Federal Register, Volume 76 Issue 220 (Tuesday, November 15, 2011)

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70735-70739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29450]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2011-0087]

Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services--016 Electronic Immigration
System-3 Automated Background Functions System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of
Homeland Security proposes to update and reissue the Department of
Homeland Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland
Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services--016 Electronic
Immigration System-3 Automated Background Functions System of
Records.'' This system of records will allow the Department of Homeland
Security/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to collect and
maintain certain biographic information about individuals in the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration -Services Electronic Immigration System and
its legacy systems in order to detect duplicate and related accounts
and identify potential national security concerns, criminality, and
fraud to ensure that serious or complex cases receive additional
scrutiny. This system of records notice is being updated to clarify the
data retention policy. Additionally, the Department of Homeland
Security is issuing a Final Rule elsewhere in the Federal Register, to
exempt this system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy
Act. This updated system will be included in the Department of Homeland
Security's inventory of record systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 15, 2011. This system will
be effective December 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2011-0087 by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: (703) 483-2999.
Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact:
Donald K. Hawkins ((202) 272-8030), Privacy Officer, U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services, 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, DC
20529. For privacy issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan ((703)
235-0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) proposes to update and reissue the DHS system of
records titled, ``DHS/USCIS-016 Electronic Immigration System-3
Automated Background Functions System of Records.'' This system of
records notice is being updated to clarify the data retention policy
and to recognize the issuance of a Final Rule exempting the system from
portions of the Privacy Act. DHS received no public comments for this
system of records notice. Consequently, DHS is not making any changes
in response to public comments.
DHS/USCIS is creating a new electronic environment known as the
Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). USCIS ELIS allows
individuals requesting a USCIS benefit to register online and submit
certain benefit requests through the online system. This system will
improve customer service; increase efficiency for processing benefits;
better identify potential national security concerns, criminality, and
fraud; and create improved access controls and better auditing
capabilities.
DHS and USCIS are promulgating the regulation ``Immigration
Benefits Business Transformation, Increment I'' (August 29, 2011, 76 FR
53764) to allow for USCIS to transition to an electronic environment.
This regulation will assist USCIS in the transformation of its
operations by removing references and processes that inhibit the use of
electronic systems or constrain USCIS's ability to respond to changing
workloads, priorities, and statutory requirements.
Applicants and petitioners (Applicants); co-applicants,
beneficiaries, derivatives, dependents, or other persons on whose
behalf a benefit request is made or whose immigration status may be
derived because of a relationship to the Applicant (Co-Applicants); and
their attorneys and representatives accredited by the Board of
Immigration Appeals (Representatives) may create individualized online
accounts. These online accounts help Applicants and their
Representatives file for benefits, track the status of open benefit
requests, schedule appointments, change their addresses and contact
information, and receive notices and notifications regarding their
particular cases. Through USCIS ELIS, individuals may submit evidence
electronically. Once an individual provides biographic information for
one benefit request, USCIS ELIS uses that information to pre-populate
any future benefit requests by the same individual. This eases the
burden on an individual so he or she does not have to repeatedly type
in the same information and also reduces the number of possible errors.
USCIS is publishing three System of Records Notices (SORNs) to
cover the following three distinct processes of this new electronic
environment and the privacy and security protections incorporated into
USCIS ELIS:
1. Temporary Accounts and Draft Benefit Requests: The Electronic
Immigration System-1 Temporary Accounts and Draft Benefit Requests SORN
(DHS/USCIS-014) addresses temporary data provided by Applicants or
Representatives. This temporary data includes temporary accounts for
first-time Applicants and draft benefit request data from first-time
Applicants, Applicants with permanent accounts, and Representatives.
Applicants first interact with USCIS ELIS by creating a temporary
account, setting notification preferences, and drafting the first
benefit request. If a first-time Applicant does not begin drafting a
benefit request within 30 days of opening the temporary account, USCIS
ELIS deletes the temporary account. If he or she does not submit the
benefit request within 30 days of starting a draft benefit request,
USCIS ELIS deletes the temporary account and all draft benefit request
data. If a first-time Applicant submits the benefit request within 30
days, USCIS ELIS automatically changes the

