We are the part of the State Department which deals with the rights, privileges, and immunities of the diplomatic missions, and the consular representation that they have to offer in the country. Those of you who are career diplomats know very well, because this, a counterpart of this activity, takes place in every foreign office.

Basically, the things that we do every day-we accredit diplomats and register the subordinate employees of the diplomatic missions. And we give official recognition to the consular offices and register of our miscellaneous foreign government employees on duty in the United States for more than a 30-day period. As a consequence of registering all these people, we then proceed to issue them identification credentials, tax exemption credentials, and assist them in various other courtesies customary for diplomats, such as to arrange the customs clearance for their duty-free imports to which they are entitled, and assistance in obtaining registration and license tags of their motor vehicles, driver's permits, et cetera.

We also are the office which, because of the records that we have, being the office of record, provide to the courts that request it or need it, or to attorneys, citations of diplomatic immunity.

SECURITY

In addition to these somewhat pedestrian but very necessary functions, we also have a role in coordination of protection of the diplomatic mission premises, and assistance in general insofar as providing higher levels of protection when they are temporarily needed because of threats of a terrorist nature, or cranks, or whatever. But I will not dwell on that, because we have a spokesman of the Secret Service here who will talk more about this.

We do receive requests, we do transmit them through our liaison office and the office of security, and we coordinate so that there is a general degree of understanding on what should be done in appropriate cases, and also, we make sure that everyone who should be informed is informed.

REAL ESTATE

We also have a role to play in real estate matters. We particularly have restrictions on where chanceries-the office complexes of the embassies may be lawfully located because of the chancery zoning provisions of the District of Columbia zoning law. For that reason, we are the responsible office for the development of an international center on the grounds of the former National Bureau of Standards at Van Ness Street at Connecticut Avenue. We have 14 lots there that we are in the process of conveying, selling, or long-term leasing to foreign governments for that purpose.

We also have real estate listings, a limited number, which we do not seek, but when realtors or owners, landlords wish to ask our assistance we are glad to receive the listings and we will make them available to anyone in the interested embassy. And that applies not only to chanceries, but also to residences that would be suitable for an embassy for the ambassador, and to housing for subordinate staff, diplomats included.

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COUNSELING

We offer our good offices when there are disputes between members of the community or business firm citizens and embassies or any of their personnel. This may stem from a request from either side. The embassy or the diplomat may be having the trouble, the neighbor next door or vice versa, or it may be a bad debt case. So, unfortunately, we do get involved in some of the soiled linen of the community. We do our best to handle this with tact and effectiveness, with understanding. Further assistance that we try to give is guidance when anybody from an embassy calls in looking for the proper office or organization to turn to to deal with some particular technical or substantive problem. I daresay we must have certainly one of the most complex bureaucracies within the world. We are a vast country, we have a vast government, and it is impossible for our own nationals, our own citizens who have lived there all their lives oftentimes to find the right office to deal with something, so small wonder if an embassy has difficulty, and to the extent that if we can, if you come to us with questions of this sort, we will do our very best to put you into contact with the right office, and sometimes we can offer you some further guidance in the matter.

We also advise attorneys who call us from all over the country on legal questions concerning the diplomatic community and rights and privileges and immunities. And we work with the legal representatives of the diplomatic missions in attempts to resolve legal questions that they put to us.

I think that that is a general summary of what we do have to offer within the special protocol services of the Office of the Chief of Protocol, and I would like to extend cordial welcome to any of you who have not known of our existence or what we have to offer to get in touch with us, if you ever have occasion, to put questions to us on any of these matters that I have just discussed.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Davis.

I am going to call on Mr. Stephen Dobrenchuk next, whom I introduced as the Chief of the Public Services Division of the Visa Office of the Department of State.

STATEMENT OF STEPHEN A. DOBRENCHUK, CHIEF, PUBLIC SERVICES DIVISION, VISA OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mr. DOBRENCHUK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am the one you probably wanted to see, because I hear from so many of you about problems which you have with visas, either through the embassies or through your friends, relatives, colleagues. And most of the complaints, problems, questions, regarding alien entry into the United States concerning cases that originate overseas before they arrive in the States come to us in the Visa Office. Our main function is to assist in answering all of these queries.

VISAS ISSUED

And I would like to brief you on a matter of the law in general, the fact that it is rather complex, and it is no wonder that there are many queries about it. You should understand that basically, aliens entering

the United States are all governed-the procedures are governed under the Immigration Act. I know many of you have questions that you will ask, and our law seems awfully complicated, because we have two basic categories of visas, nonimmigrant visas, temporary visits; and immigrant visas, for those persons who are coming here as permanent resident aliens.

Most of the problems that you face with students coming here, having some difficulty abroad, not being able to meet our requirements, should know that we deal with visitors on an individual basis, as it relates to their problems. The immigration process is complicated, and I know that I often hear from you and you are certainly welcome at any time to seek our assistance and advice on any of these matters. It takes a large number of people in the Visa Office to sort out our own laws. There is a further complicating factor that the immigration law is administered by both the State Department and the Justice Department of Immigration Service, so that the functions abroad for aliens coming, before they leave, relate to the consular officer and his duties and responsibilities in obtaining a visa. However, once the alien enters the United States the authority then becomes that of our Immigration Service. That is something that often presents a problem to many visitors who do not understand what this is all about, and they often think that it is a cumbersome bureaucracy, but nonetheless, the jurisdictions dealing with aliens' problems abroad rest with the State Department consular offices abroad. In the United States, it deals with Mr. O'Connor, my good colleague.

