22 C.F.R. PART 139—IRISH PEACE PROCESS CULTURAL AND TRAINING PROGRAM
Title 22 - Foreign Relations
Authority: Pub. L. 105–319, 112 Stat. 3013; 22 U.S.C. 2651a.
Source: 65 FR 14766, Mar. 17, 2000, unless otherwise noted.
(a) The regulations set forth in this Part implement, in part, the “Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 (the “IPPCTPA”), Public Law 105–319, 112 Stat. 3013. The purpose of the IPPCTPA is to establish a program to “allow young people from disadvantaged areas of designated counties suffering from sectarian violence and high structural unemployment to enter the United States for the purpose of developing job skills and conflict resolution abilities in a diverse, cooperative, peaceful, and prosperous environment, so that those young people can return to their homes better able to contribute toward economic regeneration and the Irish peace process.” This part describes the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program (the “IPPCTP”) hereby established by the Department, the procedures for its operation and the requirements for participation. (b) The Department, in consultation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”), will implement the program specified in the IPPCTPA by working with the relevant governmental authorities in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland to further the goals of the IPPCTPA, by selecting a Program Administrator to carry out the day-to-day operation of the IPPCTP, by approving, upon the recommendation of the Program Administrator, employers in the United States to carry out the training and employment elements of the IPPTCP and by providing general oversight of the IPPCTP. The following definitions apply to this part: Accompanying family members means the spouse and minor children of the principal alien. Applicant sponsor means FAS, T&EA, or an employer in the border counties or in Northern Ireland who has nominated an employee to participate in the IPPCTP. Border counties means the counties of Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. FAS means the Training and Employment Authority of the Republic of Ireland. IPPCTP means the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program. Program Administrator means the organization selected by the Department to carry out the Department's responsibilities for the day-to-day management of the IPPCTP. Program Participant means an individual selected to participate in the IPPCTP. T&EA means the Training and Employment Agency of Northern Ireland. United States employer means an employer with operations in the United States that has been recommended by the Program Administrator and approved by the Department of State for participation in the IPPCTP. The Department of State retains overall authority for all IPPCTP activities, including, but not limited to: (a) The design of the program mandated by IPPCTPA; (b) The formulation of policies and procedures concerning the IPPCTP; (c) The selection and oversight of the Program Administrator; (d) Coordination with other U.S. Government agencies and representatives of the governments of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland; (e) Establishment of the requirements for and approval of the United States employers who will participate in the program; (f) Upon recommendation of the Program Administrator or on its own motion, the Department may add or remove employers from the approved list and may authorize change of economic sector and geographic area for participants; and (g) By public notice in the [65 FR 14766, Mar. 17, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 52504, Oct. 16, 2001] The Program Administrator will be responsible for the following: (a) Identifying job/training opportunities in designated economic sectors, and recommending to the Department employers in the United States who meet the criteria of §139.7 and who wish to participate in the IPPCTP. Job/training opportunities will be located in a number of geographic areas across the United States, depending on the availability of jobs, relative cost of living, support infrastructure, and other relevant factors. The Program Administrator, from time to time, will recommend to the Department of State the addition or deletion of, or exceptions to, designated economic sectors and geographic areas for participants. (b) Making available, through electronic or other means, information about job/training openings to potential program participants and assisting them in securing job placements in the United States. (c) Certifying in writing to a United States consular officer in the United States Embassy in Dublin or the United States Consulate General in Belfast, or to an officer of the INS, that a principal alien has been selected to participate in the IPPCTP. This certification will be used only to assist in: (1) Nonimmigrant visa issuance to and adjudication of an application for admission made by the principal alien and accompanying family members; or (2) Adjudicating a request made by the principal alien to change employers under the IPPCTP while in the United States. Unless otherwise authorized, the Program Administrator may approve only one change of approved employer per participant per period of stay. (d) Providing pre-departure and pre-employment orientation seminars to program participants, as appropriate, and otherwise assisting participants in a smooth transition to life in the United States. (e) Monitoring participants' compliance with Program requirements while in the United States, and verifying that participants are receiving the agreed training and skills. Issuing replacement certification documents to participants whose original has been lost, stolen, or mutilated. In addition, making available training in personal and professional development to participants and verifying that such training has been undertaken; arranging with approved employers as a condition of assignment of participants that each such employer: will give the Program Administrator advance notice of intention to discharge a participant for cause and the reasons therefor, will permit the Program Administrator an opportunity to mediate between the employer and the participant; and give the Program Administrator written notice when employment of a participant is terminated and the reason. The Program Administrator, if mediation is not successful and the participant is terminated for cause in the judgment of the employer, will promptly (normally within two business days after termination of employment) reach a decision on validity of the cause for the employer's decision and, if the decision is favorable to the participant, may assist in finding another approved employment. (f) Cooperating with FAS and T&EA in all aspects of the program, including assisting participants in finding jobs in their home countries upon completion of their U.S. training. (g) Reporting to the Department and INS on various aspects of the program and on program participants as directed. In particular, promptly (normally within five business days) giving a written report to the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service upon each occurrence of any of the following: termination or change of approved employment of a participant, withdrawal from participation in the program, results of an exit interview with the participant, and the departure from the United States of any participant upon conclusion of participation in the program. (h) Developing and maintaining a computerized database and website to underpin all of the functions in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this section. The Program Administrator will retain this data base for at least five years after termination of the Program, or transfer the data base to the Department of State, and provide the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service access to that data base while under its control. (i) The Program Administrator within 5 business days is to terminate a participant from the program when: the participant is terminated from approved employment for cause or fails to obtain another approved employment within 30 days of leaving current employment (not having been separated for cause); the