(a) Vessel owners, operators, or employers who desire a waiver of citizenship requirements from the Coast Guard must submit a written request to the Commandant (CG-CVC), United States Coast Guard Headquarters, Stop 7501, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7501.

(b) The written request required under paragraph (a) of this section must contain—

(1) The vessel owner's, operator's, or employer's contact information—

(i) Full name (last, first, middle initial);

(ii) Address;

(iii) Work phone number;

(iv) Fax number (if applicable); and

(v) Email address (if applicable);

(2) Information on fishing vessel(s) for which the owner, operator, or employer requests a citizenship waiver. For each listed vessel, the owner's, operator's, or employer's must include—

(i) Fishing vessel name;

(ii) Fishing vessel official number;

(iii) Fishing vessel length (in feet);

(iv) Fishing vessel gross tonnage; and

(v) Each type of fishery in which the vessel is engaged;

(3) Information on persons who will work on the vessel. For each listed vessel, the owner, operator, or employer must include—

(i) The total number of unlicensed crew normally employed;

(ii) The name, nationality, birth place, position to be held, and basis for employment authorization in the United States of each alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence but is otherwise authorized for employment in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); and

(iii) The number of alien seamen who are not lawfully admitted for permanent residence but are otherwise authorized for employment in the United States under the INA for which the waiver is requested; and

(4) The time period over which the 25 percent limit will be exceeded—

(i) Start date (MM/DD/YYYY); and

(ii) Expiration date (MM/DD/YYYY).

(c) The owner, operator, or employer submitting a request for a waiver under paragraph (a) of this section must include a statement certifying that the vessel(s) will operate in compliance with all other applicable citizenship requirements regarding the master or other officers in charge of deck or engineering watches on U.S.-documented vessels.

(d) The owner, operator, or employer submitting a request for a waiver under paragraph (a) of this section must provide evidence that aliens who are not lawfully admitted for permanent residence are authorized for employment with the owner, operator, or employer under the INA and evidence that qualified seamen who are U.S. citizens are not available for employment. The following documentation for H2B non-immigrants is satisfactory evidence both of authorization for employment with the owner, operator, or employer under the INA and that qualified seamen who are U.S. citizens are not available:

(1) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-797, “Notice of Action: Approval Notice” classifying the alien as an H2B non-immigrant for purposes of employment with the owner, operator, or employer submitting a request for a waiver under paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) USCIS Form I-94, “Arrival/Departure Record” indicating that the alien has been lawfully admitted to the United States (or has been lawfully granted a change of nonimmigrant status or extension of non-immigrant stay in H2B classification) for the dates covered by the proposed employment.

(e) Upon receipt of a request submitted under paragraph (a) of this section and required information submitted in accordance with paragraphs (b) through (d) of this section, the Coast Guard will evaluate the information and may investigate further, as necessary, to determine the validity of the information provided.

[USCG-2010-0625, 79 FR 8869, Feb. 14, 2014, as amended by USCG-2016-0498, 82 FR 35089, July 28, 2017]