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Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73not60

§613 Exemptions

Title 22 › Chapter 11— FOREIGN AGENTS AND PROPAGANDA › Subchapter II— REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN PROPAGANDISTS › § 613

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Certain agents of foreign principals do not have to follow the requirements of section 612(a). The people excluded include accredited diplomatic or consular officers recognized by the Department of State when they do only the official work the Department recognizes; other officials of a foreign government recognized by the United States (so long as they are not U.S. citizens or people doing public relations, publicity, or information work) whose name, status, and duties are on public record with the Department of State and who do only the official work the Department recognizes; staff or employees of those accredited officers (except those doing public relations, publicity, or information work) whose names and duties are on public record and who do only recognized official tasks; people who do only private, nonpolitical trade or commerce for the foreign principal, or activities that are not mainly in furtherance of a foreign interest, or who collect funds in the U.S. only for medical aid or for food and clothing relief in line with subchapter II of chapter 9 of this title; people who do only bona fide religious, scholastic, academic, scientific, or fine arts work; people whose foreign principal is a government the President considers vital to U.S. defense and who meet conditions about not opposing U.S. policies, truthful public communications that disclose their agent status, and providing identity/activity information to the Secretary of State for the Attorney General (the Attorney General, with the Secretary of State, may end the exemption and must do so if the Secretary of State asks); lawyers licensed to practice who represent a disclosed foreign principal in court or in agency matters (but not for off‑record lobbying of agency staff); and agents of persons or entities described in section 611(b)(2) or 611(b)(3) if the agent has done lobbying and registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 [2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.].

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §613

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The requirements of section 612(a) of this title shall not apply to the following agents of foreign principals:
(a)A duly accredited diplomatic or consular officer of a foreign government who is so recognized by the Department of State, while said officer is engaged exclusively in activities which are recognized by the Department of State as being within the scope of the functions of such officer;
(b)Any official of a foreign government, if such government is recognized by the United States, who is not a public-relations counsel, publicity agent, information-service employee, or a citizen of the United States, whose name and status and the character of whose duties as such official are of public record in the Department of State, while said official is engaged exclusively in activities which are recognized by the Department of State as being within the scope of the functions of such official;
(c)Any member of the staff of, or any person employed by, a duly accredited diplomatic or consular officer of a foreign government who is so recognized by the Department of State, other than a public-relations counsel, publicity agent, or information-service employee, whose name and status and the character of whose duties as such member or employee are of public record in the Department of State, while said member or employee is engaged exclusively in the performance of activities which are recognized by the Department of State as being within the scope of the functions of such member or employee;
(d)Any person engaging or agreeing to engage only (1) in private and nonpolitical activities in furtherance of the bona fide trade or commerce of such foreign principal; or (2) in other activities not serving predominantly a foreign interest; or (3) in the soliciting or collecting of funds and contributions within the United States to be used only for medical aid and assistance, or for food and clothing to relieve human suffering, if such solicitation or collection of funds and contributions is in accordance with and subject to the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 9 of this title, and such rules and regulations as may be prescribed thereunder;
(e)Any person engaging or agreeing to engage only in activities in furtherance of bona fide religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts;
(f)Any person, or employee of such person, whose foreign principal is a government of a foreign country the defense of which the President deems vital to the defense of the United States while, (1) such person or employee engages only in activities which are in furtherance of the policies, public interest, or national defense both of such government and of the Government of the United States, and are not intended to conflict with any of the domestic or foreign policies of the Government of the United States, (2) each communication or expression by such person or employee which he intends to, or has reason to believe will, be published, disseminated, or circulated among any section of the public, or portion thereof, within the United States, is a part of such activities and is believed by such person to be truthful and accurate and the identity of such person as an agent of such foreign principal is disclosed therein, and (3) such government of a foreign country furnishes to the Secretary of State for transmittal to, and retention for the duration of this subchapter by, the Attorney General such information as to the identity and activities of such person or employee at such times as the Attorney General may require. Upon notice to the Government of which such person is an agent or to such person or employee, the Attorney General, having due regard for the public interest and national defense, may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, and shall, at the request of the Secretary of State, terminate in whole or in part the exemption herein of any such person or employee;
(g)Any person qualified to practice law, insofar as he engages or agrees to engage in the legal representation of a disclosed foreign principal before any court of law or any agency of the Government of the United States: Provided, That for the purposes of this subsection legal representation does not include attempts to influence or persuade agency personnel or officials other than in the course of judicial proceedings, criminal or civil law enforcement inquiries, investigations, or proceedings, or agency proceedings required by statute or regulation to be conducted on the record.
(h)Any agent of a person described in section 611(b)(2) of this title or an entity described in section 611(b)(3) of this title if the agent has engaged in lobbying activities and has registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 [2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.] in connection with the agent’s representation of such person or entity.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, referred to in subsec. (h), is Pub. L. 104–65, Dec. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 691, which is classified principally to chapter 26 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 2, The Congress. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1601 of Title 2 and Tables.

Prior Provisions

Prior to general amendment of act June 8, 1938, by act Apr. 29, 1942, section related to additional registration statements after each six months period. Provisions on that subject were incorporated in section 612 of this title by 1942 amendment.

Amendments

1998—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 105–166 substituted “has engaged in lobbying activities and has registered” for “is required to register and does register”. 1995—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(2), substituted “judicial proceedings, criminal or civil law

Enforcement

inquiries, investigations, or proceedings, or agency proceedings required by statute or regulation to be conducted on the record” for “established agency proceedings, whether formal or informal”. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104–65, § 9(3), added subsec. (h). 1966—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 89–486, § 3(a), designated existing provisions as cls. (1) and (3), struck out “financial or mercantile” before “activities” in cl. (1), and inserted the cl. (2) exemption of any person engaging or agreeing to engage in other activities not serving predominantly a foreign interest. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 89–486, § 3(b), added subsec. (g). 1961—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 87–366 substituted “private and nonpolitical financial or mercantile activities in furtherance” for “private, non-political, financial, mercantile, or other activities in furtherance”. 1942—Act Apr. 29, 1942, amended section generally. 1939—Act Aug. 7, 1939, amended section generally.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1995 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–65 effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided, see section 24 of Pub. L. 104–65, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 1601 of Title 2, The Congress.

Effective Date

of 1966 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 89–486 effective ninety days after July 4, 1966, see section 9 of Pub. L. 89–486, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1942 AmendmentAmendment by act Apr. 29, 1942, effective on the sixtieth day after Apr. 29, 1942, except that prior to such sixtieth day the Attorney General may make, prescribe, amend, and rescind such rules,

Regulations

, and forms as may be necessary to carry out act Apr. 29, 1942, see section 3 of act Apr. 29, 1942, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 613

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60