participant, without good cause, fails to comply with program regulations, including rules of the Program Administrator and the code of code of conduct; or the participant engages in employment that has not been authorized under the program or fails to maintain adequate, continuous health coverage (see §139.5). The Program Administrator shall promptly (normally within five business days) give written notice to the Department of State, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, FAS or T & EA as appropriate, and to the consulate that issued a visa to the participant, that the participant has been terminated and the reason therefor. The Program Administrator shall conduct an exit interview with any participant leaving the program to assess the experience and to obtain return of the participant's certification letter. [65 FR 14766, Mar. 17, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 52504, Oct. 16, 2001] To be a program participant in the IPPCTP, a person must: (a) Be between 18 and 35 years of age; and (b) Have been physically resident in Northern Ireland or one of the border counties for at least five months prior to the date of certification; and (c) Meet United States immigration/visa requirements, including being in receipt of a job offer certified by the Program Administrator, and able to demonstrate satisfactorily to a Consular Officer that he/she has a residence abroad that he/she has no intention of abandoning; and (d)(1) Be unemployed for at least 3 months, or have completed or currently be enrolled in a training/program sponsored by T&EA or FAS, or by other such publicly funded programs, or have been made redundant in their employment (i.e., lost his/her job) or have received a notice of redundancy (termination of employment); or (2) Be a currently employed person whose employer has at least 90 days (unless otherwise authorized) of employment relationship with that person, whose nomination is in writing and contains the following: the employer in the United States, the length and type of occupational training contemplated, a justification for why the length of stay requested is necessary, and the benefits to the nominee and the nominator, including a job offer for the participant upon return to Northern Ireland or Ireland; provided, however, that the Program Administrator may waive the requirements of at least 90 days of employment and for a job offer upon return from a sponsor that is a Northern Ireland institution of further or higher learning for a student in that institution who needs on the job experience to qualify for a degree or certificate from the institution. (e) Has read, understood, and signed a “participant code of conduct” prepared by the Program Administrator in consultation with the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service and with FAS and T & EA; obtains and maintains adequate, continuous health insurance; is expected to remain with his or her original or other approved employer; and is expected to depart the United States promptly upon termination of participation in the program. (f) A participant who has been terminated from the program may apply to the Program Administrator for reinstatement, except in the following cases: termination of approved employment for cause, knowingly or willfully failed to obtain or maintain the required adequate and continuous health insurance, engaged in unapproved employment, or has been outside the United States in excess of three consecutive months. In any such case the physical residence requirement may be waived for participants who have been admitted to the United States for the program, and personal and professional development training previously completed need not be repeated; however, all other application requirements for a participant do apply, and the Program Administrator, with the approval of the Department of State in consultation with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and upon being satisfied that reinstatement serves the purpose of the program, may issue a new or amended certification letter. [65 FR 14766, Mar. 17, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 52505, Oct. 16, 2001] Requests for participation as a trainee in the IPPCTP must be made to FAS or T&EA in the case of §139.5(d)(1); or, in the case of §139.5(d)(2), directly to the Program Administrator by the prospective participant's employer having at least 90 days (unless otherwise authorized) of employment relationship with that participant. Neither FAS, T & EA, nor the Program Administrator are to consider requests from a former participant. [65 FR 14766, Mar. 17, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 52505, Oct. 16, 2001] To participate in the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program, U.S. employers must: (a) Provide job/training opportunities that: (1) Correspond to one of the occupational areas identified by the governments of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland except as otherwise approved by the Program Administrator under §139.5(d)(2); and (2) Include a career path comprising work assignment rotations, and/or training opportunities, which offer promotion potential if job performance is satisfactory. (b) Offer health insurance, which, at a minimum, provides: (1) Medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness (major medical); and (2) A deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness. (c) Pay participants at least the minimum wage and at the same rate as American workers doing the same or similar work. (d) Agree not to petition for a change of immigration status or non-immigrant status for any participant. (e) Grant permission to the Program Administrator to conduct on-site visits and take other measures necessary to verify that each employer's job/training contract is being followed. (f) Notify the Program Administrator in the event of the termination of a participant from employment, or departure of the participant from the Program. As a condition of qualification as an employer, undertakes to provide advance notice to the Program Administrator of intention to terminate a participant for cause, with a written statement of reasons, and to provide the Program Administrator a reasonable opportunity to mediate between the employer and the participant, if possible before actual termination, and to offer employment to any selected participant for at least six months. The employer must also undertake in writing to provide no less than the Federal minimum wage and a 40 hour work week or equivalent. (g) Prepare a written record describing the work experience gained, and make it available to each participant. [65 FR 14766, Mar. 17, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 52506, Oct. 16, 2001] Job/Training under the IPPCTP will be authorized for preferred economic sectors prescribed by the Department of State, upon agreement of FAS and/or T&EA. As noted in §139.3, the list will be published in the [66 FR 52506, Oct. 16, 2001]
Title 22: Foreign Relations
PART 139—IRISH PEACE PROCESS CULTURAL AND TRAINING PROGRAM
Section Contents
§ 139.1 Purpose.
§ 139.2 Definitions.
§ 139.3 Responsibilities of the Department.
§ 139.4 Responsibilities of the Program Administrator.
§ 139.5 Qualifications required for selection as a trainee.
§ 139.6 Requesting participation in the IPPCTP.
§ 139.7 Qualifications for participation as an employer in the United States.
§ 139.8 Target economic sectors.
§ 139.1 Purpose.
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§ 139.2 Definitions.
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§ 139.3 Responsibilities of the Department.
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§ 139.4 Responsibilities of the Program Administrator.
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§ 139.5 Qualifications required for selection as a trainee.
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§ 139.6 Requesting participation in the IPPCTP.
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§ 139.7 Qualifications for participation as an employer in the United States.
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§ 139.8 Target economic sectors.
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