[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 8, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 8CFR240.67]

[Page 449-450]
 
                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY
 
      CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (IMMIGRATION AND 
                             NATURALIZATION)
 
PART 240_PROCEEDINGS TO DETERMINE REMOVABILITY OF ALIENS IN THE UNITED 
STATES--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart H_Applications for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule 
      Cancellation of Removal Under Section 203 of Pub. L. 105	100
 
Sec.  240.67  Procedure for interview before an asylum officer.

    (a) Fingerprinting requirements. The Service will notify each 
applicant 14 years of age or older to appear for an interview only after 
the applicant has complied with fingerprinting requirements pursuant to 
Sec.  103.2(e) of this subchapter, and the Service has received a 
definitive response from the FBI that a full criminal background check 
has been completed. A definitive response that a full criminal 
background check on an applicant has been completed includes:
    (1) Confirmation from the FBI that an applicant does not have an 
administrative or criminal record;
    (2) Confirmation from the FBI that an applicant has an 
administrative or a criminal record; or
    (3) Confirmation from the FBI that two properly prepared fingerprint 
cards (Form FD-258) have been determined unclassifiable for the purpose 
of conducting a criminal background check and have been rejected.
    (b) Interview. (1) The asylum officer shall conduct the interview in 
a non-adversarial manner and, except at the request of the applicant, 
separate and apart from the general public. The purpose of the interview 
shall be to elicit all relevant and useful information bearing on the 
applicant's eligibility for suspension of deportation or special rule 
cancellation of removal. If the applicant has an asylum application 
pending with the Service, the asylum officer may also elicit information 
relating to the application for asylum in accordance with Sec.  208.9 of 
this chapter. At the time of the interview, the applicant must provide 
complete information regarding the applicant's identity, including name, 
date and place of birth, and nationality, and may be required to 
register this identity electronically or through any other means 
designated by the Attorney General.
    (2) The applicant may have counsel or a representative present, may

[[Page 450]]

present witnesses, and may submit affidavits of witnesses and other 
evidence.
    (3) An applicant unable to proceed with the interview in English 
must provide, at no expense to the Service, a competent interpreter 
fluent in both English and a language in which the applicant is fluent. 
The interpreter must be at least 18 years of age. The following 
individuals may not serve as the applicant's interpreter: the 
applicant's attorney or representative of record; a witness testifying 
on the applicant's behalf; or, if the applicant also has an asylum 
application pending with the Service, a representative or employee of 
the applicant's country of nationality, or, if stateless, country of 
last habitual residence. Failure without good cause to comply with this 
paragraph may be considered a failure to appear for the interview for 
purposes of Sec.  240.68.
    (4) The asylum officer shall have authority to administer oaths, 
verify the identity of the applicant (including through the use of 
electronic means), verify the identity of any interpreter, present and 
receive evidence, and question the applicant and any witnesses.
    (5) Upon completion of the interview, the applicant or the 
applicant's representative shall have an opportunity to make a statement 
or comment on the evidence presented. The asylum officer may, in the 
officer's discretion, limit the length of such statement or comment and 
may require its submission in writing. Upon completion of the interview, 
and except as otherwise provided by the asylum officer, the applicant 
shall be informed of the requirement to appear in person to receive and 
to acknowledge receipt of the decision and any other accompanying 
material at a time and place designated by the asylum officer.
    (6) The asylum officer shall consider evidence submitted by the 
applicant with the application, as well as any evidence submitted by the 
applicant before or at the interview. As a matter of discretion, the 
asylum officer may grant the applicant a brief extension of time 
following an interview, during which the applicant may submit additional 
evidence.