[[Page 70736]]

status of the account from temporary to permanent. Applicants with
permanent USCIS ELIS accounts or Representatives may also draft benefit
requests. USCIS ELIS deletes all draft benefit requests if they are not
submitted within 30 days of initiation.
2. Account and Case Management: The Electronic Immigration System-2
Account and Case Management SORN (DHS/USCIS-015) addresses the
activities undertaken by USCIS after Applicants or Representatives
submit a benefit request. USCIS ELIS uses information provided on
initial and subsequent benefit requests and subsequent collections
through the Account and Case Management process to create or update
USCIS ELIS accounts; collect any missing information; manage workflow;
assist USCIS adjudicators as they make a benefit determination; and
provide a repository of data to assist with future benefit requests. In
addition, USCIS ELIS processes and tracks all actions related to the
case, including scheduling appointments and issuing decision notices
and/or proofs of benefit.
3. Automated Background Functions: The Electronic Immigration
System-3 Automated Background Functions SORN (DHS/USCIS-016) addresses
the actions USCIS ELIS takes to detect duplicate and related accounts
and identify potential national security concerns, criminality, and
fraud to ensure that serious or complex cases receive additional
scrutiny.
Electronic Immigration System-3 Automated Background Functions
(USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions) uses biographic information
stored in Electronic Immigration System-2 Account and Case Management
(USCIS ELIS Account and Case Management) to run a series of automated
rules on that information, generating results, and assigning confidence
and severity levels to the results to assist USCIS personnel reviewing
the results. The results of all USCIS ELIS Automated Background
Functions are returned to the account or case and are used and shared
according to the Electronic Immigration System-2 Account and Case
Management SORN. USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions use this
information to detect duplicates and related records, and to identify
national security concerns, criminality, and fraud to ensure that
serious or complex cases receive additional scrutiny.

Detect Duplicates and Related Records

In order to identify duplicate USCIS ELIS accounts, other USCIS
records pertaining to the individual, and relationships among
individuals with USCIS records, USCIS ELIS Automated Background
Functions maintain a copy of biographical information from USCIS ELIS
accounts and cases (described in the Electronic Immigration System-2
Account and Case Management SORN), as well as the following legacy
USCIS systems: Alien File/Central Index System; Benefits Processing of
Applicants other than Petitions for Naturalization, Refugee Status, and
Asylum (CLAIMS 3); Computer Linked Application Information Management
System (CLAIMS 4); Refugees, Asylum, and Parole System (RAPS); and
Fraud Detection and National Security Data System (FDNS-DS).

Background, National Security, and Criminality Checks

USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions automatically perform
background checks when new information is received by querying several
DHS, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other agencies' law
enforcement and/or immigration systems, as appropriate, to identify
national security and/or law enforcement concerns.

