SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

• Title of Information Collection: Annual Report—J-NONIMMIGRANT Exchange Visitor Program.
• OMB Control Number: 1405-0151.
• Type of Request: Revision of a Currently Approved Collection.
• Originating Office: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Private Sector Exchange, ECA/EC.
• Form Number: DS-3097.
• Respondents: Designated J-NONIMMIGRANT program sponsors.
• Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,425.
• Estimated Number of Responses: 1,425.
• Average Time per Response: 2 hours.
• Total Estimated Burden Time: 2,850 hours.
• Frequency: Annually.
• Obligation to Respond: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.

We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department to:

• Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department.
• Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
• Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please note that comments submitted in response to this Notice are public record. Before including any detailed personal information, you should be aware that your comments as submitted, including your personal information, will be available for public review.

Abstract of Proposed Collection

Annual reports from designated program sponsors assist the Department in oversight and administration of the Exchange Visitor Program. The reports provide qualitative data on the number of exchange participants an organization sponsored annually per category of exchange. The reports also provide a summary of the activities in which exchange visitors were engaged and indicate information about program effectiveness. Program sponsors include government agencies, academic institutions, and private sector not-for-profit and for-profit entities. The Department administers the Exchange Visitor Program under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended (Pub. L. 87-256, 22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.), and 22 CFR 62.15 requires designated sponsors to report annually on their exchange visitor program activities. The Department received one comment during the 60-day public comment period. The commenter expressed no objection to the proposed revisions, and no changes have been made to the form as a result.

Methodology

Annual reports are completed through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and then printed and signed by a sponsor official and sent to the Department by email.

Response to Public Comment

The Department received one comment, submitted by a designated program sponsor. The commenter expressed no objection to the proposed revisions to Form DS-3097. The comment instead requested clarification on three matters of program administration and reporting practice: the continued alignment of the revised form with the fields automatically populated from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS); the scope of the term “Sponsor Official” for purposes of the certification signature; and the meaning of the term “host sites” as used in the staffing item.

Because the comment raised questions of program administration and terminology rather than comments on the collection itself or on the substance of the proposed revisions, the Department is proceeding with the revisions to Form DS-3097 as published in the 60-day notice. The Department will respond directly to the commenter and will address the questions raised through its ordinary guidance to program sponsors.

91 FR 55659