[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 22, Volume 1] [Revised as of April 1, 2002] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 22CFR7.5] [Page 23-24] TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE PART 7--BOARD OF APPELLATE REVIEW--Table of Contents Sec. 7.5 Procedures. (a) Filing of appeal. A person who has been the subject of an adverse decision in a case falling within the purview of Sec. 7.3 shall be entitled upon written request made within the prescribed time to appeal the decision to the Board. The appeal shall be in writing and shall state with particularity reasons for the appeal. The appeal may by accompanied by a legal brief. An appeal filed after the prescribed time shall be denied unless the Board determines for good cause shown that the appeal could not have been filed within the prescribed time. (b) Time limit on appeal. (1) A person who contends that the Department's administrative determination of loss of nationality or expatriation under subpart C of part 50 of this chapter is contrary to law or fact, shall be entitled to appeal such determination to the Board upon written request made within one year after approval by the Department of the certificate of loss of nationality or a certificate of expatriation. (2) A person who has been subject of an adverse decision under Sec. 51.89, of this Chapter shall be entitled to appeal the decision to the Board upon written request made within 60 days after receipt of notice of such decision. (3) A national who has been subject of an adverse decision under Sec. 64.1(a) of this chapter shall be entitled to appeal the decision to the Board within 30 days after receipt of notice of such decision. (4) Time limits for other appeals shall be established by the Board as appropriate. (c) Department case record. Upon the written request of the Board, the office or bureau in the Department of State responsible for the decision from which the appeal was taken shall assemble and transmit to the Board within 45 days the record on which the Department's decision in the case was based. The case record may be accompanied by a memorandum setting forth the position of the Department on the case. (d) Briefs. Briefs in support of or in opposition to an appeal shall be submitted in triplicate to the Board. The appellant shall submit his or her brief within 60 days after filing of the appeal. The Department shall then file a brief within 60 days after receipt of a copy of appellant's brief. Reply briefs, if any, shall be filed within 30 days after the date the Department's brief is filed with the Board. Extension of time for submission of a reply brief may be granted by the Board for good cause shown. Posthearing briefs may be submitted upon such terms as may be agreed to by the parties and the presiding member of the Board at the conclusion of a hearing. (e) Hearing. An appellant shall be entitled to a hearing upon written request to the Board. An appellant may elect to waive a hearing and submit his or her appeal for decision on the basis of the record before the Board. (f) Pre-hearing conference. Whether there is a hearing before the Board on an appeal or whether an appeal is submitted for decision on the record without a hearing the Board may call upon the parties to appear before a member of the Board for a conference to consider the simplification or clarification of issues and other matters as may aid in the disposition of the appeal. The results of the conference shall be reduced to writing by the presiding Board member, and this writing shall constitute a part of the record. (g) Admissibility of evidence. Except as otherwise provided in Sec. 7.7 and Sec. 7.8, the parties may introduce such evidence as the Board deems proper. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but reasonable restrictions shall be imposed as to the relevancy, competency and materiality of evidence presented. (h) Depositions. The Board may, upon the written request of either party or upon agreement by the parties, permit the taking of the testimony of any person by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories for use as evidence in the appeal proceedings. The deponent shall be subject to cross-examination either by oral examination or by written interrogatories by the opposing party or by the Board. Leave to take a deposition shall not be granted unless it appears impracticable to require the deponent's testimony at the hearing on the appeal, or unless the taking of a deposition is deemed to be warranted for other valid reasons. [[Page 24]] (i) Record of proceedings. The record of proceedings before the Board shall consist of the Department's case record, briefs and other written submissions of the parties, the stipulation of facts, if any, the evidence admitted, and the transcript of the hearing if there is a hearing. The record shall be available for inspection by the parties at the Office of the Board. (j) Scope of review. Except as otherwise provided in Secs. 7.7 and 7.8, the Board shall review the record in the case before it. The Board shall not consider argument challenging the constitutionality of any law or of any regulation of the Department of State or take into consideration any classified or administratively controlled material. (k) Appearance before the Board. Any party to any proceeding before the Board is entitled to appear in person or by or with his or her attorney, who must possess the requisite qualifications, set forth in Sec. 7.12, to practice before the Board. (l) Failure to prosecute an appeal. Whenever the record discloses the failure of an appellant to file documents required by these regulations, respond to notices or correspondence from the Board, or otherwise indicates an intention not to continue the prosecution of an appeal, the Board may in its discretion terminate the proceedings without prejudice to the later reinstatement of the appeal for good cause shown. [44 FR 68825, Nov. 30, 1979, as amended at 51 FR 15319, Apr. 23, 1986; 52 FR 41560, Oct. 29, 1987]