously explained, the contract interpreters will be provided at no cost to the applicant. USCIS already has an existing contract to provide telephonic interpretation and monitoring in interviews for all of its case types.
USCIS has provided monitors for many years. Almost all interviews that utilize a USCIS provided interpreter after this rulemaking would have had a contracted monitor under the status quo. As the cost of monitoring and interpretation are identical under the contract and monitors will no longer be needed for these interviews, the implementation of this rule is projected to be cost neutral or negligible as USCIS
is already paying for these services even without this rule.
F. Executive Order 13132 Federalism This rule will not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with section 6 of Executive Order 13132, it is determined that this
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