7 FAM 280
PRESUMPTIVE DEATH
(CT:CON-804; 04-30-2018)
(Office of Origin: CA/OCS)
7 FAM 281 INTRODUCTION
(CT:CON-510; 03-13-2014)
a. In many situations, such as earthquakes, air
crashes, or floods, the deaths of U.S. citizens will be presumed by the local
authorities without actually being proven.
b. Section 234 of the James W. Nance and Meg Donovan
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 (Public Law
106-113)
(22 U.S.C. 2715b) explicitly authorizes a consular officer to issue a report of
death (CRODA) or of presumptive death in the case of a finding of death by the
appropriate local authorities. In addition, it
explicitly authorizes a consular officer to issue a report of presumptive death
in the absence of a finding of death by the appropriate local authorities.
This latter provision is intended to allow the consular officer to issue a
report of presumptive death in exceptional circumstances where the evidence
that the individual has died (e.g., he or she was listed on a passenger
manifest on an aircraft that had no survivors) is persuasive, but local
authorities have not issued and are not likely to issue a finding of death
(because, e.g., issuance of a local death certificate requires forensic
evidence that is not available, there is no local authority that clearly has
jurisdiction, or by law a death certificate in case of presumed death may not
be issued for a lengthy period such as five years)
7 FAM 282 LOCAL FINDING
(CT:CON-510; 03-13-2014)
When there is a local finding of presumptive death by a
competent local authority, a consular officer should prepare a consular report
of presumptive death on the Form DS-2060, Report of the Death of an American
Citizen Abroad with appropriate annotations in the remarks section, when
authorized by CA/OCS. Posts should consult
CA/OCS/ACS, OCS/L, and L/CA if post has
any question regarding whether documentation issued by local authorities meets
the standard for issuance under federal regulation.
7 fAM 283 No local finding
(CT:CON-510; 03-13-2014)
a. A United States citizen or non-citizen national may
disappear or be missing in circumstances where it appears likely that the
individual has died, but there is no local authority able or willing to issue a
death certificate, or no judicial finding of death, or no competent local authority willing to make a finding of
presumptive death. This situation may include, for example, death in a plane
crash where there are no identifiable remains, death in a plane crash beyond
the territory of any country, death in an avalanche, disappearance/death at
sea, or other sudden disaster where the body is not immediately (or perhaps ever)
recoverable.
b. Authorization of issuance. The Department
(CA/OCS/ACS), with the concurrence of CA/OCS/L (ASK-OCS-L@state.gov) and L/CA,
may authorize the issuance of a consular report of presumptive death in such
circumstances. A consular report of presumptive death may not be
issued without the Department's authorization, which must be approved by the
Managing Director of CA/OCS.
c. Considerations in determining whether the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA)
office will authorize issuance of a Report of Presumptive Death. The
Department's decision whether to issue a Report of Presumptive Death is
discretionary, and will be based on the totality of circumstances in each
particular case. Although no one factor is conclusive or determinative, the
Department will consider the factors cited below, among other relevant
considerations, when deciding whether to authorize issuance in a particular
case:
(1) Whether the death is believed to have occurred
within a geographic area where no sovereign government exercises jurisdiction;
(2) Whether the government exercising jurisdiction
over the place where the death is believed to have occurred lacks laws or
procedures for making findings of presumptive death;
(3) Whether the government exercising jurisdiction
over the place where the death is believed to have occurred requires a waiting
period exceeding five years before findings of presumptive death may be made;
(4) Whether the person who is believed to have died
was seen to be in imminent peril by credible witnesses;
(5) Whether the person who is believed to have died is
reliably known to have been in a place which experienced a natural disaster, or
catastrophic event, that was capable of causing death;
(6) Whether the person believed to have died was
listed on the certified manifest of, and was confirmed to have boarded, an
aircraft, or vessel, which was destroyed and, despite diligent search by
competent authorities, some or all of the remains were not recovered or could
not be identified;
(7) Whether there is evidence of fraud, deception, or
malicious intent.
7 FAM 284 Processing
(CT:CON-510; 03-13-2014)
a. Consular reports of presumptive death should be
processed and issued in accordance with 22 CFR 72.5 and 22 CFR 72.6 (revised).
b. In any case where a court ruling or statement by
local authorities is not obtainable, the consular officer should submit to the
Department (CA/OCS/ACS) for an advisory opinion as much relevant information as
possible, including all available information about the circumstances of the
presumed death, personal data (such as date of birth, name, physical
description, citizenship information), sworn statements taken from witnesses
and companions, newspaper clippings, and other relevant data.
c. In preparing a Report of Presumptive Death, the
consular officer must insert a statement, under the heading Cause of Death,
such as reported missing, believed to be dead, giving the source of the
information on which the presumption is based.
d. Also include a statement in the Remarks section,
specifying the requirements of local law for the establishment of a legal
presumption of death for missing persons. For example, determine whether a
person is presumed to be considered legally dead automatically after a
prescribed period, or whether formal court action is necessary to give the
presumption validity.
e. If a presumed death is subsequently established
legally, submit a final and complete the report of death. The title should
read, Final Report of the Death of an American Citizen and the Remarks
section must refer to the Presumptive Report.
7 FAM 285 REVOCATION
(CT:CON-510; 03-13-2014)
a. The Department (CA/OCS/ACS) with the concurrence of
CA/OCS/L and L/CA, may revoke a report of presumptive death if it determines in
its sole discretion that the report was issued in error. Authorization must be
granted by the Deputy Assistance Secretary of
CA/OCS.
b. If a report of presumptive death is revoked, the
permanent record in Passport Services Vital Records and the appropriate consular
databases will be annotated accordingly.
c. As appropriate the use of a deceased identity
(CLASS reason code E) or falsification of death (CLASS reason code F) should be
reflected in CLASS via the Enterprise Case
Assessment Service (ECAS) in the relevant name. (See 7 FAM 1300
Appendix A). Entry of a fraud lookout would be determined by factors beyond
the revocation (See CA/FPP Intranet page (Office of Fraud Prevention Programs) for step-by-step instructions on creating ECAS
records.)
d. CA/OCS/ACS will notify the state vital records
office of the issuance of a Certificate of Presumptive Death in the same manner
as is done for a Report of Death. (See 7 FAM 276.3).
e. For general guidance on preparation of Reports of
Death, see 7 FAM
270.
7 FAM 286 through 289 unassigned