VISA OFFICE

The Visa Office function is primarily that of a supervisory one for all of the operations overseas. They resolve matters for visa applicants relating to security or simply legal matters, and we maintain very active communications with all countries of the world, with the problems that arise abroad. I should mention that many of the problems arise from the fact that there are 31 grounds of ineligibility for entry into the United States. The consul abroad must screen people to see that the individual alien applicant meets the requirement of our law. That can often be the first stumbling block. After they obtain a visa, they then face the immigration officer-the immigration officer inspecting the individual as he enters our country is the one who decides whether or not he may enter. This often presents a problem to the person who does not understand that they received a visa and may have to be sent home.

Our office is established primarily to answer your questions, either by writing or by calling us, and we try very hard to provide assistance in every way possible. And I would like you to feel free at all times to call us.

Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

Mr. Edward O'Connor, Commissioner, Examinations Division, Immigration and Naturalization Service.

STATEMENT OF EDWARD F. O'CONNOR, ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER, EXAMINATIONS DIVISION, IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE

Mr. O'CONNOR. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to be here this afternoon talking to you. And as many of my inspectors have said to you over the years, again I would like to welcome you to the United States. We are going to use this as our main theme for the Bicentennial year. We have been, in a sense, practicing for this for quite a few years. You win some; you lose some. Sometimes we have done it very well; sometimes we have not. We will admit our own problems.

However, as this is an extraordinary event, we have approached it in inspections just that way. We have coordinated with the Vis Office, the U.S. Travel Service, and we hope, with you, and we want to continue to do this. Please my office is not like others in the Government-if you do have a problem, I want you to call me, or write to me right away. I must clear it up. This is a dedicated idea of our life right now, to clear up any injury problems of aliens and U.S. citizens returning or aliens coming to our country, and in particular, for this joyous season that we are going to experience in 1976.

We have some brandnew inspection areas in airports to exhibit to your nationals and our visitors. We have tried to coordinate with the Travel Service and many other airport authorities and steamship authorities and rail authorities and bridge authorities, and port of entry authorities on land borders to get bilingual signs, on our Canadian border in both French and English, and on our Mexican border in both Spanish and English.

We have tried to school as many of our personnel at our major airports, in as many of your languages as we can possibly do. And I think we have it pretty well covered. At least we have somebody there that can make enough signs to get him or her to the men's room or something else that is of importance.

We have no problems, as I see it, for 1976. We only have progress. Please, if you have a problem, if you will contact us I guarantee you we will clear it up. I assume you probably have some questions, so I would defer any of my eloquent speaking to your questions.

And, again, Mr. Chairman, I thank you for this opportunity.
The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

I am glad you mentioned that, Mr. O'Connor. We will have a question and answer period following these short presentations. All of the members of the panel you see here will not be making presentations.

We have two more presentations to make, and then the panel, all of them who make presentations or not, will be prepared to answer questions coming from our guests.

Mr. John Sheeran, from the Department of Labor, is prepared to give us an overview as to the participation of that Department in the affairs of the diplomatic international community.

STATEMENT OF JOHN SHEERAN, CHIEF, IMMIGRATION CERTIFI- CATION, MANPOWER ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mr. SHEERAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not know whether I am on the air.

I would like to emphasize that the starting point for people wishing to immigrate to the United States, will come to the United States, immigrants or nonimmigrants, rests with the U.S. consul abroad.

Or, if they are here, with the District Directors of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. As has been said, the immigration laws are very complex, but to reemphasize this point, that each year some 400,000 immigrants come to the United States, and somewhere, about 10 percent of those, come in through the labor certification route. The 90 percent come in based on family relationships.

And, of the-I do not know, Ed, how many nonimmigrants5 million last year? The Department of Labor serves an advisory role for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for a very small percentage of the immigrants seeking to come in temporarily for employment somewhere around 40,000 last year.

LABOR CERTIFICATION

So that you can save yourself, frequently, a great deal of misdirection and peace of mind if you go to those places first. If, however, they determine that the way to qualify for entrance to the United States as an immigrant, coming permanently for employment, is to get a labor certification, then the process is tied into the section of the law that says an alien may not enter for employment unless the Secretary of Labor certifies that there are no qualified, able, willing U.S. workers at the time of application and for the area which the alien is destined.

And, second, that there shall be no adverse effect to the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed.

Those two tests have to be made on each application for an alien seeking admission-availability of U.S. workers and adverse effect on wages and working conditions.

TEMPORARY WORKERS

Insofar as the admission for the temporary worker that we get involved with, as I should say, we provide an advisory opinion to the Immigration Service as to whether or not there are "unemployed workers" available.

The procedure that is involved in seeking a labor certification is, of course, pieces of paper. There are applications that need to be completed. And, again, getting back to the complexity of our law, it provides for the Eastern Hemisphere that an alien who is in the professions or outstanding in the sciences or arts, may apply in his own behalf and he need complete an application that is designated as