82 FR 29913 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act, Form I-864; Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, Form I-864A; EZ Affidavit of Support Under Section 213 of the Act, I-864EZ; Intending Immigrant's Affidavit of Support Exemption, I-864W

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 125 (June 30, 2017)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29913-29914]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13717]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[OMB Control Number 1615-0075]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection: Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the 
Act, Form I-864; Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, Form I-
864A; EZ Affidavit of Support Under Section 213 of the Act, I-864EZ; 
Intending Immigrant's Affidavit of Support Exemption, I-864W

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an 
additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES: The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for 
public comments. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until 
July 31, 2017. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 
1320.10.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) 
contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public 
burden and associated response time, must be directed to the OMB USCIS 
Desk Officer via email at [email protected]. All submissions 
received must include the agency name and the OMB Control Number 1615-
0075 in the subject line.
    You may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal 
information that you provide in any voluntary submission you make. For 
additional information please read the Privacy Act notice that is 
available via the link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
Regulatory Coordination Division, Samantha Deshommes, Chief, 20 
Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20529-2140, Telephone number 
(202) 272-8377 (This is not a toll-free number; comments are not 
accepted via telephone message.). Please note contact

[[Page 29914]]

information provided here is solely for questions regarding this 
notice. It is not for individual case status inquiries. Applicants 
seeking information about the status of their individual cases can 
check Case Status Online, available at the USCIS Web site at http://www.uscis.gov, or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 
(800) 375-5283; TTY (800) 767-1833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments

    The information collection notice was previously published in the 
Federal Register on March 8, 2017, at 82 FR 13650, allowing for a 60-
day public comment period. USCIS did receive comments in connection 
with the 60-day notice.
    You may access the information collection instrument with 
instructions, or additional information by visiting the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal site at: http://www.regulations.gov and enter USCIS-
2007-0029 in the search box. Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies should address one or more of the 
following four points:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

    (1) Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Affidavit of Support Under 
Section 213A of the Act; Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member; 
EZ Affidavit of Support under Section 213 of the Act; Intending 
Immigrant's Affidavit of Support Exemption.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
DHS sponsoring the collection: Form I-864, Form I-864A, Form I-864EZ, 
and Form I-864W; USCIS.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract:
    Primary: Individuals or households; USCIS uses the data collected 
on Form I-864 to determine whether the sponsor has the ability to 
support the sponsored alien under section 213A of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act. This form standardizes evaluation of a sponsor's 
ability to support the sponsored alien and ensures that basic 
information required to assess eligibility is provided by petitioners.
    Form I-864A is a contract between the sponsor and the sponsor's 
household members. It is only required if the sponsor used the income 
of his or her household members to reach the required 125 percent of 
the Federal poverty guidelines. The contract holds these household 
members jointly and severally liable for the support of the sponsored 
immigrant. The information collection required on Form I-864A is 
necessary for public benefit agencies to enforce the Affidavit of 
Support in the event the sponsor used income of his or her household 
members to reach the required income level and the public benefit 
agencies are requesting reimbursement from the sponsor.
    USCIS uses Form I-864EZ in exactly the same way as Form I-864; 
however, less information is collected from the sponsors as less 
information is needed from those who qualify in order to make a 
thorough adjudication.
    USCIS uses Form I-864W to determine whether the intending immigrant 
meets the criteria for exemption of section 213A requirements. This 
form collects the immigrant's basic information, such as name and 
address, the reason for the exemption, and accompanying documentation 
in support of the immigrant's claim that they are not subject to 
section 213A.
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: The estimated 
total number of respondents for Form I-864 is 446,313 and the estimated 
hour burden per response is 6 hours; the estimated total number of 
respondents for Form I-864A is 42,892 and the estimated hour burden per 
response is 1.75 hours; the estimated total number of respondents for 
Form I-864EZ is 114,860 and the estimated hour burden per response is 
2.5 hours; the estimated total number of respondents for Form I-864W is 
98,119 hours and the estimated hour burden per response is 1 hour.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden associated 
with this information collection is 3,138,208 hours.
    (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated 
with the collection: The estimated total annual cost burden associated 
with this information collection is $161,526,540.

    Dated: June 26, 2017.
Jerry Rigdon,
Deputy Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and 
Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2017-13717 Filed 6-29-17; 8:45 am]
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