Identification of Possible Fraud

Results from the de-duplication and relationship analysis and
background checks are run against a set of USCIS analyst-derived rules
to assign confidence levels indicating how strongly the information in
one record matches another record, as well as a severity level
indicating possible criminal, national security, or fraudulent
activity. Each result will have a summary which will include the rule
used to produce the result and any alerts or flags to control
subsequent processing. Once the rules have returned results and
confidence and severity levels are assigned, USCIS ELIS Automated
Background Functions will route the case to the appropriate USCIS
personnel based on the nature of the results.
Information is shared outside of DHS to perform system queries as
part of USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions. USCIS shares
biographic information with the Department of State (DOS) and receives
visa information in return. USCIS provides biometric and biographic
information to, and receives criminal history information from, the
FBI. USCIS provides biographic information to, and receives biographic
and immigration court data from, the Department of Justice (DOJ)
Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR).
The proposed routine uses are compatible with the purpose of the
original collection. The routine uses have been tailored to ensure that
the information within the system is shared through USCIS Automated
Background Functions when an individual requests a benefit. Generally,
all other sharing will occur out of the Electronic Immigration System-2
Account and Case Management SORN. However, pursuant to (b)(1) of the
Privacy Act, this information may be shared with other DHS components
pursuant to its mission within the Department.
USCIS collects, uses, and maintains benefit request eligibility
results pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1103 and 8 U.S.C. 1225.
Consistent with DHS's information sharing mission, information
stored in USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions may be shared with
other DHS components, as well as appropriate federal, state, local,
tribal, territorial, foreign, or international government agencies.
This sharing will only take place after DHS determines that the
receiving component or agency has a need-to-know the information to
carry out national security, law enforcement, immigration,
intelligence, or other functions consistent with the routine uses set
forth in this system of records notice.
DHS is issuing a Final Rule to exempt this system of records from
certain provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2),
elsewhere in the Federal Register. Additionally, many of the functions
in this system require retrieving records from law enforcement systems.
Where a record received from a law enforcement system has been exempted
in that source system under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), DHS will claim the
same exemptions for those records that are claimed for the original
primary systems of records from which they originated and claims any
additional exemptions in accordance with this rule. This updated system
will be included in DHS's inventory of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a
statutory framework governing the means by which the U.S. Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other

[[Page 70737]]

identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act,
an individual is defined to encompass U.S. citizens and lawful
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
visitors.
Below is the description of DHS/USCIS-016 Electronic Immigration
System-3 Automated Background Functions System of Records.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to
Congress.
System of Records
DHS/USCIS-016.

System name:
DHS/USCIS-016 Electronic Immigration System-3 Automated Background
Functions.

Security classification:
Unclassified, sensitive, for official use only, law enforcement
sensitive.

System location:
Records are maintained at the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services Headquarters in Washington, DC and field offices.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions stores and/or uses
information about individuals who previously received or petitioned for
benefits in USCIS ELIS, or have information in USCIS legacy systems
described under ``records source,'' under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (INA), as amended. These individuals include:
Applicants and petitioners (Applicants); co-applicants, beneficiaries,
derivatives, dependants or other persons on whose behalf a benefit
request is made or whose immigration status may be derived because of a
relationship to the Applicant (Co-Applicants); attorneys and
representatives accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals
(Representatives); and individuals that assist in the preparation of
the benefit request.

Categories of records in the system:
ELIS Account Number
Name
Date of Birth
Place of Birth
Country of Citizenship
Gender
Social Security Number, if applicable
Alien Number
Marital Status
Family Relationships
Current and Past Address Information
Current and Past Telephone Information
Case ID Number (specific to the benefit application)
Application Type
Passport Information
Drivers License Number
Email Address
Eye Color
Hair Color
Height
Attorney or Accredited Representative Information
Employment Information
FBI Number, if available
Entry/Exit Data
Rules used to generate results, assign confidence and
severity levels, assign system flags, and route cases

Authority for maintenance of the system:
8 U.S.C. 1103 and 8 U.S.C. 1225.

Purpose(s):
The purpose of USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions is to
assist USCIS personnel in detecting duplicate and related accounts;
identifying potential national security concerns, criminality, and
fraud; as well as ensuring that serious or complex cases receive
additional scrutiny.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To DOJ, including U.S. Attorney Offices, or other federal
agencies conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court,
adjudicative or administrative body, when it is necessary to the
litigation and one of the following is a party to the litigation or has
an interest in such litigation:
1. DHS or any component thereof;
2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
4. The U.S. or any agency thereof, is a party to the litigation or
has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines that the records
are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use of such
records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS collected the
records.
B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
C. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or
other federal government agencies pursuant to records management
inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and
2906.
D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or
oversight function.
E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised;
2. DHS has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the
individual that rely upon the compromised information; and
3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
G. To the Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office of
Immigration Review (EOIR) in the processing of petitions or
applications for benefits under INA, and all other immigration and
nationality laws including treaties and reciprocal agreements.
H. To DOS in the processing of petitions or applications for
benefits under INA, and all other immigration and nationality laws
including treaties and reciprocal agreements.

