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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
two; 44 limiting the number of employees and members of the public in the office; posting social distance guidelines and asking visitors to answer health screening questions before entering; currently conducting interviews from separate offices to ensure that employees are not in the same room as members of the public;
and installing plexiglass where necessary to provide a barrier for employees when social distancing is not possible.
Between March 10, 2021, and August 8, 2021, USCIS conducted 9,136 asylum interviews, for a total of 16,900
interviews since September 23, 2020.45
The original temporary rule, implemented on September 23, 2020, and its extension implemented on March 22, 2021, and other noted public safety measures have helped mitigate the impact of COVID19 and have been effective in keeping our workforce and the public safe. As of August 9, 2021, there have been 1,927 confirmed cases of COVID19 exposure among USCIS
employees and contractors. The USCIS
exposure rate 6.8% remains below the national average 10.6% as of August 7, 2021.
Therefore, DHS has determined that it is in the best interest of the public and USCIS employees and contractors to extend the temporary rule for another 180 days. Under this extension with modification, asylum applicants who are unable to proceed with the interview in English will ordinarily be required to proceed with government-provided telephonic contract interpreters provided the applicants speak one of the 47 languages found on the Required Languages for Interpreter Services Blanket Purchase Agreement/U.S.
General Services Administration Language Schedule GSA Schedule.
If the applicant does not speak or elects to speak a language not on the GSA
Schedule, the applicant will be required to bring his or her own interpreter who is fluent in English to the interview and 44 Facial coverings were part of the initial USCIS
COVID mitigation efforts until the CDC and then DHS issued new guidance on May 14, 2021 that fully vaccinated individuals were no longer required to wear masks in DHS space and that temperature checks to enter DHS controlled space were also to be discontinued. On July 28, 2021, DHS issued guidance that all Federal employees, onsite contractors, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status or level of COVID transmission in the local area, are required to wear a mask inside all DHS workspaces and Federal buildings. Further guidance to the public as to the USCIS Response to COVID19 and Operational Status can be found here: https www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscisresponse-to-covid-19.
45 Between September 23, 2020 and March 10, 2021, USCIS conducted 7,764 asylum interviews.
86 FR at 15074.

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the elected language not on the GSA
schedule. DHS is also amending 8 CFR
208.9h1 by allowing, in USCIS
discretion, an applicant for asylum to provide an interpreter when a USCIS
interpreter is unavailable. Specifically, if a USCIS interpreter is unavailable, USCIS will either reschedule the interview and attribute the interview delay to USCIS for the purposes of employment authorization pursuant to 8
CFR 208.7, or USCIS may, in its discretion, allow the applicant to provide an interpreter.
DHS incorporates into this second extension with modification, the justifications, as well as the discussion on the benefits of providing telephonic contract interpreters in reducing the risk of contracting COVID19 for applicants, attorneys, interpreters, and USCIS
employees from the original temporary rule.
III. Discussion of Regulatory Change: 8
CFR 208.9h 46
DHS has determined that there are reasonable grounds for considering potential exposure to SARSCoV2, including any emerging variants, as a public health concern and that these grounds are sufficient to continue to modify the interpreter requirement for asylum applicants to lower the number of in-person attendees at asylum interviews. For 180 days following publication of this temporary final rule, DHS will continue to require nonEnglish speaking asylum applicants appearing before USCIS to proceed with the asylum interview using USCIS
interpreter services if they are fluent in one of the 47 languages as discussed in the temporary rule at 85 FR at 59657.47
DHS is also amending 8 CFR 208.9h1
by allowing, in USCIS discretion, an applicant for asylum to provide an interpreter when a USCIS interpreter is unavailable. In these limited 46 The interpreter interview provisions can be found in two parallel sets of regulations:
Regulations under the authority of DHS are contained in 8 CFR part 208; and regulations under the authority of the Department of Justice DOJ are contained in 8 CFR part 1208. Each set of regulations contains substantially similar provisions regarding asylum interview processes, and each articulates the interpreter requirement for interviews before an asylum officer. Compare 8 CFR
208.9g, with 8 CFR 1208.9g. This temporary final rule revises only the DHS regulations at 8 CFR
208.9. Notwithstanding the language of the parallel DOJ regulations in 8 CFR 1208.9, as of the effective date of this action, the revised language of 8 CFR
208.9h is binding on DHS and its adjudications for 180 days. DHS would not be bound by the DOJ
regulation at 8 CFR 1208.9g.
47 DHS notes that this extension does not modify 8 CFR 208.9g; rather the extension temporary rule is written so that any asylum interviews occurring while the temporary rule is effective will be bound by the requirements at 8 CFR 208.9h.

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circumstances, if a USCIS interpreter is unavailable, USCIS will either reschedule the interview and attribute the interview delay to USCIS for the purposes of employment authorization pursuant to 8 CFR 208.7, or USCIS may, in its discretion, allow the applicant to provide an interpreter. The interpreter will be required to follow USCIS
COVID19 protocols in place at the time of the interview, including sitting in a separate office. Once this rule is no longer in effect, asylum applicants unable to proceed with an interview in English before a USCIS asylum officer will be required to provide their own interpreters under 8 CFR 208.9g.
Allowing an applicant for asylum to provide an interpreter when a USCIS
interpreter is unavailable is important and to the benefit of the applicant for several reasons. In some instances, due to a variety of issues including competing demands in other caseloads, contractor availability, and an increased demand for certain languages, USCIS
may have knowledge in advance of the interview, that a contract interpreter will not be available for a certain language during the time of the interview. In those instances, USCIS
may notify the applicant that an interpreter is unavailable and give the applicant an opportunity to provide their own interpreter for that interview and not cause further delay in the case.
This will help reduce unnecessary reschedules and prolonged delays and will help alleviate the burden rescheduling the interview could place on all parties involved, including the applicant, the applicants representative if applicable, and the local USCIS
office. Providing advance notice of the unavailability of an interpreter and the opportunity for applicants to provide their own interpreter will make the process more efficient, reduce the number of delays, and allow applicants to proceed with their interview. This modification to the governmentprovided telephonic interpreter requirement will not disadvantage applicants who cannot provide their own interpreter. Such an applicant would be in the same position they would have been without this change to the regulation, and if an applicant is unable to locate a competent interpreter once notified of the unavailability of a contract interpreter, the interview will be rescheduled and the reschedule delay will be attributed to USCIS for purposes of employment authorization.
While USCIS cannot safely accommodate every interview being conducted if all applicants are required to bring an interpreter in person, as explained in this preamble, in these
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