[[Page 70738]]

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
Records may be retrieved by any of the data elements listed above
or combination thereof.

Safeguards:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the
information for the performance of their official duties and who have
appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
USCIS is currently in negotiations with NARA for approval of the
USCIS ELIS data retention and archiving plan. USCIS proposes retaining
the copy of biographic data stored in USCIS ELIS Automated Background
Functions as long as the records exist in the source system. However,
USCIS is reviewing its needs for the information as it transitions to a
fully electronic environment and may amend its retention, as needed.
USCIS proposes that, in compliance with NARA General Records
Schedule 24, section 6, ``User Identification, Profiles,
Authorizations, and Password Files,'' internal user accounts will be
destroyed or deleted six years after the user account is terminated, or
when no longer needed for investigative or security purposes, whichever
is later.

System Manager and address:
The DHS system manager is the Chief, Records Division, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security,
20 Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20529.

Notification procedure:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from
the notification, access, and amendment procedures of the Privacy Act
because it may maintain law enforcement information. However, DHS/USCIS
will consider individual requests to determine whether or not
information may be released. Thus, individuals seeking notification of
and access to any record contained in this system of records, or
seeking to contest its content, may submit a request in writing to the
National Records Center, FOIA/PA Office, P.O. Box 648010, Lee's Summit,
MO 64064-8010. Specific FOIA contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``Contacts.'' If an individual believes more
than one component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her
the individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer and
Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Department of Homeland
Security, 245 Murray Drive SW., Building 410, STOP-0655, Washington, DC
20528.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-(866) 431-0486. In addition you should:
Provide an explanation of why you believe the Department
would have information on you;
Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe
may have the information about you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created;
Provide any other information that will help the FOIA
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records;
and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
Records are retrieved through, but not stored in, the USCIS ELIS
Automated Background Functions from the following USCIS, DHS, and other
federal agency systems of records:
DHS/USCIS-015--Electronic Immigration System-2--Account
and Case Management System of Records;
DHS/USCIS-001--Alien File, Index, and National File
Tracking System of Records;
DHS/USCIS-007--Benefits Information System (BIS);
DHS/USCIS-010--Asylum Information and Pre-Screening;
DHS/USCIS-006--Fraud Detection and National Security Data
System (FDNS-DS);
DHS/CBP-011--U.S. Customs and Border Protection TECS;
DHS/ICE-001--Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System (SEVIS);
DHS/ICE-011--Immigration Enforcement Operational Records
System (ENFORCE);
DHS/USVISIT-001--Arrival and Departure Information System
(ADIS);
DHS/USVISIT-0012--DHS Automated Biometric Identification
System (IDENT);
Department of State Consular Consolidated Database (CCD);
JUSTICE/EOIR-001--Records and Management Information
System;
JUSTICE/FBI-002--FBI Central Records System; and
JUSTICE/FBI-009--Fingerprint Identification Records System
(FIRS).
In order to resolve identity and relationships, records stored in
USCIS ELIS Automated Background Functions are obtained from the
following USCIS systems of records: Electronic Immigration System-2
Account and Case Management; Alien File, Index, and National File
Tracking; Fraud Detection and National Security Data System; Benefits
Information System; and Asylum Information and Pre-Screening.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from
the following provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552a(k)(2): 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3); (d); (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H),
(e)(4)(I); and (f). Additionally, many of the functions in this system
require retrieving records from law enforcement systems. Where a record
received from

[[Page 70739]]

another system has been exempted in that source system under 5 U.S.C.
552a(j)(2), DHS will claim the same exemptions for those records that
are claimed for the original primary systems of records from which they
originated and claims any additional exemptions in accordance with this
rule.

Dated: November 2, 2011.
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2011-29450 Filed 11-14-11; 8:45 am]
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